Director, Relationship Marketing at Vail Resorts

Job description

Our mission is to create the Experience of a Lifetime for our employees, so they can, in turn, create the Experience of a Lifetime for our guests. We own and operate the most renowned destination resorts in the world as well as regional and local ski areas outside major cities, and connect them all through one unrivaled network. We are looking for ambitious leaders, innovators and creators to join our talented team. If you’re ready to pursue your fullest potential, we want to get to know you! Candidates for year-round positions are reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications will be accepted up to 90 days after the posting date, or until the position is filled (whichever is first). Job Summary: The Director, RM Strategy - Acquire & Database Health leads the Acquire portfolio within the enterprise Relationship Marketing strategy. Reporting to the Senior Director, this role is responsible in ensuring we are not just marketing to the same guests more effectively but continuously growing the number of guests we can reach, activate, and convert. It fills a strategic gap by providing dedicated ownership of acquisition, onboarding, database health, and early-lifecycle growth, complementing the team's existing engagement and retention focus. The Director will help advance the evolution from batch-and-blast campaign planning to connected lifecycle marketing built around guest needs, signals, journeys, and measurable outcomes. As the strategic lead for acquisition and activation, this person develops the strategy, roadmap, standards, and recommendations for database health, marketability, strategic partnerships, new-subscriber growth, referral programs, channel governance, direct mail acquisition, welcome and onboarding journeys, first-purchase conversion, app acquisition and push opt-in growth, and win-back or re-engagement. The Director also contributes thought leadership and reusable practices that strengthen the broader RM organization across Email, SMS, Push, In-App, Direct Mail, and emerging owned channels. Success requires the ability to translate the Vail Resorts RM vision into an actionable acquisition and activation roadmap while working hands-on to diagnose opportunities, build strategies and business cases, align stakeholders, and advance journeys, tests, and capability priorities. The role will leads through influence across RM Strategy, Activation, Creative, Analytics, Audience Management, MarTech, Product, Resort Marketing, Pass, Hospitality, Retail/Rental, and Operations. Job Specifications: • Starting Wage: $150,000 - $185,000 + Annual Bonus + Equity • Employment Type: Year Round • Shift Type: Full Time hours • Minimum Age: At least 18 years of age • Housing Availability: No Job Responsibilities: 1. Strategic Partnership & RM Thought Leadership • Partner with the Senior Director to shape enterprise RM direction and lead the Acquire/Database Health portfolio within that strategy. • Translate the Acquire north star into a sequenced roadmap, business cases, priorities, and measurable outcomes. • Serve as a senior strategic advisor to the Senior Director and cross-functional partners, bringing a clear point of view on guest growth, acquisition, activation, personalization, automation, and emerging practices. • Contribute reusable frameworks and standards that strengthen the broader RM Strategy Team and go-to-market strategies. 2. Guest Growth, Marketability & Acquisition • Own strategies for database health, consent and marketability, new-subscriber growth, referrals, strategic partnerships, and channel governance. • Lead direct mail and digital acquisition strategies that move prospects and newly known guests toward engagement and first purchase. • Own welcome and onboarding, first-purchase conversion, app acquisition, push opt-in growth, and win-back or re-engagement strategies. • Partner with Audience Management, Analytics, Product, and Technology to remove growth barriers and expand actionable audiences 3. Lifecycle Journey Strategy & Orchestration • Lead connected acquisition, onboarding, activation, and re-engagement journeys across Email, SMS, Push, In-App, Direct Mail, and emerging channels. • Define guest need states, audience intent, triggers, sequencing, cadence, personalization, suppression logic, content requirements, and success measures. • Balance scheduled communications, triggered journeys, and real-time experiences based on guest need and business value. • Identify automation and capability priorities that improve relevance, speed, scale, and conversion. 4. Portfolio Strategy, Governance & Guest Experience • Lead contact and channel governance for the portfolio, including prioritization, frequency, eligibility, suppression, overlap, and exceptions. • Maintain portfolio visibility across brands, products, journeys, and channels; balance brand and LOB context with a cohesive Vail Resorts guest relationship; escalate enterprise trade-offs as applicable. • Create clear briefs, journey standards, decision frameworks, and strategy packages that are ready for Operations & Enablement. 5. Performance, Experimentation & Optimization • Define business objectives, KPIs, measurement plans, and test hypotheses with Analytics and Test & Learn partners. • Assess performance using incrementality, marketability, engagement, conversion, visitation, units, revenue, journey progression, and guest-experience signals. • Turn insights into optimization decisions, investment recommendations, and executive narratives. • Maintain a learning agenda that scales proven approaches and redesigns or stops lower-value work. 6. Cross-Functional Leadership & Transformation • Lead Acquire-focused PODs with clear objectives, decision rights, deliverables, and success measures. • Provide complete strategy packages while RM Operations & Enablement owns feasibility, readiness, execution workflow, QA, deployment, and offshore delivery. • Align Brand, Resort Marketing, Product, Technology, Analytics, Creative, Sales, and Operations around acquisition priorities and trade-offs. • Influence new ways of working and mentor RM strategists without formal people-management responsibility. Key Success Measures • Reachable guest-base growth, database health, consent, marketability, and profile completeness. • New-subscriber growth and performance of acquisition partnerships, referrals, and direct mail. • Welcome and onboarding engagement, first-purchase conversion, and time to activation. • App acquisition, push opt-in growth, and cross-channel activation of newly known guests. • Incremental units, revenue, visitation, or customer value attributable to Acquire strategies. • Win-back and re-engagement performance across priority audiences. • Testing velocity, insight adoption, journey optimization, and scaling of proven approaches. • Strategy completeness, stakeholder alignment, and activation readiness. Job Requirements: • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, Analytics, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience. • 10+ years of progressive experience in CRM, lifecycle marketing, relationship marketing, loyalty, customer engagement, or a related discipline. • Experience leading enterprise or portfolio-level strategy across multiple brands, products, business units, or complex guest journeys. • Demonstrated success building acquisition, onboarding, conversion, engagement, retention, re-engagement, or win-back strategies that delivered measurable business outcomes. • Deep expertise in audience segmentation, contact strategy, experimentation, marketing automation, triggered communications, personalization, and cross-channel orchestration. • Experience working with customer data platforms, CRM or marketing automation platforms, mobile engagement platforms, analytics tools, and marketing databases. • Ability to convert ambiguous business problems and complex data into clear strategies, roadmaps, executive recommendations, and action plans. • Exceptional influence, facilitation, communication, and stakeholder-management skills in a highly matrixed environment. • Demonstrated ability to lead transformation and drive adoption without relying on formal authority. • Strong financial and analytical acumen, including the ability to interpret performance, develop business cases, and connect marketing activity to guest and business value. Preferred Qualifications • Experience in hospitality, travel, destination, retail, loyalty, subscription, or another high-consideration consumer business. • Experience designing lifecycle programs across email, SMS, push, in-app, direct mail, and emerging owned channels. • Familiarity with guest identity, householding, consent and marketability, predictive modeling, journey orchestration, and AI-enabled personalization. • Experience establishing enterprise governance, operating models, decision rights, and reusable strategic frameworks. • Experience partnering with offshore or shared-service execution teams while retaining strategic ownership and quality controls. • MBA or advanced degree is helpful but not required. The expected Total Compensation for this role is $150,000 - $185,000 + Annual Bonus + Equity. Individual compensation decisions are based on a variety of factors. Job 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 Full Time roles are eligible for the above, plus: • 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 Vail Resorts offers a ‘Hybrid’ work environment where employees living within 50 miles of the Broomfield office work on-site Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and have flexibility to work off-site on Mondays and Fridays. Employees living outside of a commutable distance can work remotely from British Columbia, Washington D.C., and the 16 U.S. states* in which we currently operate. This includes: California, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington State, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Please note that the ability to work in person or off-site, and the particulars related to such work, are subject to change at any time; and, accordingly, the Company reserves the right to change its policies and/or require in-person/in-office work or off-site work at any time in its sole discretion. In completing this application, and when submitting related documentation, applicants may redact information that identifies their age, date of birth, and/or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. We follow all federal, state, and local laws including restrictions on child/minor labor. Minors hired into this position will not be asked or permitted to engage in any activities restricted to adult workers. Vail Resorts is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law. Requisition ID 518063 Reference Date: 10/02/2026 Job Code Function: Digital & Channel Experience

