Senior Specialist, Lifecycle Marketing

Meridian Credit Union • Toronto, ON

26d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Specialist, Lifecycle Marketing plays a critical role in Meridian’s
success by designing, building, and optimizing targeted, automated journeys for
members and prospects across the full lifecycle. This role translates strategy
into scalable, always‑on experiences delivering timely, relevant, and
personalized advice supporting growth and member experience goals. The Senior
Specialist uses member data and insights to define journey triggers, enable
personalization, and drive continuous improvement through measurement and
optimization. With a strong focus on member outcomes and performance, this role
drives key behaviours such as engagement, retention, financial plan adoption,
and cross‑sell, while stewarding the end‑to‑end journey experience across the
marketing ecosystem.

Requirements

• 7 to 10 years of experience within a journey development role
• Experience in a financial institution environment an asset, with a strong understanding of financial metrics (e.g., profit/loss statement, balance sheet, etc.), segmentation (e.g., PRIZM) and industry drivers (e.g., annual reports).
• An undergraduate degree (or higher) in Technology, Marketing, or Business, or equivalent work experience
• Experience in managing and developing journeys for automating marketing communications, including Lifecycle, Product, and Lead nurturing
• Experience working in scripting languages such as Python or R, VBA, to set up automation and integrations to enable automation of journeys a strong asset
• Hands-on experience in developing and implementing customer lifecycle journeys. Experience in data analysis and the ability to use data to inform decision-making
• Strong project management skills and the ability to work in a cross-functional team
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience in developing and implementing customer journey strategies
• A strong understanding of customer behavior and the ability to use insights to inform strategy
• Expert knowledge of CRM platforms to manage customer data and interactions with knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics 365 considered a significant asset
• Strong knowledge of Marketing Automation platforms such as Adobe, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Acoustic etc. and the ability to use to improve the customer experience.
• Advanced user of Microsoft Power BI, Excel, PowerPoint, and other key Microsoft Office tools
• Expertise in driving customer journey mapping through creative visual flows and outlining logic with stakeholders (e.g. Figma)
• Strong working knowledge of analytics stacks, working with analytics tools, data warehouses and data visualization tools
• Solid financial acumen, excellent interpersonal skills and ability to interact with all levels of the organization, including Executive management. Has a strong business acumen and can translate insights into actionable recommendations that align with business objectives
• Experience in project management and the ability to work in an agile environment, an asset.
• Must have knowledge of communication compliance best practices (CASL, PII, CAN-SPAM, GDPR)
• Leverages data analysis, troubleshooting skills, and creative thinking to diagnose issues and design practical, innovative solutions in complex environments
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to develop effective working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders
• A self-starter with strong organizational skills, an ability to time-manage, and effectively prioritize own workload
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to use data to inform decision-making

Responsibilities

• Automate – fully automate personalized Member journeys in the Dynamics 365 for Marketing application, through the build of communication workflows, program logic/triggers for automation and testing with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Analyze – Assess how data from integrated or non-integrated systems flows into CRM journeys, identifying dependencies, gaps, and limitations, and proactively recommending MVP or phased approaches to support the development and execution of designed journeys.
• Design – Create timely and relevant communication flows aligning to Member/prospect interactions, needs and expectations across Lifecycle, Product, and lead nurturing journeys.
• Optimize – Continually monitor and update programs as changes occur with Meridian’s content landscape as well as the external market and competitive market.
• Test – use test-and-learn scenarios, such as A/B testing, for new communication flows and strategies to increase user engagement and retention.
• Personalize – leverage data segmentation for targeted Member communication strategy which maximizes return on investment
• Collaborate – with partner groups including Marketing Analytics and Marketing Operations in the development of segments and assets for triggers and journey execution.
• Advise – Provide CRM project support and evolution of new features and functions, such as a preference centre as well as enabling new communications channels (SMS, Push notifications, etc.) by staying up to date on Microsoft Dynamics 365 releases and enhancements.
• Return on Investment (ROI) – build and develop journeys that help to accelerate marketing’s long term strategic plans through profitability. Ensure activities are in priority order and constantly socialize and update these journeys to ensure time and money are being spent properly
• Gatekeep – act as the journey gatekeeper by ensuring the number of touchpoints for Members and Prospects across journeys is manageable by monitoring contact frequency through calendars, reporting, and coordination with partners.
• Troubleshoot – Identify, diagnose, and resolve issues within Dynamics 365 Marketing journeys during build and deployment, including data, logic, trigger, integration, and execution errors; partnering with Marketing Ops and cross‑functional teams as needed to ensure journeys launch and run as intended.
• Quality Assurance – execute pre and post deployment QA for CRM journeys using established checklists; provide hands‑on feedback to Marketing Ops to improve QA processes, reduce risk, and strengthen journey quality.
• Mitigate & Coordinate – work with the CRM Center of Excellence team to find, submit, and resolve bugs in Dynamics 365 to ensure a seamless journey experience
• Stakeholder Collaboration - foster cross-functional collaboration particularly with Enterprise Analytics & Data, Data Governance and Culture, Member Experience Services, and Sales—to streamline communication, gather data, define terms and conditions, and consolidate information from multiple platforms into a centralized source for segmentation and reporting
• Monitor – monitor key performance indicators to measure the success of Member/prospect journey initiatives. This could include review, assessment, and evaluation of all journey programs for impact, and optimization. This will drive desired Member behaviours and inform prioritization and reinvestment decisions
• Trend Analysis – Interpret Member/prospect data to identify journey triggers across lifecycle segments to drive desired Member behaviours.
• External Research – identify key business opportunities for growth by profiling journeys and assessing emerging needs through industry research and competitive analysis to help Marketing make the right decisions for the right Member at the right time
• Socialize – prepare and present regular reports on Member and prospect journey performance to senior management. Share insights and recommendations with stakeholders to inform future strategy.
• Audit & Optimize – continuously evaluate and refine reporting processes to ensure accuracy and relevancy of data.
• Senior Leadership – collaborate with the Senior Manager and other leaders across Meridian to develop communication flows and execute personalized touchpoints by implementing proven strategies that enhance the Member experience.
• Communicate – Map out Member journeys for approvals as well as identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.
• Strategy and Planning - participates and/or manages some project/journey/campaign implementation including Agile framework oversight, timelines, budget management and cross-functional employee collaboration.
• Subject Matter Advocate – to create a seamless and positive experience for Members and prospects, utilize SME knowledge to inform and enhance technology advancements and journey production.
• Corporate Strategy – drive Member loyalty and retention through ongoing iteration and optimization of existing journeys to help exponentially grow our Membership base and revenue into 2030 and beyond.

Benefits

• We have an inclusive and collaborative working environment that encourages creativity, curiosity, and celebrates success
• We provide you with the tools and technology needed to delight your candidates and clients
• You'll get to work with and learn from diverse industry leaders
• Hybrid work arrangements with in-person office time to collaborate, innovate and build relationships with your colleagues

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees