The Senior Email and Lifecycle Manager leads the Email and Lifecycle Marketing Team and is instrumental in shaping and executing innovative strategies that engage, nurture, convert, and retain donors throughout their journey, leveraging email and other one-to-one digital channels such as SMS marketing.
The position requires advanced technical proficiency in email marketing, automating ESP workflows, front-end development, and best-in-class practices for deliverability, such as list hygiene and authentication protocols. Additional responsibilities include donation page implementation and website development.
The position emphasizes team leadership and cross-departmental collaboration. This role is client-facing and serves as a bridge between the Digital Department and other internal teams, ensuring seamless execution of campaigns.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Team Leadership and Management:
- Supervises, inspires, and mentors the Digital Implementation team, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and professional growth
- Develops and enforces QC procedures to ensure flawless execution of campaigns on time and within budget
Strategic Implementation and Execution:
- Oversees email marketing campaigns, including building, testing, and deploying emails via platforms such as Delivra, HubSpot, MailChimp, Constant Contact, Pardot, Virtuous, and Blackbaud
- Designs and optimizes end-to-end email journeys, incorporating audience segmentation and behavior-driven automation
- Leads audience segmentation and list hygiene for email and text campaigns, ensuring accurate targeting and optimal deliverability
- Manages website updates and enhancements on WordPress, Squarespace, and custom CMS solutions
- Stays informed about fundraising industry trends and emerging email strategies that drive donor engagement and share insights with internal teams
- Oversees organic social media planning and implementation in collaboration with the strategy team
- Manages distribution of campaign assets to ensure proper implementation across email, text, website, and social platforms
Client-Facing Responsibilities:
- Represents BDI Digital in client meetings, delivering insights on email marketing, customer journey performance, and recommendations for achieving campaign objectives
- Builds and maintains strong client relationships to ensure alignment on deliverables and goals
- Provides tailored technology and process recommendations to enhance email, text, donation platform, and website capabilities
Creative Review and Feedback:
- Evaluates email creative concepts and designs, including copy, layout, imagery, and calls-to-action, ensuring alignment with best practices for engaging and converting fundraising audiences
- Partners with Creative, Client Services, and Data teams to deliver campaigns that align with client branding and messaging
- Performance Optimization: Analyzes how creative elements (e.g., subject lines, preheader text, visuals, and content hierarchy) impact donor engagement and conversion rates, providing actionable feedback to maximize fundraising potential
- Testing and Insights: Recommend A/B testing strategies for email creative elements, such as imagery, headlines, or CTA placement, to improve campaign effectiveness
- Collaboration: Partner with the Creative and Client Services teams to refine concepts, ensuring designs meet industry standards while prioritizing fundraising goals
Special Projects and Professional Development:
- Assists with onboarding new clients, offering technical support and troubleshooting
- Manages external contractors and vendors related to email, text messaging, website, and donation platforms. This includes providing partners with clear direction and project management, ensuring they are completed on time, within budget, and without error
- Contributes to thought leadership by producing one piece of BDI Marketing content per fiscal year (e.g., blogs, webinars, podcasts)
- Pursues professional development opportunities by attending trade conferences or training sessions
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
- Relationship Building: Must be friendly, trustworthy, knowledgeable, and professional. Must demonstrate ability to establish and develop relationships with prospects and serve as an ambassador of BDI. Positive attitude, good collaborator
- Has experience applying front-end development skills (HTML, CSS, basic JavaScript) to create or modify email templates, landing pages, and website elements for better usability and conversion rates
- HTML Skills: Proficient in creating and editing email templates using semantic HTML, including table-based layouts for email compatibility
- CSS Skills: Strong understanding of inline CSS, email-safe fonts, and media queries for responsive email design
- Platform Proficiency: Ability to effectively customize templates and workflows with drag-and-drop editors and advanced code views in email platforms
- Collaborates with developers and designers to implement technical improvements that enhance user experience across digital touchpoints
- Monitors emerging trends in web design and front-end technologies to ensure platforms remain modern and functional