Requirements

Must-haves

Candidates for year-round positions are reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications will be accepted up to 90 days after the posting date, or until the position is filled (whichever is first).
Employment Type: Year Round
Shift Type: Full Time hours
Minimum Age: At least 18 years of age
Housing Availability: No
Strategic Partnership & RM Thought Leadership
Partner with the Senior Director to shape enterprise RM direction and lead the Acquire/Database Health portfolio within that strategy.
Translate the Acquire north star into a sequenced roadmap, business cases, priorities, and measurable outcomes.
Serve as a senior strategic advisor to the Senior Director and cross-functional partners, bringing a clear point of view on guest growth, acquisition, activation, personalization, automation, and emerging practices.
Contribute reusable frameworks and standards that strengthen the broader RM Strategy Team and go-to-market strategies.
Guest Growth, Marketability & Acquisition
Own strategies for database health, consent and marketability, new-subscriber growth, referrals, strategic partnerships, and channel governance.

Nice-to-haves

Starting Wage: $150,000 - $185,000 + Annual Bonus + Equity
Experience in hospitality, travel, destination, retail, loyalty, subscription, or another high-consideration consumer business.
Experience designing lifecycle programs across email, SMS, push, in-app, direct mail, and emerging owned channels.
Familiarity with guest identity, householding, consent and marketability, predictive modeling, journey orchestration, and AI-enabled personalization.
Experience establishing enterprise governance, operating models, decision rights, and reusable strategic frameworks.
Experience partnering with offshore or shared-service execution teams while retaining strategic ownership and quality controls.
The expected Total Compensation for this role is $150,000 - $185,000 + Annual Bonus + Equity. Individual compensation decisions are based on a variety of factors.
Job 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
Excellent training and professional development
Full Time roles are eligible for the above, plus:

Application prep

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Platform: successfactors
Effort: medium

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Health Insurance

Dental

Vision

401(K)

Professional Development