Support Associate (Temporary)

About TalkingPoints:

TalkingPoints is an award-winning education technology non-profit organization with the mission to drive student success by unlocking the potential of families to fuel their children’s learning. We do this through universal family engagement technology with a focus on supporting underserved and/or diverse students and their communities. TalkingPoints transforms something as simple as a cell phone into a tool that empowers PK-12 families and educators to form strong relationships through two-way translated digital conversations, data analytics, and resources in 150+ languages.

Since 2015, TP has impacted millions of students across 70,000 schools in the US with 10x growth in reach in the past two years alone. Recent research has shown that in a large, diverse urban school district, TP improved academic outcomes, equivalent to 7.3 months of additional learning for the average student, with greater impacts for traditionally underserved students. TP works with key districts such as Fairfax County School District, Wake County Public Schools, Elk Grove Unified School District, and Boston Public Schools, among others. TalkingPoints has received awards and recognition including Chicago Tribune, NPR, Common Sense Education, and Google Impact Challenge Winner, Forbes 30 Under 30, Echoing Green Fellowship. Current philanthropic partners include Arrow Impact, Ballmer Group, Carnegie Corporation, Cisco, Gates Foundation, Google.org, Overdeck Family Foundation, MacKenzie Scott, Valhalla, and Walton, among others. Learn more from Founder and CEO, Heejae Lim’s TED talk.

It's an important time to join our team and build on our momentum and ability to support students and families during this critical time in which education equity gaps are more concerning than ever. Learn more.

Diversity: we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it!

The Opportunity:

As a Support Associate, you will report to the Support Manager and have the opportunity to help educators and families on the TalkingPoints platform. This will include assisting users with different levels of technical proficiency in troubleshooting, navigating the app, and account setup. Additionally, you will be tasked with identifying issues within the app and flagging them to their respective stakeholders. You’ll work closely with a small but supercharged, tightly-knit, mission-driven team focused on driving family engagement in support of schools, teachers, and families during the Back-to-School 2025 season..

The targeted start date for this position is June 16, 2025. This is a temporary, hourly position that will begin as part-time (up to 29 hours per week). The role requires flexibility to increase to full-time (up to 40 hours per week) as needed, with full-time hours expected starting on July 14, 2025. The position is expected to end on October 15, 2025, and is non-exempt. Candidates must be available Monday–Friday, with a 9:00am Eastern start time. The hourly rate range is $24-$25, depending on experience.

In this role, you will:

• Be the first point of contact for troubleshooting customer issues and inquiries, quickly resolving them where possible and effectively escalating when needed.
• Collaborate with the broader support team to resolve customer issues with empathy and patience to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, & adhere to team KPIs.
• Escalate and investigate app issues reported both internally and externally, including reproducing problems, collecting relevant examples (e.g., screenshots or screen recordings), and verifying data.
• Contribute to improvements in workspace tools such as macros, automated workflows, and help desk integrations to improve the efficiency of customer support operations.
• Share customer feedback, trends, and recurring issues with relevant stakeholders, including product, partnerships, and marketing teams, to drive continuous improvement.
• Interface directly with key partner points of contact, including attending partner calls alongside Partner Success or other internal teams when appropriate.
• Contribute to and maintain the external knowledge base by updating articles, FAQs, and guides to reflect the latest product features, processes, and user-friendly tips.

Who You Are:

• You have a thorough attention to detail required to identify and help solve user problems.
• You have strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across different departments and with customers of varying technical backgrounds.
• You must be an efficient worker who looks for opportunities for improvement.
• You are customer-obsessed and have a desire to provide the best possible experience for every user that reaches out.
• You must be a quick learner and able to get up to speed quickly during our fast-paced onboarding as well as learning on the job.
• You are a strong team player. We work as a small, tightly-knit team, and you should be self-starting and motivated to build things.
• You have a strong commitment to our mission and use technology to make a difference.
• You must have or be willing to undergo a background check that is necessary for working with student data.

Nice to Haves:

• Proficient in using customer support software, ticketing systems
• Experience with U.S.-based K-12 education systems
• Experience in or empathy with communities we serve (e.g., underserved populations, education, immigration, bilingual and/or multicultural environments)

Overall Fit with Our Org Culture - We Look for Team Members Who Are:

• User and mission-oriented: we are devoted to our mission with empathy towards the communities we serve.
• All-in together: we go above and beyond the job description, working together as a team.
• Agile & action-oriented: we get things done, knowing that our progress is urgent to our communities.
• Always Learning: we are always learning, with a growth mindset, to reach our full potential.
• Boldly Courageous: we take risks in order to achieve big things.
• Resourceful: We are creative, solution-oriented, and scrappy.