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SalaryHey there! It's great to meet you. We are Ascenda.
We're all about making rewards feel less like a transaction and more like a treat. Nestled in the bustling cities of Singapore and Seattle, we're the folks behind the scenes, turning your loyalty program dreams into reality. Our mission? To bridge the gap between financial services brands, merchants, and their users worldwide, transforming the way they connect through our easy-to-use, turnkey rewards programs.
With Ascenda, setting up a world-class loyalty program is as easy as pie. We've designed our services to be plug-and-play, which means you can offer amazing rewards to your users without the headache of a complicated setup process. Our approach is all about delivering value and beauty, making sure that every interaction with your brand feels special. We pride ourselves on understanding what your users truly want, using smart AI insights to keep them coming back for more. Our roster of clients includes big names like American Express, Brex, HSBC, Virgin Money, Barclays, Capital One and we're excited to grow our family.
Back in 2014, Kyle, Sebastian, and Junyang started Ascenda with a simple idea: loyalty programs can and should be better. Fast forward to today, and we're a global team of 190, working from corners of the globe to make loyalty effortless.
Loyalty programs have come a long way, moving from the sidelines to play a starring role in how brands engage with their customers. But the journey hasn't been smooth for everyone, especially in financial services, where outdated tech and a lack of innovation have made truly engaging rewards programs a challenge to implement. That's where we come in. At Ascenda, we're breaking down these barriers, offering a fresh take on loyalty that's both comprehensive and easy to deploy, regardless of your size or tech expertise.
We believe that a great loyalty program is a game-changer for both financial institutions and their customers. That's why we've built the world's largest rewards currency (Points/miles) transfer network, partnering with over 50 global brands to bring a universe of redemption options to your doorstep. From travel bookings to crypto purchases, we're here to help you offer rewards that resonate.
As we look to the future, we're excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what loyalty programs can be. Our goal is to make our platform even more flexible and user-friendly, allowing our customers to tailor their rewards program just like you'd design your own website. Whether it's a large bank or a nimble fintech startup, we believe loyalty should be within everyone's reach.
With Ascenda, you're not just giving a service; you're becoming part of a revolution. A revolution toward simpler, more meaningful loyalty programs that celebrate each customer and their experiences. Whether your goal is to dazzle millions of customers or just brighten someone's day, we share the same feeling. Let's embark on this adventure together, creating loyalty programs that not only work wonders but truly amaze.
The Role:
Ascenda is looking for an entrepreneurial VP of Managed Marketing to enable the company’s financial services clients and merchants to make the most of its world-class rewards ecosystem as they acquire end customers, drive spend and increase retention. You will be responsible for running marketing on behalf of our customers and merchant partners. You will find common ground between insights driven from our customers rewards program activities and the inventory of marketing offers that our merchant partners are waiting to deploy into the ecosystem. This role leads a global team of talented marketing and in-house creative professionals.
You will be responsible for helping brands unlock the full potential of the Ascenda platform through highly effective, data-driven lifecycle marketing strategies that maximize the return on the incentive funds they invest.
Key Responsibilities:
Collaborate closely with Customer Success and Partnerships to understand the business goals and marketing opportunities / constraints of all Ascenda ecosystem participants.
Lead the development of data-driven consumer lifecycle marketing strategies, leveraging Ascenda’s rewards platform capabilities to maximize engagement and usage among end users.
Coordinate marketing slots, offer content and campaign execution to achieve the goals of clients & merchants.
Drive innovation in consumer lifecycle marketing, testing new incentive constructs, messaging and channels to optimize campaign effectiveness / ROI.
Monitor and analyze key performance metrics to evaluate the success of marketing campaigns, enabling grounded decisions for continuous optimization.
Inform the product roadmap by working closely with the Chief Product Officer to shape the evolution of Ascenda’s data & marketing capabilities.
Act as company-wide subject matter expert on consumer lifecycle marketing, providing guidance and best practices to clients and the entire Ascenda senior leadership team.
Attract and mentor a global team of talented consumer marketing professionals, fostering a culture of creativity, ownership, supportive collaboration and radical simplicity.
Desired Outcomes
Success for this role is measured by metrics including the following:
Average number of marketing campaigns executed with each Ascenda client per year
Total customer impressions / reach of marketing campaigns executed via Ascenda clients
Campaign lift and ROI (e.g. as measured by points earn & burn volumes)
Overall consumer engagement in client programs (as measured by points earn & burn volumes)
Candidate Profile:
This leader has a track record in consumer marketing within leading financial institutions or prominent fintech companies, with a strong focus on targeted lifecycle & loyalty marketing.
15+ years in consumer marketing with a focus on lifecycle management and loyalty / rewards.
Experience at leading financial institutions or prominent consumer fintech companies (e.g. neobanks).
Subject matter depth in always-on and trigger-based marketing (vs. just batch-based).
Strong analytical background and proficiency in customer segmentation.
Creative passion and a desire to get hands-on with crafting compelling marketing concepts, incentive constructs and narratives/visuals.
Experience leading marketing within a major rewards program is a plus
Personal Characteristics
Entrepreneurial, hands-on and high-energy
Naturally curious, keen to learn, always on top of industry trends
Excited by ambitious goals, rapid growth and breaking new ground
Low ego, high EQ
Structured thinker and communicator who presents ideas in a simple, actionable manner
Natural collaborator who makes decisions considering the impact on the whole business
Good fit with Ascenda’s culture and valued behaviors
