Executive Director, Lifecycle & Engagement

CDS Global • New York, NY

5d • $168,000 - $230,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Help shape the future of how millions of consumers connect with Hearst Magazines. As Executive Director, Lifecycle & Engagement, you'll define the strategy that transforms email and owned channels into meaningful, long-term customer relationships—driving engagement, loyalty, and business growth across one of the world's most iconic media portfolios.

ABOUT HEARST MAGAZINES (WHY US?)

Hearst Magazines is one of the world's largest publishers, with a portfolio of 30 brands that reach audiences across print, digital, social, video, audio, commerce, and live experiences. Our brands connect with millions of consumers through trusted storytelling, innovative products, and world-class journalism, creating meaningful experiences that inspire, inform, and entertain every day.

Requirements

• Significant experience leading lifecycle marketing, CRM, customer engagement, content marketing, or newsletter strategy within a consumer business.
• Deep understanding of how content builds customer relationships and how newsletters and email marketing support audience engagement and business growth.
• Experience developing lifecycle strategies at scale across onboarding, engagement, retention, personalization, and customer value.
• Demonstrated ability to identify new opportunities, build business cases, and bring new products or programs to market.
• Experience evaluating existing products and making thoughtful recommendations about where to invest, optimize, or sunset initiatives.
• Strong understanding of modern marketing technology and CRM ecosystems, with the ability to partner effectively with Product and Operations teams without needing to own technical implementation.
• Proven success building scalable programs, frameworks, and best practices across complex organizations.
• Strong commercial instincts and the ability to balance customer experience with business outcomes.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams and influencing senior stakeholders across multiple functions.

Responsibilities

• Develop the lifecycle marketing strategy across newsletters and email marketing, creating a cohesive approach to customer engagement, personalization, retention, and long-term audience value.
• Partner with Audience Growth to transition successful acquisition initiatives into scalable lifecycle programs that strengthen customer relationships over time.
• Champion innovation, identifying new opportunities to improve customer engagement through AI, personalization, experimentation, and evolving consumer behaviors.
• Partner with Editorial leaders to identify new newsletter opportunities, develop business cases, and bring new products to market.
• Oversee the strategy and evolution of Hearst's newsletter portfolio, strengthening flagship experiences through audience insights, testing, lifecycle marketing, and personalization while continually evaluating where to invest, optimize, expand, or sunset.
• Establish a strategic roadmap for the newsletter portfolio, setting priorities for new launches, product evolution, experimentation, and long-term growth.
• Develop lifecycle frameworks that can be used across brands while allowing flexibility for different audiences, editorial voices, and business objectives.
• Establish best practices for onboarding, engagement, cross-promotion, personalization, lifecycle measurement, and newsletter growth.
• Think beyond individual campaigns to create systems and processes that make the organization smarter and more scalable over time in partnership with Operations.
• Develop repeatable frameworks for evaluating, launching, and growing newsletter products that can be applied across Hearst's portfolio.
• Work closely with Product, Lifecycle Operations, Audience Growth, Data, Analytics, Consumer Revenue, and Editorial to bring lifecycle strategies to life.
• Help prioritize investments based on audience opportunity, business impact, and organizational capacity.
• Influence product roadmaps and platform capabilities by representing lifecycle marketing and newsletter needs and customer experience priorities.
• Lead and mentor a team of 6 responsible for lifecycle marketing newsletter strategy across Hearst's portfolio.
• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, learning and continuous improvement.
• Communicate recommendations, performance insights, and long-term opportunities to leadership and cross-functional partners.

Benefits

• Access to innovative training programs, immersive workshops, and exclusive industry events.
• Flexibility of hybrid work.
• Employee Resource Groups.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance from Day 1.
• 401(k) plan with a generous company match.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed