Job Description

Associate Director, Email Marketing

Media Cause is an award-winning, mission-driven marketing and fundraising agency that helps nonprofits grow and accelerate their impact. We take a people-first approach to developing powerful creative, scalable growth strategies, and targeted communications that connect with individuals across their entire supporter journey: from awareness and recruitment to fundraising and advocacy, and every touchpoint in between.

As of 2025, Media Cause consists of 50+ full-time employees along with a network of talented consultants. We have offices in Washington DC, Atlanta, and San Francisco, as well as many team members who work remotely on a permanent basis. Our agency has grown in size every year since our founding, landing on the Inc. 5000 list for the fastest-growing private companies in America three times. We have built a strong business, although impact will always be our North Star. In addition to winning a number of creative and effectiveness awards for our client work, Media Cause was also honored by Inc. Magazine with a Best In Business Gold Award for our positive impact on our community, our industry, and society as a whole.

We are seeking a strategic, forward-thinking Associate Director, Email Marketing to lead our agency's email marketing practice and elevate how we engage and inspire audiences for our nonprofit clients. This leader will define the vision for how email drives connection, conversion, and long-term supporter relationships, ensuring the channel delivers measurable impact across every stage of the engagement journey.

This role can be based anywhere in the US. The Associate Director, Email Marketing will oversee the strategy, execution, and optimization of sophisticated email programsintegrating automation, segmentation, testing, deliverability, and production best practices with audience insights, performance analysis, and creative collaboration. This role will champion the use of data-driven decision-making to strengthen engagement and maximize results for our clients.

This person will partner closely with colleagues across Data, Martech, Creative, and Strategy to advance our integrated marketing and fundraising approach, enhance our technical and strategic capabilities, and drive meaningful outcomes for the organizations we serve. This role can be located anywhere in the U.S.

Your Responsibilities:

Email/SMS Strategy + Leadership

• Lead the development and evolution of integrated email and SMS strategies that strengthen audience engagement, deepen donor relationships, and drive measurable marketing, fundraising, and advocacy outcomes.
• Define best practices for segmentation, automation, testing, and content cadence to ensure every message connects authentically to audience motivations and client goals.
• Partner with client strategy and creative teams to translate campaign and fundraising objectives into effective communication journeysfrom acquisition and nurturing to conversion and retention.
• Ensure messaging and timing across email, SMS, and other owned channels align with clients' broader marketing and fundraising calendars.

Automation + Lifecycle Management

• Plan, develop, and oversee and help implement automation workflows and supporter journeys that reflect donor and audience behavior, maximizing lifetime value and engagement.
• Continually refine lifecycle strategies based on performance insights and evolving client needs.

Deliverability + Technical Excellence

• Monitor and optimize email deliverability by analyzing key metrics (bounce rates, spam complaints, inbox placement) and proactively addressing issues to maintain high sender reputation across ESPs.
• Troubleshoot deliverability issues in collaboration with marketing, IT, and ESPs (Email Service Providers), using tools like Postmaster Tools, Return Path, or Inbox Monitor to diagnose and resolve problems.
• Advise on best practices for list hygiene and email strategy, including permission-based marketing, segmentation, cadence, and content quality to reduce risk of spam folder placement or blacklisting.

Testing, Reporting + Optimization

• Build a culture of continuous learning through A/B and multivariate testing, leveraging insights to optimize messaging, creative, and send strategies across email and SMS.
• Collaborate with data analytics and strategy teams to translate data into actionable recommendations and insightful reporting.

Creative + Content Collaboration

• Guide best practices for email and SMS creativeensuring accessibility, responsive formatting, personalization, and audience-first storytellingwhile collaborating closely with copywriters and designers to enhance engagement and response.

Production + Quality Assurance

• Oversee and help implement the end-to-end production process for email and SMS campaigns, including HTML builds, dynamic content, QA, message throttling, list building, and deployment, as well as landing page production.
• Establish systems for consistent, error-free execution, including a robust QA plan, across clients and platforms, leveraging tools including Email on Acid.

Team + Cross-Department Collaboration

• Mentor and guide team members across departments in email and SMS strategy, execution, and innovation.
• Collaborate with Account, Strategy, Martech, Media, and Creative leaders to advance the agency's integrated approach and drive channel growth.

Your Qualifications:

• You have 5+ years of experience in email marketing, fundraising, or digital engagement.
• You have demonstrated success developing and executing complex email and SMS programs that drive measurable fundraising and marketing outcomes.
• You have a deep understanding of nonprofit marketing and communicationsnonprofit sector experience is required.
• You have a deep understanding of audience segmentation, automation, and lifecycle strategy for both acquisition and retention campaigns.
• You have experience aligning email and SMS programs with broader fundraising and marketing goals.
• You have proficiency with major email service providers (e.g., Salesforce Marketing Cloud, EveryAction, Engaging Networks, Luminate, HubSpot, Campaign Monitor, Klaviyo, or equivalent) and SMS platforms (e.g., Upland Mobile Commons, Twilio, or Hustle).
• You have a strong understanding of deliverability, authentication (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), and list hygiene best practices.
• You have working knowledge of HTML and responsive email coding.
• You have proven expertise in A/B and multivariate testing methodologies, with the ability to deploy experiments, interpret data, and translate insights into actionable optimizations.
• You have experience using analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, platform dashboards, or CRMs) to track performance and improve channel ROI.
• You have strong writing skills as well as a deep understanding of creative best practices for email and SMSincluding copy, design, accessibility, and personalizationto maximize engagement and response.
• You have strong collaboration skills and experience partnering with creative, strategy, tech, data, and media teams in a fast-paced, client-facing environment.
• You have familiarity with CAN-SPAM, TCPA, and fundraising-specific data and privacy regulations.
• You have a commitment to ethical marketing practices and respect for supporter trust.
• You have exceptional project management, organization, communication, and presentation skills.
• You check your ego at the door: you're a team player, ready to jump into any request, and eager to support the agency in any way possible.
• You're collaborative, curious, and a genuinely good human.
• You're comfortable presenting your work to clients, not only talking through the execution but also the strategy, insight, and approach behind it.
• You proactively seek out new perspectives, ideas, and opportunities to bring to clients, and the agency as a whole, to continually expand our work and thinking.
• You excel at juggling multiple projects and deadlines, but also know your own pace and capacity and aren't afraid to speak up if/when you need help.
• You're willing to get crafty and understand that, regardless of budget (nonprofits don't always have a lot), it's our job to figure out how to do great work.
• You're genuinely driven by a passion to make a difference, not just make money, although we're here to help you do both.

Company Perks & Culture

• Family-first work environment with flexible work from home options to accommodate personal obligations
• Robust health, dental, and vision benefit plans for you and yours
• 401k & retirement planning
• Agency-wide profit sharing
• Unlimited personal time off (with an enforced 3 week minimum every year)
• 2x/year mental health Fridays to reset and recharge
• Flexible remote work
• $200/month health & wellness

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