Sr. Manager, Relationship Marketing at Vail Resorts in Hybrid, Remote, US

Job description

• Vail Resorts is reimagining Relationship Marketing from a channel-driven function into a connected Guest Engagement ecosystem that delivers personalized, relevant, and timely communications across every stage of the guest experience with Vail Resort brands and associated products. This role will play a critical leadership role in advancing that transformation.
• The Senior Manager, Relationship Marketing is responsible for developing and executing CRM strategies that deepen guest relationships, increase loyalty, drive repeat visitation, and support long-term lifetime value. This leader will oversee relationship marketing programs across Email, SMS, In-App, Push, and emerging owned channels while partnering closely with Brand, Analytics, Product, Technology, Resort Marketing, and Operations teams.
• Beyond campaign execution, this role will help shape the future of guest engagement at Vail Resorts by evolving from promotional messaging toward guest-signal driven journeys, automation, personalization, and real-time engagement experiences that create a seamless relationship across brands, resorts, and business lines.

Responsibilities

• Guest-Centric CRM Strategy Leadership
• Lead the development and optimization of relationship marketing strategies designed to increase acquisition, activation, retention, loyalty, and win-back outcomes.
• Build guest-first contact strategies that leverage behavioral signals, preferences, engagement history, and purchase data.
• Shift communication approaches from campaign-based execution toward always-on, journey-based engagement.
• Drive the evolution of communications across multiple guest touchpoints and stages of the guest experience and communications.
• Omni-Channel Guest Engagement
• Own strategic planning and execution across Email, SMS, Push Notifications, In-App, Direct Mail, and future CRM channels.
• Develop integrated communication strategies that create a cohesive guest experience across brands and lines of business.
• Ensure content, cadence, targeting, and channel selection align to guest needs rather than siloed business objectives.
• Partner with channel owners and stakeholders to continuously improve engagement performance and guest experience.
• Personalization, Data & Automation
• Champion the use of customer data, audience segmentation, experimentation, and predictive insights to improve engagement.
• Partner with Analytics, Data Engineering, CDP/Audience Management, and MarTech teams to expand personalization capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to increase automation, trigger-based communications, and orchestration across channels.
• Support the development of scalable audience and journey frameworks that improve efficiency and relevance.
• Business & Performance Ownership
• Own channel and program performance against key guest engagement, loyalty, visitation and unit/revenue objectives.
• Establish KPIs, measurement plans, testing frameworks, and reporting strategies that demonstrate business impact.
• Use data-driven insights to inform priorities, optimize guest journeys, and influence decision-making.
• Drive continuous improvement through experimentation and performance analysis.
• Future-State Guest Relationship Ecosystem
• Help lead the transformation toward a connected Guest Relationship Ecosystem that supports proactive, personalized engagement.
• Contribute to initiatives involving guest identity, unified guest profiles, journey orchestration, operational communications, and next-generation CRM capabilities.
• Partner across business functions to identify opportunities to remove friction and create more connected guest experiences.
• Act as a change leader who can translate long-term vision into actionable roadmaps and measurable outcomes.
• Help transform Vail Resorts from a campaign-centric model to a connected, guest-first engagement ecosystem.
• Leadership & Cross-Functional Influence
• Lead and develop a team of CRM and marketing professionals through coaching, performance management, and career development.
• Build strong relationships across Brand Marketing, Product, Technology, Analytics, Resort Operations, Sales, and Executive Leadership.
• Operate effectively in a highly matrixed environment while driving alignment around guest-first priorities.
• Influence enterprise strategies through strong communication, strategic thinking, and data-informed recommendations.
• Lead the team on best practices for email engagement, marketing automation, journey-based trigger communications, dynamic content from multiple data points, email content enhancements, list-building, database management, deliverability, data integrity, and CAN-SPAM/CASL/GDPR compliance.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications or a related degree
• 8+ years of CRM, lifecycle marketing, relationship marketing, or customer engagement experience
• 3+ years of people leadership experience managing high-performing teams
• Experience using Microsoft Office (including Excel and PowerPoint), HTML, CSS, Omniture, Exact Target, Adobe Marketing Cloud, Marketing Automation Softwarex
• Deep expertise in email marketing, customer lifecycle management, segmentation, testing, and marketing automation
• Experience utilizing CDPs, marketing automation platforms, CRM systems, marketing databases; email marketing, campaign management, and analytics tools
• Proven track record of driving measurable business results through customer engagement programs; experience building and executing email campaigns
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights
• Exceptional communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills
• Experience leading change, influencing cross-functional partners, and operating effectively in ambiguity
• Strong understanding of or willingness to learn B2C email marketing strategy & tactics nice to have; preferably in hospitality, travel, or ski company
• Track record of developing data-driven campaigns resulting in solid business results is necessary
• Ability to articulate and champion email marketing best practices
• Excellent project management skills
• Experience managing direct reports with a focus on leadership and career development
• Experience in hospitality, travel, destination, retail, loyalty, subscription, or high-consideration consumer businesses
• Familiarity with customer data platforms, AI-enabled personalization, journey orchestration, and predictive marketing
• Experience building lifecycle programs that span multiple brands, products, or business units
• MBA or advanced degree preferred but not required
• Management of cross-functional relationships, especially with IT
• Experience with matrixed organizations
• Managed external vendor relationships
• Deep experience with email service platforms and customer data platforms
• Experience forecasting and managing a budget
• Ability to both develop and deliver presentations
• Ability to read and interpret financial and analytical reports
• Database Analytics skills (SQL, R, etc).

Skills

Required

• HTML
• CSS
• Omniture
• Exact Target
• Adobe Marketing Cloud
• Marketing Automation Software
• Email marketing
• Customer lifecycle management
• Segmentation
• Testing
• Marketing automation
• CDPs

Preferred

• Familiarity with customer data platforms
• AI-enabled personalization
• Journey orchestration
• Predictive marketing
• Experience with matrixed organizations
• Managed external vendor relationships
• Database Analytics skills (SQL, R, etc.)

Benefits

• Ski/Mountain Perks! Free passes for employees, employee discounted lift tickets for friends and family AND free ski lessons
• MORE employee discounts on lodging, food, gear, and mountain shuttles
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Employee Assistance Program
• Excellent training and professional development
• Health Insurance; Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, and Vision Insurance plans (for eligible seasonal employees after working 500 hours)
• Free ski passes for dependents
• Critical Illness and Accident plans
• The expected Total Compensation for this role is $107,000 - $150,000 + Annual Bonus. Individual compensation decisions are based on a variety of factors.