D2L is a cloud company that is modernizing education and building the Future of Work. The old models of teaching and learning are in the midst of the largest transformation in history, and D2L is at the heart of that fundamental shift.
New models of teaching and learning enable a personalized, student-centric experience – and deliver improved retention, engagement, satisfaction, and results for learners of all ages – in schools, campuses, and companies.
D2L is disrupting the way the world learns, by providing the next generation learning environment and solutions to engage and inspire learners. And most importantly, by giving customers a platform that is easy, flexible, and smart. No other company provides a solution as robust and innovative as D2L.
D2L has had a singular mission for 25 years and is dedicated to that same mission in the years ahead: to transform the way the world learns – and by doing so, we will help improve human potential globally.
Every application we receive is personally reviewed by a member of our Talent Acquisition team - yes, a real person looks at your resume! While we use AI tools internally to streamline tasks like meeting notes, summaries, and administrative work, these tools never rank resumes, make hiring decisions, or influence candidate evaluations.
Job Summary:
The Senior Marketing Manager, Customer Marketing owns the strategy and execution of lifecycle and advocacy programs that drive adoption, retention, and expansion across D2L’s customer base.
As a senior member of the Marketing team, this role sets the vision for customer marketing, translates it into scalable programs, and partners closely with Customer Success, Sales, and Product to deliver measurable impact on net retention and customer health.
This leader will use data and customer insight to design end-to-end journeys, orchestrate communications across channels, and build advocacy programs that turn happy customers into a growth engine for D2L.
At a high-level:
Customer Marketing Strategy & Leadership
- Define and own the customer marketing strategy and roadmap across onboarding, adoption, renewal, expansion, and advocacy.
- Translate company and segment priorities into clear customer marketing objectives, plans, and measurable outcomes.
- Provide thought leadership internally on what “good” looks like for customer lifecycle and advocacy at D2L.
Lifecycle Campaigns & Programs
- Design and oversee targeted lifecycle programs that support onboarding, product activation, value realization, and renewal.
- Architect multi-channel journeys (email, in-app, webinars, communities, events) that deliver the right message at the right time.
- Establish a test-and-learn approach to continuously refine messaging, segmentation, and touchpoints.
Retention, Expansion & Customer Health
- Partner with CS and RevOps to identify risk and opportunity segments and build campaigns that reduce churn and drive expansion.
- Develop plays and programs that support upsell/cross-sell motions, and feed qualified expansion signals to Sales and CS.
- Build a reporting rhythm that connects customer marketing activity to retention, expansion, and engagement KPIs.
Advocacy & Customer Evidence
- Lead the strategy for customer advocacy, including reviews, references, case studies, and customer stories.
- Work with Sales, CS, and Product Marketing to identify advocates and activate them across campaigns, events, and launches.
- Ensure customer proof is easy to find and use across sales plays, marketing assets, and executive narratives.
Marketing Automation, Data & Insights
- Use marketing automation and customer data platforms (e.g., Pardot, Planhat, Salesforce) to design scalable journeys.
- Build dashboards and reporting to monitor lifecycle performance, advocacy output, and program ROI.
- Use insights from product usage, CS feedback, and campaign performance to refine strategy and prioritize investments.
Cross-Functional Leadership & Change Management
- Act as the primary point of contact for customer marketing with CS, Sales, Product, and Regional/International teams.
- Align stakeholders on priorities, clarify roles between customer marketing and customer product marketing, and resolve overlaps.
- Lead cross-functional planning and communication to ensure customer programs are understood, adopted, and well executed.
Team & Vendor Leadership
- Provide direction to specialists, agencies, and internal partners supporting customer campaigns and content.
- Mentor junior marketers and help build customer marketing capabilities across the broader team.
What you’ll bring to the role and what we expect:
- Strategic Thinking & Ownership – Proven ability to set a vision, build a roadmap, and own outcomes for lifecycle, retention, and advocacy.
- Customer-Centric Mindset – Deep focus on customer value realization, satisfaction, and long-term health.
- Data-Driven Decision Making – Strong ability to interpret customer, product, and campaign data and turn it into actions.
- Marketing Automation Expertise – Advanced experience with platforms like Pardot, Planhat, Salesforce or similar.
- Content & Messaging Leadership – Strong writing, positioning, and storytelling skills for customer journeys and advocacy.
- Project & Program Management – Ability to manage multiple programs, stakeholders, and timelines with clear prioritization.
- Collaboration & Influence – Comfortable leading through influence, aligning cross-functional teams, and managing up to senior leaders.
- Problem-Solving & Innovation – Anticipates issues, finds pragmatic solutions, and continuously improves processes and programs.
- AI Acumen – Familiarity with how AI can be applied to segmentation, personalization, and content at scale.
Suggested Qualifications/Experience:
- 7+ years of experience in customer marketing, lifecycle marketing, or related B2B marketing roles.
- Experience in B2B SaaS or technology-driven products; education or learning technology experience an asset.
- Demonstrated success designing and running lifecycle and advocacy programs that drive measurable improvements in retention and expansion.
- Advanced, hands-on experience with marketing automation and CRM tools (e.g., Marketo, HubSpot, Planhat, Salesforce).
- Strong understanding of customer segmentation, email/in-app marketing, and customer health metrics.
- Proven ability to translate data and qualitative insight into clear strategies, programs, and experiments.
- Experience presenting to and influencing senior stakeholders; comfortable operating in a matrixed, cross-functional environment.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
The expected base salary range for a new hire in this role is listed below. The annualized base salary offered is determined by each candidate’s relevant knowledge, skills, education, training and experience. It is aligned to ensure both internal and external competitiveness using market data for the geographic location and industry. As part of the total compensation at D2L the role may be eligible for additional benefits including a Wellness Subsidy, Equity Grants, Variable Incentive, and more.
Don’t meet every single requirement? We strongly encourage you to still apply! At D2L, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment. We encourage your application even if you don't believe you meet every single qualification outlined, because we love to help our people grow and develop!
Why we're awesome:
At D2L, we are dedicated to providing you with the tools to do the best work of your life. While some of our perks and benefits may vary depending on location or employment type, we are proud to provide employees with the following through #LifeAtD2L:
- Impactful work transforming the way the world learns
- Flexible work arrangements
- Learning and Growth opportunities
- Tuition reimbursement of up to $4,000 CAD for continuing education through our Catch the Wave Program
- 2 Paid Days off for Catch the Wave related activities like exams or final assignments
- Employee wellbeing (Access to mental health services, EFAP program, financial planning and more)
- Retirement planning
- 2 Paid Volunteer Days
- Competitive Benefits Package
- Home Internet Reimbursements
- Employee Referral Program
- Wellness Reimbursement
- Employee Recognition
- Social Events
- Dog Friendly Offices at our HQ in Kitchener, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Melbourne.
Top Skills
D2L Kitchener, Ontario, CAN Office
151 Charles St W, Kitchener, ON, Canada, N2G 1H6
