Manager, Email Marketing & SMS

WHO WE ARE

Indigo is a physical and digital place inspired by and filled with books, ideas, beautifully designed lifestyle products, and the creative people who help make it all happen. We believe in real books, living life fully and generously, being kind to each other and to the environment, and that stories — big and little — connect us. Indigo is our customer's happy place — for joyful moments of discovery and to connect with people who share their passion for reading, their belief in ideas, and their commitment to making the world a better and more beautiful place.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Our Mission is to inspire reading and enrich the lives of booklovers. As such, we believe in the power of people and their stories. We aim to attract top talent, nurture the potential of our employees, and create space for everyone to thrive. Our Guiding Principles are the few key ideas that are meant to influence everything we do, every day.

• We Will Hire, Inspire, Promote and Retain the Best
• We Will Be Customer Centric
• We Will Be Entrepreneurial
• We Will Be Committed to Caring About Each Other, Our Communities, and Our Environment
• We Will Be Committed to True and Shared Value Creation
• We Will Be Systems Thinking, Data Driven and AI enabled

Job Description

The Manager, Email Marketing & SMS oversees the strategy, development and maintenance of the email & SMS marketing calendars in close collaboration with the brand, trade, and merchandising teams, ensuring alignment with company priorities and seasonal campaigns, while supporting the strategic planning of Indigo’s personalization and automation roadmap.

As a key representative of the Email Marketing team in cross-functional strategic meetings, this individual plays a central role in shaping campaign strategy, briefing and execution processes, and performance reporting.

KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

• Drive email performance metrics, including open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and revenue contribution from email
• Create and execute an on-brand SMS strategy, setting and achieving clear benchmarks for growth, efficiency and effectiveness
• Ensure brand consistency and relevance in email creative and messaging across customer segments, both in triggered emails and campaigns

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Strategic & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Manage the day to day and maintain a very robust email marketing calendar to meet the needs of business – ensure it is up-to-date, and changes are communicated to key stakeholders (creative team, production team & merchants)
• Create & stand-up SMS strategy that addresses partnerships, data privacy, acquisition and content
• Proactively manage approval process ensuring milestones & interim deadlines are met to deploy emails on time, and error free
• Lead campaign analysis and reporting, providing insights and recommendations to optimize future campaigns
• Partner with brand, loyalty, site, print, and merchant teams to shape weekly and seasonal email and SMS plans
• Coordinate closely with creative, site, merchandising, brand, and data teams to align messaging, content, and segmentation strategies
• Act as the primary voice of the email marketing team in cross-functional campaign and brand meetings

Functional

Campaign Management & Optimization

• Execute email campaigns from concept brief to deployment
• Submit creative briefs aligned with business goals and customer experience
• Manage campaign content, stakeholder reviews and edits, ensuring milestones and interim deadlines are met to ensure on-time deployment
• Own quality assurance on all coded emails with production team to ensure products, content, legal, and links are correct to ensure error-free deployment
• Identify A/B testing opportunities; track and share learnings, make recommendations and implement them based on those learnings to improve performance and efficiency

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Own post-campaign analysis and reporting; identify trends and performance insights
• Track, compile and analyze email campaign results to ensure campaigns are meeting objectives
• Challenge the status quo by consistently identifying areas for improvement, diagnosing issues and working to resolve them
• Continuously optimize briefing and campaign development processes for efficiency and clarity
• Stay up to date with trends and best practices in email marketing and share this information with the marketing team
• Act as an advocate for the customer by placing them at the forefront of all decision-making and design processes

People

• Directly manage one team member, supporting their professional development and workload prioritization
• Encourage collaboration, accountability, and knowledge-sharing within the team.
• Provide coaching and feedback to elevate executional excellence and strategic thinking
• Set context; set appropriate team objectives at the start of the performance management cycle and measure employees against their related individual accountabilities
• Collaborate with others to drive flexible and iterative solutions, quickly and easily
• Share technical knowledge with others and actively seek to learn from those more knowledgeable than yourself
• Encourage others to freely share their point of view and be open to feedback

Cultural

• Model Indigo’s beliefs and convey a positive image in everything you do
• Celebrate diversity of thought and have an open mindset
• Take an active role in fostering a culture of continual learning, taking risks without the fear of making mistakes
• Embrace, champion and influence change through your team and/or the organization

SCOPE

Reports to: Senior Manager, Email Marketing

Manager once Removed (MOR): VP, Marketing Strategy & Omni Channel Communication

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Internal

• Email marketing team
• Brand Team
• Customer Intelligence team
• Creative Studio (Copy & Design)
• Online Merchandising Team
• Loyalty team
• Category Managers in various departments (Print, GM – Adult & Kids)
• Experiences team
• Store Operations
• Customer service

External

• Email Service Provider
• Agencies / Potential Partners (as needed)

Qualifications

Work Experience / Education / Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Business or a related field, or a combination of education & work experience deemed equivalent.
• Minimum 3 years progressive experience in email / brand marketing within a fast-paced retail or e-commerce environment.
• Minimum 1 year of experience in people management.
• Experience in building and executing integrated marketing campaigns with multiple stakeholders.
• Proficiency in project management tools (e.g., Trello, Asana) and Microsoft Office.

Competencies / Skills / Attributes

• Ability to work in a very fast-paced environment.
• Strong understanding of email KPIs, customer segmentation, and deliverability best practices.
• Ability to manage multiple highly detailed tasks accurately while reacting with urgency and reprioritizing as needed to ensure all objectives and project deadlines are met.
• High attention to detail with a bias for action and problem-solving.
• An analytical mind, who is a strategic thinker paired with hands-on executional ability.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.

Additional Information

At Indigo, all applications submitted are reviewed in detail by our HR team. In certain aspects of the hiring process artificial intelligence (AI) tools may be used, specifically for screening and assessments. These tools support our team and are used to help bring relevant criteria to the foreground and do not replace human judgment. We are committed to using AI responsibly, fairly, and in compliance with applicable employment and anti-discrimination laws. We regularly review these tools to help prevent bias or discrimination.

At Indigo, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility are core to our values. We integrate these principles into our training, policies, and hiring practices and continuously evolve to reflect the needs of the communities we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and lived experiences, including but not limited to individuals who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and persons with disabilities. If you require an accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact Human Resources at [email protected]

This posting is for a current opportunity within Indigo.