Overview
Senior Retention & Lifecycle Marketing Manager Jobs in San Francisco, CA at Confidential
About Ava
Ava is on a mission to help millions achieve better credit scores while paying less in interest and fees. We’re transforming how people access credit by putting a personal CFO right in their pocket. Join us as we revolutionize financial empowerment for everyday consumers.
About the Role
Reporting to our Co-Founder and Head of Growth, you’ll be the strategic and executional leader behind Ava’s entire retention and lifecycle marketing function. Your mission: architect the programs that turn every new user into a long-term, engaged member—designing, building, and scaling the email, push, in-app, and SMS programs that drive activation, engagement, and retention throughout the customer journey. You bring a sharp eye for both compelling copy and polished design—because every touchpoint is a chance to build trust and reinforce the Ava brand.
This is a high-ownership, high-impact role at one of the fastest-growing startups in consumer fintech—you’ll set the strategy, define the roadmap, and drive execution across the consumer lifecycle. As an early and critical hire on the growth team, you’ll have a seat at the table to shape not just retention strategy but the broader direction of the business. You’ll be the go-to expert on retention at Ava, with the autonomy and influence to shape how we engage millions of users during our hyper-growth phase.
What You’ll Do
Build & Own Lifecycle Programs
- Architect and scale multi-channel lifecycle programs (email, push, SMS, in-app) that guide users from sign-up through long-term engagement—defining the strategy, building the journeys, and continuously raising the bar.
- Own the full retention funnel end to end—from onboarding and activation through re-engagement and win-back—setting KPI targets and ensuring every touchpoint drives measurable value.
- Champion the quality bar for every communication that reaches users—collaborating with designers on visual direction and personally crafting or refining copy to ensure it’s clear, on-brand, and conversion-focused.
- Define and evolve segmentation and personalization frameworks that deliver the right message to the right user at the right moment in their credit journey.
Drive Experimentation & Optimization
- Run rigorous A/B and multivariate tests across subject lines, content, timing, cadence, and channel mix to continuously improve performance.
- Analyze user behavior data to identify drop-off points and design targeted interventions that reduce churn and boost engagement.
- Maintain a rapid test-and-learn cadence—quickly scaling what works and sunsetting what doesn’t.
Shape Retention Strategy
- Serve as the cross-functional expert on retention—partnering closely with Product, Data, and Creative to align lifecycle programs with product launches, feature adoption goals, and broader growth strategy.
- Translate campaign data into strategic insights that influence product roadmap decisions, customer experience improvements, and company-wide priorities.
- Proactively identify and champion new lifecycle opportunities as Ava expands its product suite and user base.
Measure & Report on Impact
- Define and track key retention KPIs—activation rate, DAU/MAU, churn rate, LTV, and re-engagement conversion.
- Build and maintain dashboards to monitor lifecycle program performance and communicate results to leadership.
- Use tools like Braze, Iterable, or similar platforms alongside analytics tools (e.g., Mixpanel, Amplitude) to drive data-informed decisions.
What We’re Looking For
- 5–7+ years of hands-on experience in lifecycle, retention, or CRM marketing—ideally at a high-growth consumer app, fintech, or subscription-based product. You’ve built and scaled lifecycle programs from the ground up and can point to measurable impact on retention, engagement, and LTV.
- Deep expertise with marketing automation platforms (Braze, Iterable, Customer.io, or similar) and a proven track record of architecting sophisticated multi-channel journeys at scale.
- Performance-driven mindset: You obsess over open rates, click-throughs, conversion, and churn—and you have a playbook for moving them. You’re still comfortable rolling up your sleeves to set up campaigns, write copy, and QA every send.
- Analytical rigor: Fluency with product analytics tools (e.g. Mixpanel, Amplitude) to segment users, measure impact, and optimize programs. You’re as comfortable building dashboards as you are presenting insights to leadership.
- Strategic thinking: You see beyond individual campaigns to understand how lifecycle marketing connects to product-market fit, user psychology, and long-term business growth. You can own a roadmap and articulate how each initiative ladders up to company goals.
- Eye for copy and design: You have strong opinions about what makes a great email or push notification—from the headline to the layout. You can write sharp, conversion-driven copy and you instinctively know when a design isn’t landing. You don’t need to be a designer, but you hold creative work to a high standard and can art-direct effectively.
- AI-savvy operator: You’re already using tools like Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini to move faster—whether it’s drafting copy variations, analyzing data, brainstorming campaign ideas, or automating repetitive workflows. You see AI as a force multiplier and are always looking for new ways to leverage it for speed and scale.
Bonus Qualifications
- Experience in fintech, credit-building, or financial wellness products
- Familiarity with push notification and in-app messaging best practices for mobile-first products
- Experience partnering with data science teams on predictive churn models or propensity scoring
Location
- San Francisco Bay Area strongly preferred; open to exceptional remote candidates
What Makes You Stand Out
You’re not here for an easy ride—you’re energized by the challenge of turning casual users into lifelong advocates at a company where your work will be felt across the entire business. You’ve done this before, and you’re ready to do it at a fast-growing startup where your contributions directly shape the trajectory of the company. You want the kind of role where your name is on the work that matters—and where the impact compounds as the company scales. Most importantly, you see lifecycle marketing not just as sends and sequences, but as a strategic lever for building lasting customer relationships that fuel business growth.
Ready to help millions achieve financial freedom while leading the lifecycle engine behind one of fintech’s fastest-growing apps? We’d love to hear from you.
- NO RECRUITER SOLICITATION
Pay: Up to $200,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health insurance
Work Location: Hybrid remote in San Francisco, CA 94104
Title: Senior Retention & Lifecycle Marketing Manager
Company: Confidential
Location: San Francisco, CA
Category:
