Partner Care Manager

Summary

This position, reporting to and working alongside the Director of Partner Care & Engagement, works to advance the ministry of Awana by serving as a player/coach in providing leadership to the Partner Care and Engagement team. This role is all about caring deeply for our donor and customer partners serving, inspiring, equipping, and engaging, current and prospective donors and customers. Collaborating with various internal teams, this individual’s primary focus is to help our partners experience the love and mission of Awana firsthand through direct service and building systems for thoughtful communication, timely responses, and exhibiting a spirit of care and resolution for churches and individuals desiring to participate in the Awana vision and mission of child discipleship.

This position is hybrid in St. Charles, IL with occasional travel required based on strategic organizational meetings.

• An exemplary leader who builds, mentors, and engages assigned team(s) while ensuring the team’s processes and work exceed the standards of operational and cultural excellence.
• Team player who supports, upholds and demonstrates the Awana values in internal and external communications and relationships.
• A systems-thinker who can create processes that help the team work smarter – bringing both order and creativity to how we serve our partners.
• Collaborative partner who has a natural ability to create authentic relationships with our internal team and external partners.
• One who is highly organized with strong follow-through, able to manage details while keeping an eye on the big picture.
• Logical problem solver who proactively communicates workflow and/or deadline status to the team.
• Self-motivated, goal oriented professional with a passion for helping fuel exponential ministry growth.
• Flexible team member who is open to taking on new responsibilities and easily adapts to shifting priorities and needs.
• A natural encourager who champions both the work and the people doing it, building on our existing culture of excellence and care.
• Champion of children to belong, believe and become resilient disciples.

• Assist in fostering a high-performing team by ensuring processes and work meet operational and cultural excellence standards.
• Provide coaching, feedback and professional development opportunities to enhance team effectiveness.

• Develop and implement partner care and engagement processes that focus on retaining existing partners and acquiring new ones.
• Work with internal teams to ensure systems are in place and the team support nurturing and converting leads.
• Model and impart relational sales engagement through the team philosophy of engaging partners with Gratitude, Prayer, and Story (G.P.S), while actively praying for members as needs arise.

• Oversee and optimize team processes to ensure seamless partner experiences and efficient operations.
• Leverage technology to maintain accuracy in financial transactions, including posting payments, credits, and returns, and ensuring accurate order entry.
• Monitor systems and workflows, identifying issues and working with Technology and Finance teams to resolve them.
• Work with Supply Chain and third-party distribution centers to manage order fulfillment, shipments, returns, and issue Return Merchandise Authorizations (RMAs) as needed.
• Manage Awana scholarship programs related to partner purchases of materials.

• Assist in managing the CRM system (Salesforce) for lead development and nurturing, ensuring effective workflows and automations.
• Ensure church partner data integrity by enforcing accurate and up-to-date recordkeeping.
• Monitor progress of leads within the CRM and generate reports to track key engagement metrics.

• Oversee multi-channel customer care (phone, online, chat, and other applications), staying current on industry best practices.
• Manage service tickets on behalf of partners related to Technology and Finance matters, ensuring timely resolution.
• Monitor membership and service analytics, presenting key insights at leadership meetings.

What You Need:

• Minimum five years related experience in customer service, customer success management, or contact center operations, with at least three years in people management, required.
• Problem solver and persuasive communicator whose end goal is to create positive resolutions.
• Willingness to pray with callers.
• Intermediate Google Suite skills, with emphasis on customer service tools and CRM software (Salesforce) preferred.
• Ability to simultaneously service callers while looking up, viewing, entering information into the CRM system.
• Spanish language skills are a plus.
• Occasional local and out-of-town, overnight travel may be required.
• General understanding of the Bible and the Christian Church in its various expressions required.
• Experience with Awana resources a plus – Awana Clubs, Brite, Child Discipleship Forum, global ministry, etc.
• Eligibility to work in the United States is required; this position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

• Mission-driven work that changes the lives of children and youth around the world.
• Intentional connection, flexibility, family, and community engagement are part of our culture.
• Remote-first work environment, allowing you to do the majority of your work from where it is you call "home”. In this role, you will have some in-person responsibilities that would typically require your work to be done in our St. Charles, IL office 1-3x per week with seasonal variability.
• Benefits package, including a variety of programs you can choose from to meet you and your family’s needs. Some of these include medical, dental & vision health insurance, paid family leave, 401(k) & Roth 401(k) retirement savings plans with employer match, generous paid vacation & holidays, adoption assistance, an employee wellness program, and more!