Job Purpose:
The Director of Digital & Loyalty Analytics serves as the strategic analytics leader for Panera’s digital intelligence vertical. Sitting within the Business Analytics organization, you will lead the end-to-end analytics strategy powering Panera’s $B+ digital ecosystem—including the MyPanera Loyalty program, the Unlimited Sip Club, and our e-commerce platforms.
This role serves as the primary strategic partner to Marketing, Digital, and CRM leadership, translating complex customer data into actionable growth strategies. The ideal candidate is a rare "hybrid" talent: a strategic commercial leader with executive-level communication skills who also possesses the technical depth to write SQL queries, interrogate raw datasets, and partner directly with data engineering teams.
Location: Newton, MA (Hybrid – 3 days per week in-office)
Key Responsibilities:
- Loyalty & CRM Strategic Leadership: Partner with Marketing, Digital, and CRM leaders to evaluate MyPanera performance, optimize campaign strategies, and identify high-value opportunities to drive guest frequency, retention, and lifetime value (CLV).
- Commercial & Financial Impact: Quantify the true financial incrementality of loyalty offers, promotional campaigns, and digital features, translating digital performance metrics into EBITDA impact and franchisee profitability.
- Hands-On Technical & Data Fluency: Serve as a bridge between business strategy and data engineering. Maintain hands-on capability in querying databases (SQL) to perform ad-hoc validation, build prototype datasets, and interrogate complex customer tables in modern cloud data warehouses.
- Experimentation & Incrementality Frameworks: Design and oversee a rigorous test-and-learn infrastructure for digital and loyalty initiatives (A/B testing, personalized offer design, multi-cell campaign evaluation) to ensure continuous optimization.
- Executive Communication & Storytelling: Synthesize complex behavioral datasets into clear, executive-ready presentations and narratives for senior leadership, distilling technical findings into strategic business recommendations.
- MarTech & Customer Data Stewardship: Collaborate with IT, Data Engineering, and Marketing Tech teams to optimize the customer data platform (CDP) and event-based tracking stacks, ensuring loyalty schemas are accurate, structured, and accessible for advanced analysis.
- Team Leadership & Mentorship: Direct and develop junior analytical talent, establishing high standards for data accuracy, technical methodology, and business impact.
Qualifications:
- Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in Data & Analytics, with a strong emphasis on Loyalty, CRM, or Digital E-Commerce (QSR, Retail, or Hospitality experience highly preferred).
- Technical & Querying Proficiency: Strong proficiency in SQL required; ability to independently query large-scale relational databases and perform hands-on data exploration.
- Domain Expertise: Deep knowledge of customer analytics frameworks, including Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), churn prediction, incrementality testing, customer segmentation, and lifecycle mapping.
- Strategic Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; proven ability to simplify complex analytical concepts for non-technical executive stakeholders.
- Business Acumen: Strong understanding of corporate finance, retail P&L drivers, and promotional unit economics.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field (Industrial Engineering, Business Analytics, Statistics, Computer Science, Economics, or Finance) required.
Direct Reports:
- Analyst / Senior Analyst, Digital & Loyalty Analytics
Competitive Pay $177,243 - $202,056 annually
Equal Opportunity Employer: Disabled/Veterans
The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.
Newton Support CenterSkills Required
- 8+ years progressive experience in Data & Analytics with emphasis on Loyalty, CRM, or Digital E-Commerce
- Strong proficiency in SQL and ability to independently query large-scale relational databases
- Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field (Industrial Engineering, Business Analytics, Statistics, CS, Economics, or Finance)
- Deep knowledge of customer analytics frameworks (CLV, churn prediction, incrementality testing, segmentation, lifecycle mapping)
- Experience designing and overseeing experimentation and incrementality frameworks (A/B testing, multi-cell campaign evaluation)
- Exceptional written and verbal communication and executive-level storytelling skills
- Strong business acumen including corporate finance, retail P&L drivers, and promotional unit economics
- Experience collaborating to optimize Customer Data Platforms and event-based tracking stacks
- Experience directing and mentoring junior analytical talent / team leadership
- Experience in QSR, Retail, or Hospitality loyalty/CRM/e-commerce contexts
What We Do
Panera began in 1987 as St. Louis Bread Company, a humble community bakery founded with a sourdough starter from San Francisco and a dream of putting a loaf of bread in every arm. While our business has expanded well beyond St. Louis since then, that same sourdough starter is still used in our iconic sourdough bread and the craft of baking bread fresh each day remains at the heart of Panera Bread. Each day, our trained bakers fill our bakery shelves with delicious freshly baked cookies, pastries, bagels, and a range of breads from focaccia to classic baguettes. We believe in serving delicious, freshly prepared, clean food made with carefully selected ingredients that we are proud to serve our own families. Our menu, crafted by chefs and bakers, features classic, comforting dishes, each with an intriguing twist. We respect our planet and take measures to lessen our impacts. We believe in treating people with warmth, kindness, and respect, whether it’s a guest in our cafe or one of our associates. And we believe in helping our local communities, especially in times of need. We’re also focused on improving quality and convenience. With investments in technology and operations, we offer omni-channel access to your Panera favorites – like mobile ordering, catering, and Rapid Pick-Up® for to-go orders, Curbside pick-up and delivery – all designed to make things easier for our guests. Today, Panera operates as both Panera Bread® or Saint Louis Bread Co St. Louis Bread Company in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Panera Bread is privately held by JAB Holding Company. Panera Bread is part of Panera Brands, one of the largest fast-casual restaurant platforms in the U.S., comprised of Panera Bread®, Caribou Coffee® and Einstein Bros.® Bagels.
