Head of Loyalty & Retention

Location: Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, SL8 5YS  (Hybrid – min. 2 days in office)
Reporting to: CCO

We’re looking for a commercially driven Head of Loyalty & Retention to lead the next phase of customer growth at Virgin Experience Days across the UK & US.

This role goes beyond traditional CRM. You will own and evolve our existing paid membership programme, Memory Makers+, transforming it into a fully integrated ecosystem across CRM, app and gifting occasions.

Your mission is to make our customers better gifters - driving repeat behaviour in a low-frequency category by embedding Virgin Experience Days into key life moments through membership, personalisation and timely reminders.

You’ll play a critical role in shifting the business from reliance on paid channels to high-performing, owned, habit-forming engagement.

You’ll be responsible for

Memory Makers+ (Membership Ownership & Growth)

• Take full ownership of Memory Makers+, evolving the proposition to deliver clear, compelling value for customers

• Refine and communicate the positioning: helping customers become better, more thoughtful gifters

• Improve member acquisition, engagement, retention and profitability

• Ensure Memory Makers+ is fully integrated across CRM, app experience and gift reminder journeys

• Continuously test and optimise benefits (e.g. flexibility, exclusivity, convenience, inspiration)

Gift Reminder & Occasion Strategy

• Own and scale a best-in-class gift reminder programme (birthdays, anniversaries, key occasions)

• Drive adoption of reminders through smart capture points across web, app and CRM

• Integrate reminders into Memory Makers+, enhancing the value of membership

• Optimise reminder timing, messaging and channels to maximise conversion and incremental revenue

• Build a clear proposition around “never miss a moment” gifting

App Engagement & Habit Formation

• Lead the customer engagement strategy for our app, ensuring it becomes central to repeat behaviour

• Integrate membership benefits and reminders seamlessly into the app experience

• Drive habitual engagement through personalised content, prompts and gifting inspiration

• Partner with Product to prioritise features that increase frequency, retention and LTV

CRM & Lifecycle Marketing

• Own the end-to-end CRM strategy across email, SMS, push and in-app messaging

• Build advanced segmentation and lifecycle journeys to increase relevance and conversion

• Shift channel mix toward owned channels, reducing reliance on paid search

• Deliver highly personalised, occasion-led communication strategies

Data, Insight & Performance

• Use cohort analysis and behavioural data to identify opportunities to increase repeat rate and frequency

• Track performance across membership, reminders and CRM, linking activity to incremental revenue

• Build a robust test-and-learn culture across all retention initiatives

• Translate insight into clear commercial priorities and roadmap decisions

Leadership & Cross-functional Influence

• Lead and develop the CRM/Loyalty function (direct and matrix teams)

• Work closely with Product, Tech, Brand, Performance Marketing and Analytics

• Influence senior stakeholders and secure investment in long-term retention and loyalty growth

What success looks like (Key Metrics)

You will be accountable for delivering measurable improvements across:

Customer & Revenue Metrics

• Repeat Purchase Rate (%)

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)

• Retention Rate (cohort-based)

• Purchase Frequency (orders per customer per year)

• Revenue from existing customers (%)

Memory Makers+ (Membership)

• Membership penetration (% of customer base)

• Member acquisition rate & cost per acquisition

• Member retention / churn rate

• Member vs non-member repeat rate uplift

• Revenue & profitability of Memory Makers+

• Engagement with membership benefits

Gift Reminder Performance

• Gift reminder adoption rate (% of customers setting reminders)

• Average number of reminders per customer

• Reminder-to-purchase conversion rate (CVR)

• Revenue driven by reminders

• Incremental uplift vs non-reminder cohorts

App Performance

• Monthly Active Users (MAU) / Daily Active Users (DAU)

• App-driven revenue contribution (%)

• Repeat purchases via app

• Push notification engagement & conversion

• Membership and reminder engagement within app

CRM Channel Effectiveness

• Owned channel revenue contribution (%)

• Email/SMS/Push conversion rates

• Engagement rates (open, click, active users)

• Unsubscribe / opt-out rates

Efficiency & Growth

• Reduction in paid media dependency (esp. paid search)

• Cost per repeat purchase

• Incremental revenue driven by CRM, membership and reminders

• Proven experience driving repeat behaviour in low-frequency, mid-AOV categories (ecommerce, retail, travel, gifting or similar)

• Strong track record owning and optimising membership or loyalty programmes

• Experience building trigger-based CRM programmes (e.g. reminders, lifecycle, behavioural triggers)

• Deep expertise in multi-channel CRM strategy and execution

• Strong commercial and analytical mindset, with experience in cohort analysis and segmentation

• Experience working closely with Product & Tech teams to deliver customer-facing features (e.g. app, personalisation, reminder capture)

• Ability to connect customer insight to tangible revenue outcomes

• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills

Why this role matters

This is a pivotal role in transforming Virgin Experience Days from a one-off purchase business into a habit-driven, occasion-led brand.

By connecting Memory Makers+, app engagement and gift reminders, you will help customers become better gifters, while unlocking significant repeat revenue and long-term customer value.

• Time for you: 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell up to 2 days each year

• Freedom to work your way: 2 days in-office (Tuesdays a mandatory in-office day), Flexi-working hours around our core 10-4, so your day works for you (8.5 hours per day)

• Wellbeing that works: Access to an award-winning employee assistance programme; Health Plan cover (plus family add-ons) with cash back for a variety of health & wellbeing costs; Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes (post probation).

• Future proofing you (and your finances): Company pension (5% you, 3% us) after 3 months; Discretionary bonus and life assurance after probation.
  

• Giving back & all the anti-ordinary extras: 2 volunteer days each year; Free breakfast when in the office; Personal re-loadable multi-choice gift card (topped up on your birthday, lifetime milestones and internal celebrations); Yearly £150 experience voucher; Discounts on experiences and across the Virgin Group; Refer a Friend bonus and generous team celebrations throughout the year.