Director, Consumer Engagement and Retention Strategy

The Director, Consumer Engagement and Retention Strategy leads enterprise-wide strategies that drive consumer engagement, reduce churn, and grow lifetime value across all USA TODAY Co. products - including national, local, digital, print, and add-on products.

This role is responsible for unifying engagement and retention efforts into a cohesive lifecycle strategy that deepens consumer relationships from onboarding through renewal and winback. The Director will set the vision and roadmap for lifecycle marketing programs that build habits, reinforce value, and proactively address churn risks through data-driven insights, segmentation, and personalization at scale.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Consumer Journeys, the Director manages a team of strategists and serves as a cross-functional leader partnering with product, analytics, brand, and content teams to operationalize engagement and retention strategies that drive sustainable, profitable growth.

• Set the strategic vision and roadmap for enterprise-wide consumer engagement and retention initiatives across national and local products.
• Lead and mentor a high-performing team responsible for engagement and retention programs, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and measurable impact.
• Develop holistic lifecycle strategies that drive early engagement, habit formation, and sustained value throughout the consumer journey, from onboarding to renewal and winback.
• Leverage segmentation, behavioral data, and predictive modeling to design personalized journeys and interventions that increase engagement and reduce churn.
• Integrate AI and machine learning tools to enhance personalization, predict consumer behavior, and improve efficiency across lifecycle programs, using automation, generative insights, and predictive analytics to drive higher impact at scale.
• Oversee test-and-learn frameworks for both engagement and retention programs, ensuring scalable insights and optimization across channels.
• Partner cross-functionally with analytics, product, content, marketing operations, and customer service teams to align on strategy, KPIs, and execution.
• Champion a data-driven approach, using insights from LTV models, churn propensity, and user behavior to prioritize opportunities and guide decision-making.
• Communicate strategy, results, and learnings clearly to executives and key stakeholders, driving alignment and visibility into lifecycle performance.
• Serve as a thought leader in subscription lifecycle best practices, staying ahead of industry trends in engagement, retention, and personalization.
• Ensure that engagement and retention strategies reinforce USA TODAY Co.'s consumer value proposition, deepening loyalty and improving long-term profitability.

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree (MBA or related) preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in lifecycle marketing and retention and engagement strategy for subscription-based or digital-first businesses.
• Proven success in developing and scaling multi-channel engagement and retention programs that deliver measurable improvements in consumer LTV.
• Demonstrated fluency with marketing technology ecosystems (e.g., Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Braze, CDP, CRM platforms) and personalization at scale.
• Strong analytical and data literacy, with experience using tools such as Tableau, GA4, and Excel to inform strategy and performance measurement.
• Exceptional cross-functional leadership skills with the ability to influence, align, and drive outcomes across diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, able to translate complex insights into clear strategic recommendations.
• Passion for consumer behavior, data-driven experimentation, and developing lifecycle strategies that balance growth and retention.
• High integrity, accountability, and commitment to innovation and excellence.