Direct Marketing Manager

The Direct Marketing Manager is responsible for leading Lula's direct-to-customer marketing strategy across the full customer lifecycle. The role owns the performance of owned communication channels, including email, SMS, WhatsApp, push notifications and outbound communications, to drive customer acquisition, activation, engagement, conversion, retention and cross-sell.

Working closely with Product, Sales, Credit, Data and Growth Marketing, the Direct Marketing Manager develops data-driven lifecycle strategies, builds scalable automated customer journeys and continuously optimises performance to maximise customer lifetime value and commercial outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute Lula's direct marketing strategy across the customer lifecycle to drive acquisition, engagement, conversion, retention and revenue growth.
• Own and optimise customer journeys across email, SMS, WhatsApp, push notifications and other direct communication channels.
• Lead lifecycle marketing, automation, segmentation and personalisation initiatives to deliver relevant, high-performing customer experiences.
• Drive continuous performance improvement through data analysis, experimentation and conversion optimisation.
• Partner with Product, Sales, Credit, Data and Growth Marketing teams to deliver integrated customer growth strategies.
• Ensure best practice in data governance, compliance and platform management across all direct marketing activities.
• Monitor and report on channel performance, providing actionable insights and recommendations to stakeholders.
• Lead and develop the Direct Marketing team, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation and continuous improvement.

The Experience & Skills We're Looking For

• 5+ years' experience in CRM, lifecycle, or direct marketing.
• Grade 12 essential; a tertiary qualification in Marketing, Economics, Finance, or Business is advantageous.
• Proven experience managing multi-channel customer communication programmes.
• Experience with customer segmentation, personalisation, and lifecycle strategy.
• Strong analytical capability with the ability to interpret data and make commercial recommendations.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives involving Product, Sales, and Data teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Knowledge of experimentation frameworks and conversion rate optimisation.

Tech Stack

• CRM & Automation: Iterable, Braze, Salesforce Marketing Cloud (or similar)
• Analytics & Data: GA4, Looker, SQL
• Communication & Messaging Channels: Email, SMS, WhatsApp, Push Notifications

Key Competencies

• Customer-centric thinking
• Commercial acumen
• Data-driven decision making
• Strategic planning
• Collaboration and influencing
• Leadership and coaching
• Innovation and continuous improvement
• Problem solving
• Results orientation
• Ownership and accountability