Role Overview
The Engagement Center Manager (ECM) is responsible for building and leading a high performing team of Engagement Ambassadors who connect with alumni, parents and friends of a college or university or other institution. The ECM enthusiastically motivates staff and leverages Encoura’s engagement platform to deliver personalized, omni-channel outreach including phone, text, and personalized video to every constituent. This role offers valuable experience in team building, program management, budgeting, and other critical skills needed for long-term success in fundraising and engagement. The ECM works onsite and is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the engagement center’s fundraising program.
A Day in the Life
- Build and sustain a strong engagement culture by recruiting, hiring, coaching, and developing a team of part time Engagement Ambassadors and Supervisors.
- Deliver an exceptional client experience through consistent communication with clients and Encoura internal teams.
- Utilize insights to develop and execute daily outreach strategies that maximize constituent engagement. Examples of daily outreach strategies include telephone, texting, and video.
- Monitor program performance and adjust tactics to achieve both short- and long-term client goals.
- Maintain positive, collaborative relationships with clients, coworkers, and leadership.
- Coordinate efforts with program-specific support teams to ensure seamless execution.
- Manage Encoura’s engagement platform to deliver personalized, omni-channel outreach to every constituent.
- Design and implement strategies to motivate and retain staff members.
- Analyze program results and reporting data, including forecasting, projections, and statistical analysis to drive program improvements.
- Serve as the site’s HR and payroll liaison, coordinating with HR to support staffing, performance management, timekeeping, and compliance.
- Actively monitor program budget and expenses to ensure financial performance and efficiency.
Role Progression
- Within 1 month, you’ll: Build strong stakeholder relationships, understand client goals and obligations, lead effective coaching and team huddles, support recruitment and payroll needs, learn reporting and escalation processes, and understand key metrics and calculations.
- Within 3 months, you’ll: Lead calling shifts and adapt leadership style to align with employee skill levels, enforce performance standards, use metrics and data to coach, address performance in client meetings, complete required reports, and know when to resolve issues internally or involve the client.
- Within 6 months, you’ll: Manage programs independently by using segmentation to guide strategy, optimize staffing and outreach through data, anticipate risks with solutions, and drive measurable improvement in key KPIs.
About You
- Associate’s degree or equivalent experience.
- Strong supervisory and leadership ability demonstrated in past work experience; former call center, fundraising or enrollment experience a plus.
- Demonstrated organizational skills that support successful managing of a multi-faceted engagement center and accompanying student staff.
- Excellent spoken and written communication skills.
- Multi-task oriented, with the capabilities to effectively execute multiple managerial duties simultaneously.
- Must be able to analyze statistics and offer insight into statistical trending of program/project; comfort with mathematics is required.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office (specifically Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel).
- Ability to thrive in an environment with limited oversight.
- Dedication to a unique afternoon and evening schedule (Sunday – Thursday, 12:30 pm to 9:30 pm).
- Position predominantly includes sitting/standing for long periods of time, close vision through the use of a computer screen; extensive keyboarding, talking, hearing, and infrequent light physical effort is required (minimum of fifteen pounds).
- Successful candidates will be required to complete and pass a CLEAR™ identity verification as part of the pre-employment screening process.
The annual base salary range for this exempt position is $62,500–$65,000 and reflects the midpoint through maximum of the established range for this role. Encoura establishes compensation using national market data, internal equity considerations, and organizational budget factors to ensure fairness and consistency across the organization. Employees in this role are eligible for Encoura’s comprehensive benefits package, which includes health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off, and other programs that support employee well‑being.
What Sets Us Apart
- Mission driven culture
- Comprehensive health and benefits package
- 401k company match that vest immediately upon participation
- Paid holidays
- Paid parental leave
About Us
Encoura’s mission is to empower students and institutions to create meaningful connections so everyone can make the most informed decisions to achieve their goals. Since 1972, the Company has evolved its products and services to better represent the link between students and higher education institutions and to create the highest probability of student success.
Encoura’s expertise now spans enrollment, research, marketing, student success, and advancement and provides an unmatched combination of higher education experience and innovative solutions for colleges and universities. The Company also offers Encourage® — the nation’s largest free college and career planning program used by millions of high school students and educators nationwide.
It is the policy of the Company to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information. All applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.
Encoura endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability and need an alternative method for applying, please contact the Talent Team.
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