Director, Messaging Operations

Attentive® is the AI marketing platform for 1:1 personalization redefining the way brands and people connect. We’re the only marketing platform that combines powerful technology with human expertise to build authentic customer relationships. By unifying SMS, RCS, email, and push notifications, our AI-powered personalization engine delivers bespoke experiences that drive performance, revenue, and loyalty through real-time behavioral insights.   Recognized as the #1 provider in SMS Marketing by G2, Attentive partners with more than 8,000 customers across 70+ industries. Leading global brands like Crate and Barrel, Urban Outfitters, and Carter’s work with us to enable billions of interactions that power tens of billions in revenue for our customers.   With a distributed global workforce and employee hubs in New York City, San Francisco, London, and Sydney, Attentive’s team has been consistently recognized for its performance and culture. We’re proud to be included in Deloitte’s Fast 500 (four years running!), LinkedIn’s Top Startups, Forbes’ Cloud 100 (five years running!), Inc.’s Best Workplaces, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index!

About the Role
Messaging Operations is the team behind how billions of SMS, MMS, and RCS messages move from our customers to their subscribers every month. We own Attentive’s relationship with the messaging ecosystem, message deliverability, phone number provisioning. The work sits at the intersection of technology, commercial strategy, and operational execution. It shapes the messaging experience & pricing for our brands.

As Director of Messaging Operations, you will lead the team and own the next chapter of its evolution: rebuilding our processes with AI, managing the P&L, and deepening our partnerships across the messaging ecosystem within the US & beyond. This next chapter embeds AI agents as part of the team to deliver best in class messaging experiences faster, better and more effectively. You will also support geographic expansion by building the infrastructure to send messages in existing and new geographies Attentive supports.

What You’ll Accomplish

• P&L Ownership: own the multi-million dollar P&L line item, including budgeting & forecasting in partnership with FP&A and Accounting. Set and continuously optimize our messaging strategy; lead contract negotiations, RFPs, and renewals.
• AI & Automation: lead the reinvention of messaging operations with AI across phone number provisioning, deliverability, compliance.
• Ecosystem Partnerships: own relationships with key messaging partners & providers, serving as Attentive’s primary interface to drive performance, alignment, and growth.
• Team Leadership: lead, coach, and grow the team of Sender Operations, Deliverability, & commercial strategy.
• Operational Excellence: own end-to-end deliverability and sender operations, on-call and incident response.

Your Expertise

• BA/BS or MBA from accredited university
• 8+ years of work experience required; 5 years at a top-tier management consulting firm with experience as an Engagement Manager leading multi-workstream engagements
• AI-Native Operator. You use AI reflexively as a thought partner, researcher, and force multiplier. You have personally re-engineered workflows with LLMs and agents and have strong intuition for where AI works, where it doesn't, and how to sequence the rollout
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, including P&L modeling, scenario analysis, and vendor economics
• Proven ability to lead and influence across multiple levels (incl. C-suite / VP level executives, external partners) and multiple functions of an organization
• Experience managing complex cross-functional projects with many stakeholders
• People leadership experience — coaching senior ICs and managers, setting performance bars, and building team culture
• Startup or high-growth SaaS experience preferred
• Telecom, messaging, or aggregator/carrier industry experience is a plus, not a requirement
• Desire to succeed in a demanding, innovative, and entrepreneurial environment: a highly proactive self-starter

You'll get competitive perks and benefits, from health & wellness to equity, to help you bring your best self to work.

For US based applicants:

• The US base salary range for this full-time position is $170,000 - $220,000 annually + equity + benefits
• Our salary ranges are determined by role, level and location

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