• Job Description

  Req#: iB79Sra6by

  ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, PUBLIC SUPPORT & SOLUTIONS
  

  Division: Marketing & Communications

  Department: Public Support & Solutions

  Location: Brooklyn, NY or Remote

  Reports To: Chief Marketing Officer

  Status: Full time, Regular, Exempt, Non-Union

  Salary: $66,000 - $72,000

  Application Deadline : Thursday, July 20th at 5:00 PM

  THE ROLE

  The Associate Director, Public Support & Solutions leads public-facing communications with a wide range of people and organizations to ensure that everyone who interacts with StoryCorps walks away with an impression that’s consistent with our organizational values: every voice matters and we listen. We field inquiries from a wide range of StoryCorps users and audiences, including current and past interview participants; people and partners who use our digital tools to record; prospective and current corporate donors and fee-for-service customers; organizations and individuals who seek to license our content; and listeners, members and fans. Accordingly, the Associate Director, Public Support & Solutions must be an active listener and comfortable in providing accurate and clear support to people of all backgrounds and abilities who reach out to us. The Ideal candidate will be someone who is people-oriented, people-forward, and has a passion for customer service, client-based, and customer engagement-focused work

  The Associate Director, Public Support & Solutions supervises two full-time staffers who assist in managing inquiries through the ZenDesk customer service software platform and who support the participant and customer experience related to our digital tools–primarily our app and StoryCorps Connect, which provide a self-facilitated conversation experience, and our online archive where all of our participant conversations are stores and can be accessed by the public in association with participant privacy settings.

  In addition, the Associate Director works closely with other teams at StoryCorps to address emerging issues and to champion the user experience as we improve our existing digital tools and create new ones. Training materials, FAQs and resources shaped by the Associate Director, Public Support & Solutions enable outstanding communication with participants and the public for teams across the organization.

  Finally, the Associate Director will steer engagement efforts to ensure that all participants connect with their interviews and build strong relationships to StoryCorps and its mission.

  WHAT YOU’LL DO

  Public Support

  • Oversee and continuously improve the delivery of exceptional participant and customer service. Leverage digital systems including Mandrill (transactional emails), ZenDesk, iorad, Status Page, and the StoryCorps Online Archive to communicate with and address participant, customer, and audience needs
  • Provide technical support to a growing suite of StoryCorps’ digital tools including: the StoryCorps App, StoryCorps Connect, and the StoryCorps Online Archive, by offering user support, troubleshooting steps, and direct-to-user support
  • Work closely with Digital to manage communications with users during major incidents and outages of StoryCorps platforms, providing regular updates on Status Page, managing direct communications through ZenDesk, and assisting in identifying issues and confirming their resolution
  • Maintain and expand the StoryCorps Help Center, populating this site with technical support articles as well as answers to common questions regarding the participant experience, partnerships, StoryCorps in the Classroom, our content, and more
  • Manage StoryCorps’ relationship with a third-party call center, providing scripting and updated information on a regular basis to support reservations over the phone, and identifying opportunities for digital integrations to streamline systems
  • Analyze and understand the types of inquiries that have been generated from the public, providing process improvement and feedback to other departments in StoryCorps on ways to further improve how we communicate with the public
  • Respond directly to escalated or particularly challenging complaints or issues

  Inter-departmental Systems & Solutions Oversight
  

  • Lead the moderation of content in the StoryCorps Online Archive by conducting regular reviews for spam/commercial-use content, processing the removal of inappropriate content, and collaborating closely with legal and other teams on more escalated and complex complaints and user disputes
  • Working closely with the Recording & Archive department, assist in the development of new policies governing StoryCorps participants’ access to and control over their interviews

  • Train staff members in R&A, Digital, and Custom Services on the ZenDesk platform; create automations and workflows within StoryCorps’ ZenDesk account to support the use of this system by other teams
  • Perform moderation and corrective actions in the Online Archive, collaborating with Digital to resolve complex technical issues, bug fixes, and platform improvements
  • Serve as an M&C lead on digital development working groups to inform product development, sharing best practices and user recommendations to support technical development and platform improvements
  • Advise fee-for-service and outreach partners on best engagement practices and uses of StoryCorps digital tools and platforms

