Director of Retention & Lifecycle

Role Summary

The Director of Retention & Lifecycle owns the end-to-end customer journey post-acquisition, with a focus on conversion rate optimization, lifecycle marketing, subscription growth, and customer lifetime value (LTV).

This role is responsible for maximizing the value of every customer by optimizing conversion rate, offer strategy and funnel performance, owned channel performance (email, SMS, community), and subscription performance and retention.

The Director of Retention & Lifecycle partners closely with Brand (messaging & creative) and Growth (traffic & acquisition) to ensure a high-performing, cohesive customer journey from first touch through repeat purchase and long-term retention. The Director of Retention reports to the VP of Marketing.

This role is based out of our headquarters in Dripping Springs, TX (Austin, TX metro).

Who We Are

Heart & Soil redefines premium nutrition by offering the world's highest form of nutrition through its desiccated organ supplements. Our mission is to inspire and guide people towards radical health and vitality by providing convenient access to the nutrient benefits of organs. Our ingredients are sourced from grass-fed and finished regenerative farms and we do not include any fillers in our supplements.

We are committed to providing real, Animal-based forms of nutrition to our customers. We are a small team passionate about a cause bigger than ourselves, bringing radical health to others and ending unnecessary chronic disease.

Who You Are

You are a highly analytical minded operator who thinks in systems, funnels, and customer behavior. You have a strong bias toward action and experimentation, with a track record of improving conversion, retention, and lifetime value through testing and iteration. You are comfortable balancing short-term revenue performance with long-term customer value, and you know how to make data-informed decisions without losing sight of the customer experience. You are a strong cross-functional partner who can collaborate effectively with Brand and Growth while maintaining clear ownership of your domain.

Core Ownership

• Email & SMS: You own email and SMS as primary lifecycle channels, responsible for driving engagement, repeat purchase, and revenue through campaigns and automated flows. This includes segmentation, personalization, and performance optimization across the full customer journey. You partner with Brand to ensure messaging and creative consistency, while owning how those messages are structured and deployed to maximize performance.

• Community (Heart & Soil Community): You own the community as a retention and engagement channel, ensuring it drives ongoing interaction, loyalty, and repeat purchase behavior. This includes developing programming, content, and experiences that deepen the customer relationship over time. You collaborate with Brand on voice and content, while ensuring the community contributes meaningfully to retention and LTV.

• Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): You own site-wide and campaign-level conversion performance, including landing pages, product pages, and overall funnel experience. This includes developing and executing a testing roadmap across UX, messaging hierarchy, and page structure. You partner with Growth to align on traffic intent and with Brand to maintain messaging integrity while optimizing for conversion.

• Offer Strategy: You own the design and performance of offers across the business, including bundles, promotions, and subscription incentives. Your responsibility is to improve conversion and AOV while protecting long-term brand value and profitability. You collaborate with Brand to ensure offers align with positioning and with Growth to ensure they scale efficiently across paid channels.

• Subscription Optimization: You own the performance of the subscription program, including conversion from first purchase, churn reduction, and winback. This includes optimizing the subscription experience, testing incentives, and identifying lifecycle interventions that increase retention and LTV. You are responsible for ensuring subscription becomes a primary driver of long-term customer value.

• Boxing & Post-Purchase Experience: You own key elements of the post-purchase experience that influence retention and repeat purchase behavior, including packaging, inserts, and unboxing moments. Your focus is on identifying opportunities to improve customer experience in ways that drive measurable increases in engagement and LTV. You partner with Brand and CX to ensure these experiences reflect the brand while delivering business impact.

Responsibilities

• Channel Ownership & Execution: You are responsible for the strategy and performance of all lifecycle channels, including email, SMS, and community. This includes optimizing lifecycle flows, managing campaign calendars, and continuously improving performance through testing and iteration. You ensure these channels are significant drivers of revenue, engagement, and retention.

• Team Leadership & Management: You are responsible for building, leading, and developing the retention and lifecycle team, including full-time employees, contractors, and agency partners. This includes setting clear priorities, creating accountability, and ensuring the team operates efficiently and at a high standard. You are expected to identify talent gaps and scale the team appropriately as the business grows.

• KPIs & Reporting: You own key retention and lifecycle KPIs, including conversion rate, repeat purchase rate, subscription performance, and customer lifetime value. You are responsible for tracking, analyzing, and reporting on performance, as well as identifying opportunities for improvement. You bring clear insights and recommendations to leadership, grounded in data and business impact.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: You work closely with the Director of Brand Marketing to ensure messaging, creative, and customer experience are consistent across all lifecycle touchpoints. You partner with the Director of Growth to ensure traffic is effectively converted through high-performing funnels and aligned offers. You play a critical role in campaign execution by translating brand concepts into optimized conversion experiences and ensuring alignment across the full customer journey.

KPIs & Success Metrics

• Primary KPIs

  • Conversion Rate (Sitewide & Landing Pages)

  • Subscription % on First Order

  • Subscription Refill & Churn Rate

  • Non-Subscription Repeat Rate

  • Retention Revenue

• Secondary KPIs

  • Email & SMS Performance

  • Community Growth & Engagement

  • Average Order Value (AOV)

  • Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

  • Winback & Reactivation Performance

What Success Looks Like

• Traffic consistently converts into customers efficiently, with improving conversion rates and minimal reliance on discounting.

• Subscription becomes a meaningful revenue driver, with higher adoption on first purchase and reduced churn over time.

• Customers are retained and reactivated effectively, driving growth in repeat purchase rate and overall lifetime value.

• Email, SMS, and community are strong revenue channels with high engagement and a cohesive customer experience.

• Lifecycle strategies and offers are continuously tested and improved, with clear insights and measurable impact.

• Brand, Growth, and Retention are tightly aligned, resulting in campaigns that translate into high-performing funnels and a seamless customer journey.

What You'll Get

• Impactful Role: Join a passionate team at a crucial stage to influence the health of millions

• Growth Opportunities: Advancement based on exceptional performance

• Competitive Compensation: Attractive salary and comprehensive benefits including health, vision, dental, 401K matching, PTO, parental leave, and more

• Lifetime Gym membership, Annual Tribe Trips

• HQ amenities (onsite gym, sauna, cold plunges, full kitchen)