Email Marketing Manager

Email Marketing Manager

For more than four decades, First Watch has developed a strong "You First" culture and established itself as a leading daytime dining brand. As the company plans for continued growth across its 600+ locations, the Email Marketing Manager will play a key role in driving performance through the brand's email marketing program. This role is responsible for the overall strategy, execution, and performance management of email communications. Key responsibilities include managing the email marketing calendar, leading campaign development from initial concept through deployment, and driving program improvements through structured testing, segmentation, and reporting. The ideal candidate brings strong project management capabilities, along with creative and analytical expertise, to deliver effective campaigns that support guest engagement and retention goals. This position is based at the First Watch Home Office in Bradenton, FL, and requires approximately 20% travel.

Responsibilities

Marketing Calendar Ownership

• Own and manage the email marketing calendar in alignment with business priorities, promotional calendars and cross-channel initiatives
• Partner with CRM and creative teams to plan and prioritize campaigns
• Ensure clear timelines, approvals and deliverables for every campaign
• Proactively identify opportunities for new lifecycle campaigns and automations

Email Strategy & Development

• Lead end-to-end development of email campaigns including briefing, copy direction, creative coordination, segmentation and QA
• Build and launch campaigns within the Braze marketing platform
• Develop audience targeting strategies to improve personalization and engagement
• Implement A/B testing plans to optimize subject lines, creative, offers and send times

Campaign Launch & Execution

• Oversee accurate deployment of all campaigns, ensuring flawless execution
• Monitor performance post-launch and quickly troubleshoot any issues
• Maintain deliverability best practices and list hygiene standards

Reporting & Optimization

• Own weekly and monthly performance reporting
• Analyze KPIs including open rate, CTR, conversion rate, revenue and unsubscribe rate
• Translate data into actionable insights and optimization plans
• Present results and recommendations to leadership and cross-functional stakeholders

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required (degree in communications/public relations/marketing or related field is preferred)
• 4-6+ years of experience in email marketing, CRM or lifecycle marketing
• Hands-on experience building and launching campaigns in an email service provider (ESP) or marketing automation platform
• Experience with Braze is strongly preferred
• Strong understanding of audience segmentation, personalization and lifecycle marketing strategies
• Experience in developing and managing marketing calendars and coordinating cross-functional campaign launches
• Proficiency in email performance analysis and reporting (open rate, CTR, conversion, revenue attribution etc.)
• Familiarity with email deliverability, best practices, list hygiene and compliance where applicable
• Strong attention to detail with proven QA processes for campaign deployment
• Basic understanding of HTML/CSS for email troubleshooting is a plus

Who We Are

First Watch is the leading Daytime Dining concept serving made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch using the freshest ingredients available. Guided by its "Follow the Sun" culinary philosophy, First Watch's chef-driven menu rotates multiple times per year to feature the highest-quality flavors at their peak, offering elevated executions of classic favorites, fresh juices like the Kale Tonic, and fan favorites such as the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Quinoa Power Bowl and signature Million Dollar Bacon. For every kid's meal served, First Watch proudly donates a portion to organizations and causes making a positive impact to our communities – raising approximately $2.0 million to date. A recipient of many "Best Breakfast" and "Best Brunch" awards, First Watch was voted #1 Best Breakfast by Newsweek's Readers' Choice Awards 2025, and also named 2025 and 2024's #1 Most Loved Workplace in America by the Best Practice Institute – an accolade most recently featured in The Wall Street Journal – after appearing on the list in 2022 and 2023, as well. With a commitment to quality, hospitality and community, First Watch is redefining Daytime Dining across more than 630 First Watch restaurants in 32 states.

First Watch is an equal opportunity employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, First Watch will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.