BACKGROUND
Over the past 90 years, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees experiencing war or disaster. The IRC is on the ground in more than 50 countries, providing emergency relief, relocating refugees and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster.

The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

IRC UK
IRC UK is part of the IRC global network, which has its global headquarters in New York. Our team in the UK works to raise profile, deliver policy and practice change, and increase funding to help restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Since 2021, IRC UK has also provided integration services directly to refugees in England; a programme that is rapidly growing.

In Europe, the IRC also has offices in Berlin, Bonn, Brussels, Geneva and Stockholm.

Job Overview

The Purpose of the Role

 The Mass Market team’s mission is to inspire the UK public to financially support the IRC in order to help people impacted by conflict and disaster. Having significantly grown the individual giving programme in recent years, we are now looking for an experienced Supporter Care Manager to take our Supporter Services programme to the next level.

 The main focus of this new role is to develop and professionalise our Supporter Services programme, ensuring our supporters have a first-class experience, and that they develop a positive and lasting relationship with the IRC. Working in partnership with the fundraising, gift processing and CRM teams, and overseeing our external call centre, the post-holder will shape the strategy in line with the projected growth of the fundraising programme. Due to the size of the programme, the role will be responsible for service delivery, and there will be opportunity to grow the team in line with the growth of the programme in future years.

 

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

 Strategy and planning (30%)

 Work with the Director, Mass Markets UK to create and implement a donor-centric Supporter Care strategy and priorities as part of the wider Mass Markets strategyManage 3rd party inbound call centre relationship and contracts, including leading on procurement of new services, ensuring all work carried out is to a high standard and represents value for moneyLead annual, quarterly and monthly planning process, defining key deliverables and initiatives that advance the Supporter Care programme, ensuring all activities support the aims of the departmental strategyCollaborate with global Supporter Care team members to share best practice, new initiatives and contribute to global projectsManage and plan internal and external resource during in peak times, e.g. Year End and emergency appealsWork closely with the Mass Market teams to increase connection across the department, contribute to cross-departmental planning with the ultimate aim of developing a seamless progression for new donors and prospects into further cultivationFeed into fundraising planning by providing insight, feedback and themes from supporter communicationsIdentify and brief support requirements with internal and external stakeholders in order to ensure the smooth running and enhancement of operationsCreate and manage the Supporter Services expenditure budget and reforecasts

 

2.    Programme delivery (50%)

      Provide first-class service to our supporters across telephone, email and post, and across comments on our social media advertising and inboxes – ensuring you represent IRC appropriately, by responding to all supporter enquiries, actions and complaints in a professional manner and within agreed SLAs

     Manage the third party inbound call centre, ensuring they are briefed on upcoming campaigns and activity and monitoring their output     Liaise across Acquisition, Retention and Legacy to ensure response handling and supporter enquiries are streamlined during campaign activity, including during emergency appeals with the Disasters Emergency Committee     Manage supporters who are fundraising on our behalf (community and events) and provide encouragement, fundraising support and assistance across fundraising platforms     Be the first point of contact for Legacy enquirers, providing initial stewardship and effectively transferring the relationship to Mass Market and Philanthropy teams     Use agreed letter templates and craft bespoke responses using the supporter care database and FAQs     Ensure interactions are logged on the CRM in a timely and accurate manner     Accurately enter or amend supporter data on the CRM     Ensure our thanking and acknowledgment communications are up to date and engaging     Fulfil information packs and other items to supporters and legacy enquirers     Maintain Community and Events fundraising pages on website, ensuring they are up-to-date, relevant and engaging     Work closely with the gift processing team to ensure gifts, Gift Aid declarations and other relevant actions are processed or amended in a timely manner

3.    Compliance and operations (20%)

     Set and manage SLAs across all aspects of the programme, including with external suppliers     Manage the quality compliance audit with the call centre, including undertaking regular caller listening     Create and manage a framework to track supporter care performance, including complaints, and provide regular reporting to key colleagues     Develop and maintain internal and public facing Supporter Care policies and guidelines     Provide regular training and best practice to public-facing colleagues across IRC UK on handling supporter interactions appropriately      Maintain an up-to-date knowledge and foster the development of Supporter Care within IRC by networking within the NGO and private sector to learn and import best practice     Stay up to date on current legislation, and industry standards and adhere to all relevant regulation including the Fundraising Regulator, Gambling Commission and ICO     Develop and enhance supporter services procedures and documents, ensuring they are kept up to date, particularly during emergency appeals

The above duties are intended to be an outline of the responsibilities for this role and are not an an exhaustive list. You may be expected to undertake other reasonable duties as requested by the Director, Mass Markets and the Mass Markets UK leadership team. This post may involve some national and international travel, overnight stays and very occasional working outside core office hours.

 

Scope and Authority

Responsibility for Resources: expenditure budget associated with supporter care costs and third party contractors. There is no income expectation for this role.

 

Key Working Relationships

 Director, Mass Markets UKAcquisition teamRetention teamGlobal Supporter ExperienceSupporter Care equivalents in other IRC geographiesGift ProcessingFinanceData and AnalyticsComms, Digital Engagement and Creative StudioMartech Systems & Platforms

 

PERSON SPECIFICATION

 

Essential Knowledge and Experience:

 Experience leading or managing a supporter (or customer) care programme and strategyExperience interacting with supporters or customers in a customer service or customer facing settingExcellent written English, with the ability to produce well written, strong communications and reportsNumerate with confident data interpretation skillsExcellent organisational skillsStrong IT skills including Microsoft packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook)Experience with a CRM system

 

Essential skills

 Ability to communicate confidently and effectively with supporters over the phone, email and other channels Ability to handle difficult conversations with supporters sensitively and diplomatically, ensuring a professional attitude is shown at all timesStrong interpersonal skills, with the confidence to engage with supporters and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels Driven and proactive with a solutions-based attitudeWilling to work independently and to take the initiativeA team player who enjoys working collaboratively and supporting colleagues

 

Language Skills: English (fluent).

Candidates must have the right to work in the UK. 

 

The application deadline is Tuesday 21st January 2025. 

 

IRC UK strives to be an equal opportunities employer. IRC UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all  job  applicants  and  employees,  and  we  seek  to ensure  we  achieve diversity  in  our  workforce  regardless  of  gender,  race,  religious  beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability. 

 

IRC UK welcomes applications from all candidates, including underrepresented groups and refugees who have the right to work in the UK.  

 

IRC UK will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application and/or interview process, and for essential job functions if appointed to a role. Please contact us if you may need such adjustments.   

 

If you have any questions or need assistance with the online recruitment process, please contact the IRC UK HR team at applications@rescue-uk.org