Washington, D.C., POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Customer Experience & Operations is responsible for ensuring every interaction with the organization reflects a consistently exceptional customer experience. This role provides leadership for the customer service function and is accountable for building a highly responsive, customer-focused operation that delivers timely, accurate, and professional service to members, learners, customers, and other stakeholders.

The Director leads a team of customer service professionals and is responsible for establishing service standards, optimizing processes, leveraging technology, and creating a culture of accountability, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. Success in this role is measured not only by customer satisfaction, but by the organization's ability to consistently meet customer needs without escalation, intervention, or recurring service failures.

Working collaboratively across the organization, the Director serves as both a customer advocate and operational leader, ensuring customer needs are balanced with organizational priorities while identifying opportunities to improve processes, eliminate barriers, and strengthen service delivery. This role is ideal for a leader who enjoys solving problems, taking initiative, driving meaningful improvements, and developing high-performing teams committed to service excellence.

 

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES & EXPECTED OUTCOMES

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE & SERVICE EXCELLENCE

Members, learners, customers, and stakeholders consistently receive professional, responsive, accurate, and personalized service that reflects a white-glove customer experience.

Customer inquiries, requests, enrollments, registrations, orders, and service issues are resolved promptly, accurately, and with minimal effort required from the customer.

Customer issues are resolved effectively at the point of service, minimizing escalations, leadership intervention, and recurring service failures.

Customer satisfaction, loyalty, and confidence in the organization are strengthened through exceptional service delivery and proactive support.

Customer needs, concerns, and feedback are actively understood, communicated, and translated into meaningful organizational improvements.

Service standards are clearly defined, consistently delivered, and continuously improved to meet evolving customer and organizational needs.

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE & PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

Customer service processes, workflows, systems, and procedures are efficient, scalable, clearly documented, and consistently followed.

Root causes of customer issues are identified and addressed, resulting in fewer service failures, reduced manual intervention, and improved operational efficiency.

Registration, enrollment, order fulfillment, roster management, billing support, and related operational activities are completed accurately, efficiently, and on time.

Technology platforms, customer databases, CRM systems, and supporting tools maintain a high level of data integrity, reliability, and usability.

Opportunities to improve service quality, operational effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and organizational efficiency are proactively identified, prioritized, and implemented.

Service standards, performance metrics, operational controls, and reporting mechanisms are established, monitored, and continuously improved.

Organizational leaders receive meaningful data, trends, and insights regarding customer needs, service performance, customer satisfaction, and operational effectiveness to support informed decision-making.

TEAM LEADERSHIP & PERFORMANCE

A highly engaged, accountable, customer-focused team consistently delivers exceptional service and achieves established service standards and performance expectations.

Team members understand expectations, receive regular coaching and feedback, and are supported in their professional growth and development.

Work produced by the team is accurate, reliable, responsive, and completed within established service levels.

A culture of ownership, initiative, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer advocacy is fostered throughout the team.

Team resources, workloads, priorities, and performance are effectively managed to ensure consistent service delivery and operational effectiveness.

Employee engagement, accountability, and commitment to service excellence are actively cultivated and maintained.

 

ORGANIZATIONAL PARTNERSHIP & CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE

Customer needs and perspectives are effectively represented in organizational discussions, planning, and decision-making.

Strong, collaborative relationships are established across departments to ensure customer issues are resolved efficiently and customer experiences remain seamless.

Customer feedback, service trends, and operational insights are translated into actionable recommendations that improve organizational performance and customer outcomes.

Cross-functional partnerships support efficient operations, effective communication, and a consistent customer experience across all touchpoints.

 

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Minimum of five years of progressively responsible customer service, customer experience, operations, or related leadership experience.

Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing teams.

• Experience designing, improving, and managing customer service processes and operational workflows.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and drive meaningful improvements.

• Experience utilizing CRM systems, databases, and technology platforms to support service delivery and operational effectiveness; Salesforce experience preferred.

Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and initiatives simultaneously.

Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

• Experience working in an association, membership, education, certification, nonprofit, or service-oriented environment preferred.

 

COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE

Customer Perspective

Develops a deep understanding of customer needs and perspectives and uses that understanding to improve service delivery, strengthen relationships, and enhance the overall customer experience. Balances customer needs with organizational priorities and operational realities.

Customer Experience & Service Excellence

Demonstrates a genuine commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences. Anticipates needs, resolves issues effectively, and continuously seeks opportunities to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Leadership & Team Development

Provides clear direction, establishes expectations, and actively manages performance to ensure team members are engaged, accountable, and consistently meeting expectations. Ensures work produced by the team is accurate, reliable, and delivered on time. Creates an environment that encourages responsiveness, collaboration, continuous learning, strong execution, ongoing development, and a high standard of operational excellence.

Operational Excellence

Creates structure, consistency, and accountability within processes and systems. Ensures work is completed accurately, efficiently, and on time while maintaining a high standard of quality and service.

Problem Solving & Action Orientation

Proactively identifies issues, determines root causes, and implements practical solutions that address underlying problems rather than symptoms. Demonstrates initiative, follows through on commitments, and takes action to drive meaningful improvements.

Data Analysis & Business Insight

Uses data, metrics, trends, and feedback to evaluate performance, identify opportunities, solve problems, and support informed decision-making.

   

Relationship Building & Collaboration

Builds productive and credible relationships across departments and with external stakeholders. Works collaboratively to achieve shared organizational objectives while maintaining a strong customer focus.

Communication & Influence

Communicates clearly, professionally, and effectively with diverse audiences. Presents information in a manner that builds understanding, credibility, alignment, and action.

Accountability & Ownership

Accepts responsibility for outcomes, follows through on commitments, and ensures commitments are met with quality, accuracy, and timeliness.

Adaptability & Resilience

Remains effective, engaged, and composed in ambiguous and changing situations. Demonstrates flexibility, resilience, and a willingness to embrace evolving priorities and organizational needs.

Technology & Learning Agility

Quickly learns and effectively utilizes technology, systems, and new processes to improve efficiency, service delivery, and organizational effectiveness.