Director of Product, Retention

Upbound Group•Plano, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

As the Director of Product, Retention, you will own the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for the full retention portfolio across the Growth Organization, spanning all lines of business. Retention at Upbound is accountable for the customer, merchant, and coworker experiences that build trust, reduce friction after customer conversion, and grow long-term value. You will lead a team of Group Product Managers and partner closely with Engineering, Design, CX, Data & Analytics, Marketing, and Operations to turn the moments that most influence churn into trust-building, value-generating experiences. Scope of the Retention Portfolio This role owns retention across three connected domains, spanning both Acima and RAC: Customer Retention — the post-funding lifecycle including onboarding, financial clarity, payments, self-service, repeat usage, and reactivation. Merchant Retention — shifting merchant relationships from transactional to long-term partnerships through proactive engagement, loyalty, and demonstrated value beyond transaction volume. Coworker Retention & Enablement — equipping store and central-operations coworkers with the tools, guidance, and visibility needed to deliver consistent, proactive experiences that improve collections outcomes and customer trust.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
Proven track record of 8–10 years of product management experience, ideally with retention, engagement, loyalty, lifecycle, or growth product experience in B2C, fintech, e-commerce, or related industries.
Experience building and measuring retention programs across multiple audiences (e.g., consumers and business/merchant partners) and turning servicing or collections moments into positive experiences.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use data and shared KPIs to drive decisions and prioritize initiatives.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence and align cross-functional, cross-brand teams toward common goals.
Demonstrated leadership experience, with the ability to inspire and develop product managers (experience leading a team of at least 2–3 members).
Experience working in agile environments.
Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

Responsibilities

Serve as a subject matter expert and thought leader on retention, engagement, and loyalty across the Growth Organization.
Drive the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for retention across customer, merchant, and coworker domains in both Acima and Rent-A-Center, aligned to business objectives and journey-led thinking.
Own retention end-to-end as a post-conversion discipline; reducing friction after conversion and turning collections, servicing, and self-service moments into trust-building experiences.
Lead and develop the Group Product Managers across retention, holding the team accountable for clear ownership, follow-through, and visible impact.
Improve the metrics that define retention success, including engagement, repeat usage, lifetime value (CLTV), NPS, reactivation, and reduced churn.
Drive alignment across customer lifecycle stages and coordinate dependencies on data quality, analytics support, and platform stability.
Serve as the primary product contact for retention stakeholders, including executive leadership, Engineering, Marketing, CX, Operations, and Data & Analytics—providing regular updates on initiatives, milestones, risks, dependencies, and performance against targets.
Lead by example with strong leadership, strategic thinking, and a customer-centric mindset that inspires the team to operate at a higher level.
Develop plans for professional development, training, and mentorship to nurture talent within the team and strengthen overall productivity and innovation.
Help clarify cross-functional ownership, decision rights, and intake/triage/resolution flows so retention work is not dependent on individual heroics.
Partner with leadership to secure prerequisites for retention success.