  User Engagement

  • Execute communications to engage with users of the Online Archive and StoryCorps’ digital products to move them along a journey to record stories, engage with their interviews and support our mission
  • Collaborate with Digital and other StoryCorps teams to improve the way we support the participant journey
  • In close collaboration with Interview Collection, Digital, and other teams, manage all transactional emails to participants and online archive users

  Team Supervision & Administration

  • Be the voice on the M&C team to provide user feedback and public inquiries
  • Provide supervisory oversight and guidance to staff across the organization in delivering superior quality participant communications and support and responding to audience inquiries.
  • Perform other duties to support marketing & communications objectives, as assigned

  ABOUT YOU

  Required:

  • At least 5-7 years of professional experience in customer service/support-related positions with at least 2 years of supervisory experience
  • Strong interpersonal skills plus cultural competence and the ability to work successfully with diverse groups of people
  • Experience with email automation systems, website content management systems (Wordpress preferred), and help desk/ticket management systems
  • Superior verbal and written communication skills
  • Demonstrated ability to manage and coach high-performing teams
  • High attention to detail, with demonstrated ability to write compelling, error-free copy on tight deadlines
  • Highly organized with experience managing assets, information, and processes
  • Ability to work under deadlines, to exercise critical judgment, organize information, and handle multiple assigned tasks efficiently
  • Ability to be flexible and adaptable in order to contribute to problem-solving activities within a growing, changing organization
  • Cultural competence/humility and the ability to thrive in a diverse work environment

  Preferred:

  • Previous experience working within a non-profit, media, public service, or journalism organization or institutions of arts and culture
  • Bachelor's or degree in Marketing and Communications or related field of study
  • Basic knowledge of HTML
  • Experience with ZenDesk or similar customer service engagement platforms/digital tools
  • Basic understanding of user experience design for web platforms and digital tools
  • Proficiency on a Mac platform
  • Spanish language fluency (orally and in writing)

  Physical Requirements:

  • Travel Percentage: 20%

  ABOUT STORYCORPS

  Founded in 2003, StoryCorps has given over 600,000 people, in all 50 states, the chance to record interviews about their lives. The award-winning organization preserves the recordings in its archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered, and shares select stories with the public through StoryCorps’ podcast, NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms, and best-selling books. These powerful human stories reflect the vast range of American experiences, engender empathy and connection, and remind us how much more we have in common than what divides us. StoryCorps is especially committed to capturing and amplifying voices least heard in the media. The StoryCorps MobileBooth, an Airstream trailer that has been transformed into a traveling recording booth, crisscrosses the country year-round gathering the stories of people nationwide. Learn more at storycorps.org.

  In-Office Work:

  Working at the StoryCorps office is optional except in certain circumstances, such as in-person training, if your position requires some in-office presence, or if your manager needs an in-person individual or team meeting, COVID guidelines permitting.

  For those who prefer to work in the office, that option remains.

  COVID NOTICE:

  All offers of employment requiring on-site/in-person work will be contingent on the candidate being Fully Vaccinated (at least two-weeks after last dose) prior to starting their new role. Reasonable accommodations can be discussed with HR personnel for individuals who cannot be vaccinated due to medical or religious reasons. Proof of vaccination status is required at the time of extending the offer.

  We monitor NYC COVID-19 transmissions rates every week to inform staff of in-office protocols. This status is emailed to all staff every Friday and will include the rules to follow for each color code: Green, Yellow, and Red. These codes will dictate the masking and gathering guidelines.

  StoryCorps seeks to hire staff who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. All positions at StoryCorps are filled without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, HIV/AIDS status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. All are encouraged to apply.

• About the company

  StoryCorps is an American non-profit organization whose mission is to record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs.

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