Director, Supporter Care

Background:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work today in over 40 countries and 28 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.

The IRC’s External Relations team comprises colleagues and teams delivering marketing, fundraising, brand stewardship, and communications to support this work. As part of External Relations, the Mass Markets USA (MMUSA) program is responsible for raising $70+ million in unrestricted revenue annually in the U.S. market and plays a meaningful strategic role in the creation of IRC’s brand, awareness, and support for its advocacy goals.

Job Overview:

Reporting to the Senior Director, USA Mass Market Revenue, the Director of Supporter Care will lead a talented and committed team to become the top-performing donor services program in the international humanitarian charitable sector. As an integral member of the Mass Markets USA team, this individual will ensure that supporters receive top-quality service -- with the goal of driving donor retention and net revenue needed to serve our clients worldwide. This is an ideal role for an entrepreneurial leader in the for-profit sector looking to make a mid-career change to the nonprofit sector.

Major responsibilities:

 Develop the vision, strategies, and plans to expand the reach, impact, and quality of donor service.

 Lead a team professionals in delivering outstanding customer service by identifying the metrics needed to measure success, setting goals in those areas, and then ensuring those goals are achieved.

 Ensure that donor care aligns with the broader mass marketing strategy. This includes prioritizing high-value audiences (e.g., monthly donors) and ensuring the program is scalable to handle donor needs during major campaigns.

 Drive innovation within the team and across the inbound program in general, exploring areas such as expanded hours, chat bots, and other ideas to ensure IRC's donors receive outstanding service.

 Partner with the Acquisition, Retention, and Direct Mail teams to integrate supporter care into donor journeys. Collaborate as needed with partners outside of the department including major and planned giving, marketing technology, gift processing, procurement, and legal. Ensure that the systems, suppliers, and team capacity is in place to be able to deliver the highest quality of care to our supporters.

 Proactively handle the donor experience by representing the donor's voice within the organization. Analyze and communicate donor feedback and experiences to key collaborators in mass marketing and the broader organization.

 Prepare reports for leadership and for day-to-day management of the function, including team performance, supporter happiness, trends, problem resolution, and risk mitigation.

 Mentor the Supporter Care team to ensure clear expectations, accountability, and motivation. Ensure the team has the tools and training to achieve target donor services metrics. Assess and develop talent to support the needs of the program. Create a culture of learning, innovation, and testing, and guide the team with sensitivity, dedication, integrity, and accountability to the “IRC Way” – IRC's Global Standards for Professional Conduct.

 Handle the departmental budget, including budget requests and ongoing expense monitoring.

 Periodically "mystery shop" the program to ensure consistent customer service.

 Perform other tasks as deemed appropriate.

Job Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree or higher

Work Experience:

At least 10 years' experience in successful customer service programs.

 At least 5 years' experience leading a customer service team.

 Experience in recruiting and leading vendors in the effective delivery of customer or donor service.

Skills and Proficiencies:

 Leadership skills, including crafting a vision, strategy, and plans in partnership with staff and presenting that vision to partners including team members.

 Ability to identify, set, and deliver on key customer service metrics such as email response times, first-call resolution, and donor acknowledgement KPIs.

 Understanding of the role of customer/donor service and retention in driving lifetime value.

 Ability to build useful reports.

 Ability to lead and encourage a team with decency and sensitivity.

 Excellent project and time management capabilities within an environment that includes high-intensity periods such as end-of-year fundraising campaigns and international humanitarian crises.

 CRM experience; Salesforce experience preferred.

 Passionate about customer service, as well as the IRC’s mission to help transform the lives of people affected by humanitarian crises.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits.  In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits.  In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: In accordance with IRC’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, IRC requires new hires to furnish proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be considered for any in-office or hybrid positions.  All IRC US offices require full vaccination to attend any in-office functions (e.g., meetings, trainings).