CRM Lifecycle Marketing Manager (Freelance)

UNFOLD Agency•Culver City, CA

2d•Remote

About The Position

UNFOLD is seeking an experienced freelance CRM Lifecycle Marketing Manager for an upcoming client engagement focused on email and SMS lifecycle marketing. This hands-on, project-based role supports the strategy, setup, execution, optimization, and reporting of a CRM program, from initial journey mapping and platform setup through campaign execution and ongoing optimization. The manager will work closely with UNFOLD’s internal team and client partners, developing recommendations and building segments, configuring journeys, QAing campaigns, analyzing performance, and optimizing the program. The role is remote, with Los Angeles preferred, and reports to the VP, Media. Responsibilities and timing may evolve according to client needs, project priorities, and the agreed scope of work.

Requirements

At least 5 years of hands-on experience in CRM, lifecycle marketing, retention marketing, email marketing, or a comparable performance-focused role.
Experience building automated customer journeys from strategy and mapping through platform execution.
Strong understanding of email and SMS marketing, segmentation, personalization, suppression, consent, and subscription management.
Experience working with customer event data and behavioral triggers to power lifecycle campaigns.
Understanding of lifecycle and performance metrics, including conversion, CAC, retention, churn, repeat purchase/use, and LTV.
Experience developing and evaluating A/B tests and turning results into actionable optimizations.
Comfort collaborating with analytics, product, development, creative, and media teams.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Excellent attention to detail, particularly when building, testing, and QAing automated communications.
Ability to work independently, manage deadlines, and quickly integrate into an existing project team.
Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on Customer.io experience is strongly preferred.
Experience with mobile apps, subscription products, e-commerce, marketplaces, or other performance-driven digital businesses.

Responsibilities

Support development of email and SMS lifecycle strategies based on client goals.
Map customer journeys across pre-launch, acquisition, onboarding, activation, conversion, retention, re-engagement, and win-back stages.
Define journey objectives, audiences, entry triggers, timing, messaging, branches, exits, suppression rules, and measurement.
Recommend segmentation strategies using customer behavior, lifecycle stage, engagement, and available first-party data.
Identify opportunities to improve activation, conversion, retention, and customer lifetime value.
Prioritize CRM initiatives with the UNFOLD team based on business goals, available data, and project scope.
Build and manage email and SMS campaigns and automated lifecycle journeys in Customer.io.
Configure audiences, segments, subscription preferences, suppression rules, personalization, and reporting settings.
Set up automation triggers, branches, timing, exit criteria, and customer eligibility rules.
Build, schedule, test, QA, and launch email and SMS campaigns.
Configure links, tracking, personalization fields, and campaign measurement.
Work with internal, client, and development teams to identify customer events and data needed for CRM journeys.
Validate customer events and data needed for campaign and automation activation.
Troubleshoot campaign, audience, event, and automation issues.
Monitor active email and SMS campaigns and lifecycle journeys.
Identify performance trends, issues, and optimization opportunities.
Develop and execute A/B tests across messaging, timing, audience eligibility, journey logic, and other meaningful variables.
Analyze delivery, engagement, clicks, conversion, activation, purchase, retention, and other available downstream outcomes.
Provide clear findings and actionable performance recommendations.
Support recurring reporting and communicate key learnings to the UNFOLD team.
Support CRM briefs and messaging recommendations for email and SMS.
Collaborate with Creative and Strategy teams on messaging, design, templates, and content needs.
Ensure campaigns follow approved brand guidelines and CRM best practices.
Coordinate with product and development teams on technical dependencies, event requirements, identity matching, deep linking, and other implementation needs.
Flag blockers, dependencies, and technical requirements that may affect execution or timing.
Maintain organized documentation of journeys, campaigns, testing, learnings, and outstanding requirements.