Marketing Manager - Customer Activation & Retention

First Table • Full-time • Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand • 1w ago

About the opportunity

We’re looking for a senior, hands-on, data-driven marketer to lead First Table’s customer lifecycle across NZ, Australia, and the UK in this newly created role. Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, you’ll shape how we activate, retain, and re-engage diners across multiple markets.

If you love designing lifecycle systems, lifting activation and booking rates, and influencing strategy in a fast-moving environment, you’ll thrive here. You’ll play a critical role in maturing our lifecycle engine - building journeys, driving insight-led optimisation, and ensuring lifecycle activity connects seamlessly with acquisition.

As we scale, this role may also include direct line management responsibilities.

This position can be based remotely from Auckland or at our Queenstown HQ.

About us

At First Table, our vision is simple: to be the first place diners go to book a table.

Proudly established in Queenstown, New Zealand - where our head office is based - we've been leading the charge in the hospitality tech industry for over a decade, with operations spanning New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.

First Table is a dining discovery platform that connects diners to restaurants through their love of food. Through our clever tech, we help restaurants get their night off to a great start and give diners a compelling reason to try somewhere new. It’s a win-win situation. From early bird offers to last table reservations, we make discovering and booking great dining experiences fast, easy, and rewarding.

At the heart of everything we do are our values: Grow Together, Win-Win-Win, and Own It. These guide how we show up for each other, our restaurant partners, and our diners and they’re a big part of what makes First Table a great place to work.

About the role

You’ll own and evolve the full lifecycle across onboarding, activation, engagement, retention, and winback. You’ll bring structure, experimentation, and clarity to how we grow and retain diners, partnering closely with Product, Data, Content, and regional teams to lift customer value across every touchpoint.

This role blends strategy and execution, perfect for someone who enjoys rolling up their sleeves while influencing the broader direction of growth marketing.

What you’ll be doing

Lead strategy and execution across the full customer lifecycle, driving activation, retention, and reactivation.
Build and scale multi-channel journeys across email, push, SMS, in-app, and remarketing.
Design segmentation, personalisation, and experimentation frameworks that power growth.
Own our lifecycle platform (Braze): architecture, governance, data hygiene, workflows, and performance.
Partner with Product and Data to optimise activation and booking performance using triggers, insights, and experimentation.
Connect acquisition and lifecycle activity to create a cohesive full-funnel customer experience.
Work closely with Content and Marketing Production to shape creative and support complex lifecycle journeys.
Guide lifecycle reporting, insights, and forecasting across markets in partnership with Data.

What you’ll bring

6–10 years in CRM, lifecycle, or growth marketing roles, ideally in high-growth digital, marketplace, or B2C environments.
Strong, hands-on experience with Braze or equivalent platforms.
Ability to design journeys, segments, and experiments that drive measurable commercial outcomes.
Confident working across Product, Data, Content, and Paid teams to connect the dots.
Strong analytical capability with the ability to convert insights into action.
A structured, curious, and entrepreneurial mindset with high executional standards.
Experience supporting the development or scaling of a lifecycle function (formal leadership not required).
Nice to have: multi-market experience, CRM certifications, coaching/mentoring experience.

Why you’ll love working with us

Make a visible impact across NZ, AU, and the UK as you help mature a core growth function.
Apply your experience from larger or more established teams to shape processes, systems, and foundations in a smaller, fast-growing environment.
Work from one of our hubs, Queenstown HQ (fun office culture, regular social events, 1 WFH day per week) or Auckland, where the team works remotely and connects regularly for collaboration and catch-ups.
Work with talented Product, Data, and Content partners who care deeply about customer experience.
Enjoy perks like free First Table bookings, referral incentives, team recognition, and regular opportunities to celebrate wins.
Join a beloved consumer brand that is purpose-led, award-winning, and values creativity, collaboration, and growth.

What’s next?

Ready to shape the future of lifecycle marketing at First Table?

Submit your CV and a brief cover letter telling us why this role excites you and how your experience sets you up for success. We genuinely want to hear your story. We’ll be reviewing applications as they come in, so don’t wait to apply.

Things to keep in mind:

With the holiday period approaching, some interviews may roll into January
We’d love someone to start in February, but we’re open to working around the right candidate’s availability.
Applicants must have existing work rights in New Zealand.