Director, Lifecycle Marketing

Kensington delivers the world’s most personal travel experiences. We bring to life each client’s desire to travel in a way that’s tailored specifically for them, in the company of local private guides who ensure that they enjoy the authentic best of their destination. The result is a unique journey rich in memories that last a lifetime.

We achieve this because of our extraordinary people, experts with deep knowledge of their destinations. For over 120 countries worldwide, and across each of our brands – Tours, Cruises, Villas, Yachts, Jets, and Air.

To learn more about Kensington, visit kensingtontours.com.

Overview

The Director, Lifecycle Marketing leads Kensington’s customer-journey Centre of Excellence, a dedicated function responsible for driving repeat travel, direct lead growth, and customer lifetime value across all Kensington brands (Tours, Cruise, UltraLuxe, Vacations).

Reporting to the VP, Marketing & Partnerships, this role owns the end-to-end customer journey from first inquiry through lifelong loyalty. The Director will architect, automate, and optimize personalized communications and experiences turning one-time travelers into lifelong Kensington clients. This is a strategic and operational leadership role requiring a blend of lifecycle strategy, CRM expertise, analytics fluency, segmentation, and cross-functional influence.

Key Responsibilities

Loyalty, Retention & Repeat Growth

• Lead Kensington’s lifecycle, loyalty, retention, and repeat-traveler strategy across all brands.

• Embed repeat traveler growth and direct lead generation as core KPIs across the marketing and commercial organization.

• Architect the FY26 Repeat Strategy and 360° Engagement Engine, integrating retention, reactivation, and referral programs into a unified engagement framework.

• Design and operationalize full journeys (pre-trip → in-trip → post-trip → reactivation) with personalized touchpoints at each stage.

• Partner with Sales, Product, Integrated Marketing, Client Services, and Destination Experts to ensure consistent, high-impact CX across all touchpoints.

• Develop segment-specific retention playbooks for first-time, repeat, luxury, UltraLuxe, Cruise, and Vacations clients.

• Manage customer reactivation programs and loyalty pilots to improve retention and repeat bookings.

CRM, Data & Personalization

• Oversee CRM strategy and all data-driven communications for both direct customers and travel advisor networks.

• Lead and mentor the CRM & Loyalty team in building automated, segmented, behavioral and propensity-based lifecycle journeys.

• Support the Manager & Coordinator, Email Marketing in scaling lifecycle campaigns, ensuring flawless execution and segmentation accuracy.

• Drive the Contact Strategy Transformation, optimizing frequency, sequencing, channel mix (email, SMS, direct mail), and personalization.

• Partner with Data & Analytics and Marketing Operations to strengthen CRM infrastructure (HubSpot), improve data hygiene, and standardize reporting dashboards.

• Develop data architectures, audience hierarchies, and segmentation logic across brands.

• Introduce frameworks for propensity modeling, lead scoring, predictive signals, and behavioral segmentation.

• Maintain governance and data integrity across CRM, ESP, and martech systems.

• Use traveler profiles, trip history, and predictive indicators to deliver hyper-personalized storytelling, recommendations, and offers.

Loyalty, Gifting & High-Touch Experience Programs

• Own the strategy, structure, and evolution of Kensington’s Loyalty & Gifting Program, including tiers, benefits, and measurement.

• Design high-touch moments (anniversary gifts, surprise-and-delight, Memory Book, Luggage Tag program, Pre-Trip Experience).

• Oversee NPS, CSAT, and advocacy journeys; design post-trip experiences that drive rebooking and referrals.

• Collaborate with Brand, Product, Partnerships, and Customer Care to deliver exclusive offers, content, and co-branded activations.

• Establish loyalty and gifting KPIs, reporting, and optimization loops to track participation, sentiment, and repeat impact.

• Partner with external organizations (e.g., Giants of Africa) to align engagement with social impact initiatives.

Lifecycle Campaigns, Automation & Partner Integration

• Lead the development of integrated, multi-channel lifecycle campaigns across email, paid media, SMS, content, and direct mail.

• Oversee the Manager and Coordinator, Email Marketing in delivering segmented, automated, and behavior-driven campaigns.

• Integrate partner, tourism-board, and co-op opportunities into lifecycle journeys across Tours, Cruise, UltraLuxe, and Vacations.

• Architect and optimize automated workflows across pre-trip, on-trip, and post-trip journeys, leveraging AI and personalization.

• Manage CRM platform enhancements, ESP integrations, predictive send-time optimization, and dynamic content capabilities.

• Maintain a rolling campaign calendar aligned to seasonality, brand priorities, product trends, and partnership activations.

• Lead A/B and multivariate testing across lifecycle journeys to maximize engagement and conversion.

Performance Measurement & Optimization

• Define and track core lifecycle KPIs, including:

• Repeat Travelers – YoY returning clients

• Direct Rebookings – % rebooking through owned digital channels

• Retention Rate – within 12–24 months

• Lead Volume & RAQs – lifecycle-driven contribution

• Loyalty Engagement – tier activity, benefit usage, NPS

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

• Unsubscribes & Data Health

• Build and maintain dashboards and executive scorecards for leadership review.

• Present quarterly strategic insights, lifecycle performance, and CX optimization recommendations to executive leadership.

• Foster a data-driven, test-and-learn culture across CRM, email, automation, and engagement programs.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Organizational Impact

• Lead, coach, and develop a growing lifecycle organization (CRM, Loyalty, Email).

• Serve as a key member of the Marketing leadership team, contributing to strategic planning, forecasting, and CX strategy.

• Champion customer-centricity, AI-enabled marketing, personalization, and automation across the organization.

• Partner closely with Integrated Marketing, Brand, Partnerships, Sales, and Operations to ensure lifecycle programs drive overall commercial objectives.

• Manage key agency, martech, and strategic vendor relationships supporting CRM, automation, personalization, and loyalty.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field (MBA an asset).

• 8–10+ years in CRM, lifecycle, retention, or loyalty within luxury travel, hospitality, or premium consumer brands.

• Proven track record driving repeat traveler growth, retention, or CLV improvements at scale.

• Expertise in CRM/automation platforms (HubSpot preferred).

• Strong data literacy and ability to turn insights into segmentation and personalization strategies.

• Experience designing loyalty, gifting, or advocacy programs.

• Excellent communication, leadership, and cross-functional influencing skills.

• Passion for travel, personalization, and exceptional guest experiences.

Cultural Fit

• Customer-obsessed with a deep passion for loyalty and experience design.

• Strategic and hands-on, comfortable building new capabilities in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

• Collaborative, curious, and driven to elevate CX across journeys and channels.

• Believes loyalty is earned through personalization, empathy, and service—not incentives alone.

• Embodies Kensington’s values of excellence, curiosity, connection, and crafting unforgettable journeys.

We thank all candidates for their interest however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.