About The Department
The Backroads Marketing team is powered by strong collaborators, visionaries and creative minds who bring decades of knowledge and experience to showcase the fun-filled seamless adventures our guests love. You’ll be bringing your imagination, strong work ethic and critical eye for detail to a dedicated group of team members who are passionate about sharing the joys of active travel with both returning guests and brand-new audiences.
The department is comprised of several teams, which include the below:
Direct Mail & CRM: Engages past and prospective guests through targeted email campaigns and personalized direct mail, leveraging data to drive bookings and loyalty.
PR & Partnership: Builds brand awareness and credibility through media outreach, strategic partnerships and influencer collaborations to expand Backroads’ reach.
Website Management: Oversees the website’s content, functionality and user experience to ensure seamless navigation, accurate information and optimized conversion.
Brand, Content, Community: Responsible for the creative design, content and social media presence for the Backroads brand.
By joining the Marketing team at Backroads, you’ll be part of a group that values building innovative people processes and fostering a positive, inclusive employee experience.
About the Role
As our CRM Marketing Specialist, you will own the design, execution, and optimization of our email / journey experiences in our marketing automation system. You’ll play a key role in bringing data-driven, personalized email and direct mail touches to life—from strategy through execution—and ensure that every message is relevant, timely, and high quality.
Working closely with designers, copywriters, and others in marketing and product management, you will manage email and journey execution with strategic thinking around audience segmentation, personalization, automation, and lifecycle marketing. This position is on a temporary basis covering an upcoming maternity leave.
What You’ll Be Doing
Journey & Automation Management: Architect, build, and optimize multi-step customer journeys using Marketing Cloud.
Email Campaign Execution: Develop and deploy sophisticated email campaigns — manage audience targeting, segmentation, testing, QA, send scheduling, and performance tracking.
Direct Mail Execution: Define target lists, segmentation logic, merge/purge, and vendor coordination.
Dynamic Content & Personalization: Implement dynamic content and recommendation logic to drive individualized messaging.
Cross-System Integration: Partner with CRM/data teams to ensure clean integration of Salesforce Sales Cloud data into Marketing Cloud, maintain data quality, and coordinate segmentation logic.
Lifecycle Program Management: Develop campaigns to optimize lead & guest acquisition, retention, and referral conversion.
Creative & Project Management: Lead the end-to-end campaign execution process — coordinate with designers, copywriters, stakeholders, and drive timely delivery of assets, versions, and approvals.
QA & Deliverability: Perform rigorous email testing (across devices, clients), validate HTML/CSS, ensure brand consistency, and follow deliverability best practices.
Analytics, Testing & Optimization: Define campaign KPIs, monitor performance across both email and direct mail channels, run A/B or multivariate tests, and derive actionable insights.
Process Improvement & Documentation: Continuously refine internal processes, document workflows, and maintain best-practice standards across email production and personalization.
What You’ll Need To Be Successful
Bachelor’s degree (Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field)
4+ years of relevant experience in email marketing / CRM / digital engagement
Hands-on experience in marketing automation systems such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marketo, Hubspot, etc.
Hands-on knowledge of dynamic/smart content, personalization, and data-driven email logic (AMPscript or similar)
Experience with Salesforce Sales Cloud (or similar CRM) integration into marketing automation system
Strong HTML & CSS skills (for email template building and troubleshooting)
Advanced proficiency in MS Excel, including pivot tables and visualizations
Excellent analytical ability; comfortable working with metrics, testing, reporting, and optimization
Strong project management skills: ability to juggle multiple campaigns, dependencies, and stakeholders
Highly detail-oriented and quality-focused
Excellent communication and collaboration skills
About Backroads:
At Backroads we’re passionate about connecting our guests with so many of the most beautiful places in the world. We use our four-plus decades of expertise to create exceptional biking, hiking, and multi-adventure trips in over 50 countries for people wanting a deeper and richer travel experience. We travel on land as well as by small luxury ships on active river and ocean cruises. Our trips are for all ages – including dedicated itineraries just for families. We are known for our unwavering attention to quality. We have a dynamic work environment and a strong company culture.
Why Backroads:
At Backroads, we value every single member of our staff, and we’re proud to offer a dynamic work environment that enables growth. Your colleagues will be some of the most dedicated, competent, active, and fun people you will ever meet. A job at Backroads is unlike any other job you will ever have – you will be challenged, you will be inspired, and you will be gratified. No matter what you do here, you will be part of something that makes us all proud – delivering authentic, enriching, and often profoundly life-changing experiences. On top of all that, we have some pretty great benefits and perks! For example our US office employees receive:
At Backroads, we uphold a commitment to transparency and fairness within our hiring process, particularly regarding compensation. The salary range posted for each role applies to both employment offers and employees actively working in the role.
New hires are typically offered a starting salary between the minimum and midpoint of the range to ensure there is continued opportunity for salary progression during your employment at Backroads, reflecting our commitment to rewarding ongoing dedication, high performance, and significant contributions to our team. This approach not only supports our budgeting strategy but also our intention to foster an environment that encourages long-term growth and strong relationships between Backroads and our valued employees.
Our office roles are onsite in our Berkeley headquarters, unless specifically noted as 'available for remote'. We do allow one work-from-home day a week, as well as one work-from-anywhere week per year. This pay range is intended for in-person work in our Berkeley, CA headquarters. Pay ranges for remote-eligible roles will be subject to adjustment based on the geolocation of the employee.