Director, Database Growth and Journey Management

Job Summary

As Director of Database Growth and Journey Management, you will own email as one of Viking''s most important growth engines. You will decide how we will grow our subscriber base, how much we invest to do it, and how we turn subscribers into bookings and repeat guests.

This is a hands-on, high-impact role for an email and database marketer who has done this before and wants real ownership. You will dig into your own data, set acquisition budgets and cost targets by channel, shape segmentation and contact strategy, and show leadership exactly how email drives bookings and revenue.

This is a hybrid position based in our Woodland Hills, CA office. You will be required to adhere to our hybrid work policy, working from our office Monday and Thursday plus one additional weekday on a weekly basis.

Job Responsibilities:

• Email Database Growth: Increase marketable email addresses and active subscribers, with clear targets by segment (prospects, new-to-brand, booked, and past guests; River, Ocean, and Expedition; US and Canada). You will lead sign-up, lead capture, and opt-in programs across web, paid media, partnerships, and our call center.
• Email Acquisition Spend and CAC: Determine how much Viking should spend on email acquisition. Set and manage cost per acquired email and CAC targets by acquisition channel (paid social, search, display, co-registration, partnerships, web), and shift budget to the channels that deliver the highest-value subscribers.
• Value of Email: Build and maintain the model that shows what an email subscriber is worth (revenue per subscriber and lifetime value by segment and source). It will guide our spending, contact strategy, and investment decisions.
• Email Database Health: Own list size, active rate, engagement, deliverability, and, unsubscribe rates. Run list hygiene, re-engagement, and sunset policies, and ensure consent and compliance (CAN-SPAM, CASL).
• Monthly Email Reporting: Own monthly email reporting to senior leadership: database growth, active emails by segment, acquisition volume and CAC by channel, engagement, and bookings and revenue driven by email, with clear insights and next steps.
• Email Effectiveness and Testing: Measure email effectiveness through to bookings and revenue by campaign, journey, segment, and acquisition source. Build and run the testing roadmap (subject lines, personalization, offers, timing, cadence, content) and own test/control design, statistical significance, and incrementality.
• Customer Journeys: Plan, build, and optimize email journeys in Adobe across the lifecycle
• Segmentation and Contact Strategy: Own segmentation, list selection, suppression, and frequency rules across journeys and promotional emails. Apply RFM, propensity, and lifetime value models to balance revenue, engagement, and list health.
• Hands-on Analytics: Pull and analyze data independently (SQL, Databricks, or equivalent) without relying on analyst queues. Turn granular customer, booking, and engagement data into clear actions.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with Analytics, MarTech, Creative, Web, Paid Media, and Revenue Management to grow the email base and deliver programs on time.
• Leadership and Innovation: Stay current on email best practices, inbox provider requirements, new Adobe functionality, and AI capabilities to keep Viking at the forefront.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor''s degree in a relevant field; a master''s degree is a plus.
• 10+ years in email, CRM, or lifecycle marketing, including senior manager or director-level experience.
• A proven, hands-on record of growing subscriber bases at scale, managing acquisition budgets against cost targets, and running segmentation, contact strategy, and lifecycle journeys that deliver measurable revenue.
• Strongly data-driven: able to pull own data and analyze it independently. Hands on SQL experience required.
• Strong command of email economics (CAC, lifetime value, value of an email, channel ROI) and of granular customer data, identity, and journey analysis.
• Deep knowledge of email deliverability, list hygiene, inbox provider requirements, and consent and compliance (CAN-SPAM, CASL).
• Rigorous testing discipline: A/B and multivariate testing, test/control design, significance, and incrementality measurement.
• Excellent communication skills; able to turn analysis into clear recommendations for senior leadership.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive initiatives to completion.
• Experience at a consumer-focused, travel, or hospitality brand is a plus.
• Hands-on experience with Adobe Journey Optimizer / Adobe Experience Platform or equivalent (e.g., Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Braze) will be helpful

What We Offer You:

• Highly competitive compensation plan.
• Salary range $200,000 - $220,000 annually determined by a myriad of factors including, but not limited to, years of experience, depth of experience, and other relevant business considerations.
• Employees are eligible for annual discretionary bonus.
• 401(k) plan with company match.
• Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP) Viking full-time regular employees working in the United States can purchase Viking shares through payroll deductions.
• Full benefits including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance at a highly subsidized rate (some plans are fully paid by Viking).
• Accrue 15 paid vacation days, sick time accrual by state, and 6 paid holidays per year.
• Opportunity to take a free and/or discounted cruise.
• Highly subsidized gym membership.
• Discounts on theatres, theme parks, movie tickets, travel discounts through IATA membership and too many more discounts to name.

Viking is a certified Great Place to Work company. This certification is a result of our commitment to excellence, integrity and our teams' outstanding contributions.

About Viking

Viking (NYSE: VIK) is a global leader in experiential travel with a fleet of more than 100 ships, exploring 21 rivers, five oceans and all seven continents. Designed for curious travelers with interests in science, history, culture and cuisine, Chairman and CEO Torstein Hagen often says Viking offers experiences For The Thinking Person. Viking has more than 450 awards to its name, including being rated #1 for Rivers and #1 for Oceans five years in a row by Condé Nast Traveler in the 2025 Readers' Choice Awards. Viking is also rated a "World's Best" by Travel + Leisure-no other travel company has simultaneously received such honors by both publications.