Director of Membership

What You'll Do

The Director of Membership will serve as the chief liaison and primary point of contact for the Synagogue's more than 3,000 member families, creating an engaging and delightful experience that exceeds members' expectations and cultivates their ongoing commitment to the Central community. The Director will drive the strategy behind how Central creates a captivating and memorable membership experience; serve as the face of Central in connecting with members directly about their questions and concerns; and will oversee and continue to improve the tools, systems, and processes needed to drive seamless and consistent execution of an exceptional membership experience. In addition, the Director will serve as a primary point of contact and relationship ambassador for both existing and prospective members, thinking both critically and creatively to respond to the surge in interest in Central's community and services and meeting those demands with thoughtful and principled engagement.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Membership Engagement & Services

• Serve as the face of Central Synagogue and as a trusted point of contact amongst the Synagogue's current and prospective members, managing the membership waitlist, answering questions, and addressing concerns in a timely, thoughtful, and fair fashion.
• Make and implement recommendations about membership dues and fees, along with principles around financial aid.
  
• Orchestrate and facilitate a seamless member experience for the High Holy Days and other critical programs and events as needed, including managing complex communications and logistics (e.g. seating arrangements, ticket distribution, etc.) and responding to member issues or requests as they arise.
• Partner closely with Central's Clergy and Adult and Youth & Family Engagement teams to stay abreast of member questions, concerns, and trends, and work collaboratively to respond to and incorporate member feedback and better integrate members into broader institutional life.
• Respond to inbound interest in Central Synagogue, serving as a point of contact for prospective members and organizing new members' onboarding into the community.
• Proactively identify and connect with any members whose engagement with the Synagogue has declined, ideating creative ways to reconnect them with the Central community.

CRM Leadership & Management

• Oversee the organization's usage, maintenance, and continuous improvement of Salesforce for both membership management (e.g. as a CRM) and internal purposes in partnership with other departments (e.g. as an intranet in coordination with HR).
• Leverage Salesforce to document and analyze member data to identify trends and outliers in Central's membership experience.
• Serve as a Salesforce super user and chief evangelist amongst the team, demonstrating exceptional mastery of the tool and promoting proper usage across the broader organization.
• Spearhead the change management, communications, and training efforts necessary to grow the team's capabilities and confidence in leveraging Salesforce effectively.
• Serve as the primary partner and point of contact for the organization's Salesforce consultant, ensuring effective utilization of this important relationship.

Data, Systems & Process Leadership

• Administer membership survey(s) as agreed, including to calculate the Synagogue's "Belonging" score and capture additional data as needed in order to analyze and understand Central's membership experience.
• Partner with other departments to support the coordination of their own member surveys, providing oversight and assistance as needed.
• Develop fair, equitable, and repeatable policies and procedures for addressing member requests and concerns; implement principled decision-making with consistency and integrity across various membership issues.
  
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve and evolve systems and processes in support of meeting member and organizational needs.
• Serve as an evangelist and champion of new tools and technologies to support Central's membership experience and organizational needs.

Team Management & Organizational Leadership

• Lead, develop, and coach a talented team of 5 to implement and iterate on the Synagogue's membership engagement strategy and supporting CRM.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to execute on membership engagement initiatives, in partnership with the Synagogue's Clergy and Adult and Youth & Family Engagement teams, among others.
• Advise the Executive Director on any notable trends or outliers within member experience, including escalating critical concerns when necessary.
• Report periodically on membership trends and growth to the Board of Trustees.
• Help to shape and support Central's growth strategy in response to the considerable inbound interest and organic growth the Synagogue is experiencing.

Who You'll Work With

• You will report to the Executive Director of Central Synagogue.
• You will supervise the Assistant Director of Membership and Membership Manager, along with the Salesforce Director and (indirectly) the Salesforce Coordinator and Salesforce Support Engineer.
• You will collaborate frequently with the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Development Officer and leaders on the Adult Engagement and Youth & Family Engagement teams, as well as the Synagogue's Clergy, among others.

• 10-12 years of professional experience, including 7 years in a membership engagement or customer service function, or similar roles.
• At least 7 years of strong people management experience, with an ability to balance delegation and control and hold teams accountable for results by creating a culture of ownership.
• Experience with CRM management and iteration; Salesforce strongly preferred.
• Highly empathetic, respectful, and responsive in dealing with others; adept at perspective-taking, building rapport, and finding common ground.
• Calm, measured, and cool under pressure; resilient in the face of various member demands and challenges.
• Capable of acting fairly and decisively during times of stress; flexible and adaptable to changing priorities while demonstrating grace under pressure.
• Strong critical thinking skills, including thoughtful, principled, and fair decision-making and the ability to implement those decisions fairly, consistently, and with integrity.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and desire to improve upon the status quo; approaches situations creatively, connecting previously unrelated ideas and seeing information in new ways.
• Highly tech savvy; adept at mastering new tools and driving adoption, as well as leveraging technology to drive outcomes.
• Clear and compelling communications skills, both verbally and in writing, with the ability to effectively represent Central Synagogue to a wide array of stakeholders.
  
• Robust organizational and project management skills with an overall execution orientation and an ability to work independently and within teams to manage complex projects in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Participation in the Jewish faith is not required though if not already oriented, the Director of Membership will need to learn the basics of Reform Judaism, the Jewish calendar, and High Holy Days.

Location and Work Environment

Central Synagogue is located in Midtown Manhattan; as such, the Director of Membership must be based in New York City or within easily commutable distance. The Director of Membership will adhere to a hybrid schedule with four days in the office and one day remote. In partnership with their team, the Director of Membership will be expected to support and participate in events, which may include weekends and evenings.

Compensation

The expected salary range for this position is $160K - $180K. Central Synagogue offers an extensive benefits package designed to meet the needs of our dedicated and diverse community. The salary is commensurate with experience based on several factors, including but not limited to skills, knowledge, training, education, areas of specialization, and depth and scope of experience. The above salary range represents the Synagogue's good faith and reasonable estimate of the possible compensation range at the time of posting.

Central Synagogue is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local equal employment laws. To that end, we are dedicated to maintaining a work environment that is free from harassment and discrimination on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin (including ancestry), religion, gender or sex, sexual orientation (including transgender status, gender identity or expression), pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), alienage or citizenship status (unless required by law), disability, reproductive health decision making (including, but not limited to, the decision to use or access a particular drug, device, or medical service), marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, domestic violence victim status, familial status, military status, unemployment status, genetic information (including genetic characteristics), or any other protected status under federal, state, or local laws. We are dedicated to the fulfillment of this policy with respect to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, placement, transfer, training, promotion, compensation, termination, and all other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.