Membership Manager

Job Description: Membership Manager

Team: Operations

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) is a member-based nonprofit organization championing better design of cities and towns to improve lives and strengthen communities for all. For thirty years, CNU has been the only organization reforming city-building across the country, gathering the broad spectrum of practitioners and advocates who share our mission. By highlighting impactful design principles and lowering barriers to change, CNU amplifies the grassroots power of our thousands of members to build and rebuild their cities and towns in ways that improve sustainability, accessibility, and equity.

What we do:

• We convene a broad spectrum of multidisciplinary practitioners and advocates working on reforming city-building, driving change in communities across the US and beyond.
• We share best practices in urban design, policy, and implementation, opening doors for our members to enact meaningful change in their communities.
• We amplify the grassroots power of our members working to build/rebuild their cities and towns in ways that improve sustainability, accessibility, and equity for years to come.

As a key part of the Operations Team, the Membership Manager oversees all daily membership operations and services. This includes monitoring, updating, and trouble-shooting membership workflows; ensuring timely responses to member inquiries; maintaining reports on membership numbers and demographics; and designing the execution of member retention or recruitment initiatives and campaigns in partnership with the Engagement Department -- all while keeping an eye towards the primacy of CNU’s relationship with its members.

Essential Functions:

Member Services and Retention 60%

• Manage CNU’s relationship with its members, including:
  • Responding to all inquiries
  • Develop and execute strategy for improving the member experience to increase member recruitment and member retention.
  • Maintain membership benefits, develop new benefits as necessary. Maintain organization-wide understanding of CNU’s member profile.
  • Delivery renewal invoicing, communications.
  • Update and maintain all membership forms, membership levels.
  • Ensure effective delivery of membership benefits.
  • Represent CNU to the members regularly through communications and occasional on-site events.
  • Manage and initiate new member onboarding processes. Monitor membership feedback, comments, and suggestions to ensure continuous improvement and growth.
  • Work with the Engagement Team to update and maintain membership materials, marketing collateral, direct mail, or other materials as needed.

Membership Systems Management 25%

• Oversee, improve, and maintain CNU’s membership systems with a keen eye towards efficiency and professionalism:
  • Maintain the member database, complete regular data hygiene, serve as the internal expert on membership.
  • Manage membership lists for communications and outreach.
  • Delivery regular membership reports as needed, provide tracking and analysis of membership numbers and performance, maintain membership dashboard.
  • Manage monthly distribution of Chapter or affiliate member lists and dues disbursement procedures per quarter, as appropriate.
  • Work closely with IT contracts and the Operations Team to support the internal systems, technologies, and procedures of all membership activities by managing all aspects of the database as it relates to membership operations and essential functions.
  • Ensure accuracy with the application of member payments via CRM or check deposits. Work with the bookkeeper and Operations Team as necessary to ensure database and reporting processes are accurate.

The remainder of the position (~15%) will be spent working in partnership with the Engagement and Resources Teams and other CNU staff to ensure campaigns, communications, materials, and resources are being delivered to our membership.

Qualifications

The Membership Manager should be solutions-oriented, communicative, and ready to roll. This position requires self-motivation, the ability to participate in the development of strategic planning, and then self-manage to meet deadlines and execute tasks. In a fully remote office environment, communication and reliability are key to our organizational success. The Membership Manager should have a Bachelor’s Degree and 2-5 years experience working in the nonprofit sector in membership or constituent engagement; be able to demonstrate a connection to, understanding of, and desire to be immersed in CNU’s mission; be familiar with the organization’s strategic plan; and demonstrate they have the following skills:

• Understanding Member Systems and Data: This position requires experience utilizing CNU’s CRM platform, which is NeonOne; strong data management and reporting capabilities, including the ability to help maintain a clean and efficient constituent database; proficiency with Google Suite and other internal communications tools such as Slack; comfort with email marketing platforms and digital communication tools; and the ability to analyze membership metrics and use data to inform strategy.
• Organization and Strategy: Excellent organization, time management, and multitasking; project management and ability to manage events, campaigns, or outreach; problem-solving, planning, and execution of member recruitment/retention strategies. This position requires the ability to manage projects individually and the ability to coordinate teams and people to complete projects. This includes convening project teams, assessing the needs, delegating tasks in addition to regularly following-up on assigned projects, reporting on the progress, and ultimately achieving the project goals.
• Interpersonal communication. This includes the ability to stay connected to other remote staff, regularly provide check-ins or updates to supervisors or other team members, the comfort to ask questions and reinforce priorities. Additionally, managing the relationship with our members requires strong verbal and written communication skills; the ability to provide excellent customer/member service and engage diverse stakeholders; and the ability to excel at relationship building, community engagement, and collaboration.
• Reliability. This includes demonstrated ability to complete projects on time and ensure balls are not dropped.
• Strategy. This position will require strategic thinking, the development (and execution) of strategies to deepen CNU’s connection with its members. The capacity to think strategically in partnership with other staff, and build plans to achieve these strategies, is key.
• Connectedness. A remote work environment is not ideal for every personality type or person. To be successful at CNU, candidates must demonstrate they are capable of growing relationships with CNU members and amongst staff online, communicating effectively and regularly with all team members, and understanding that making yourself (and your work) known to others is a personal responsibility.
• Understanding the mission. CNU is distinct from other place-making organizations because of the intersectionality of New Urbanism. The ideal candidate will come to CNU with a passion for leveraging the built environment to offer social, economic, and environmental benefits to more people, but will also dedicate themselves to understanding - and being able to communicate about - CNU and New Urbanism effectively.

Classification:

Exempt

Reports to:

Senior Director of Operations, or Executive Director if the Senior Director position is vacant.

Supervisory Responsibility:

None

Work Environment:

CNU is an intentionally remote organization with staff operating across the country. While each staff person is responsible for understanding their own ability to manage time and tasks, it is expected that each employee complete 35 hour work weeks (not including an hour for lunch), that all staff have an overlapping window of working 10am-4pm ET regardless of timezone, and that all staff will be available for phone calls / zoom meetings from a desk during their work day. Additional policies and expectations regarding remote work and staff culture can be found in CNU’s handbook.

Physical Demands:

The Membership Manager position is a largely sedentary role, performed remotely. While performing the duties of this job, the employee must be able to communicate clearly and effectively through email, phone, and zoom.

Travel:

All employees are expected to gather regularly for staff retreats and attend our annual Congress. Additional travel may occasionally be required.

To Apply:

Please email a 1.) cover letter detailing your interest in the position and your connection to the mission of CNU and 2.) a resume highlighting your professional accomplishments to resumes@cnu.org by January 11th. Resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position remains open until filled.

CNU is an equal opportunity employer with fulfilling careers in design, placemaking, innovation, leadership development and administrative support. Diversity is a critical source of strength for us. Different racial backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, ages and points of view contribute to our effectiveness as an organization. We will prioritize candidates that reflect diverse backgrounds.

Benefits package includes medical, dental, retirement, holidays, and paid time off.