Team Lead, Customer Experience

The Contingent • Portland, OR

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Customer Experience Team Lead provides day-to-day leadership to Customer Experience Specialists and Associates while helping deliver timely, compassionate, and effective customer support. The role combines people leadership, customer service, escalation support, and operational performance management. The Team Lead coaches and develops staff, supports customer interactions as needed, and helps build an inclusive, collaborative, high-performing team culture aligned with The Contingent’s values.

The role monitors customer and team metrics, supports workflow coordination, queue management, and staffing coverage, and partners with leadership on service, quality, and productivity goals. It also helps implement processes and tools, promote standard operating procedures, identify opportunities to improve efficiency and customer outcomes, and use technology, automation, AI tools, and knowledge resources to enhance performance. The position collaborates across teams and may involve varied duties in a dynamic work environment.

This is a full-time, exempt hybrid position based in Portland, Oregon, with 2–3 days per week in the office and 2–3 days per week working from home. Core hours are 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Pacific Time. Due to contractual commitments, the role may be scheduled during the extended end-of-year holiday period, with equivalent time off scheduled outside that period. The salary range is $58,000–$62,000 annually, depending on experience, with estimated total compensation of $68,000–$72,000. Applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States. Employment is at will, and new employees undergo a 90-day probationary period.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent experience.
• At least 4 years of relevant experience in customer service, customer experience, contact center operations, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring, coaching, training, or providing informal leadership to peers or team members.
• Experience supporting customers across multiple communication channels, including phone, email, chat, and SMS.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working with CRM, help desk, and customer support platforms.
• Experience working successfully with diverse constituents using multicultural intelligence, intentional listening, appreciation, and respect.
• Ability to provide continuous improvement across the experiences of inquiring community members.
• Willingness to be hands-on in a lean, fast-paced organization with limited administrative support.
• Cultural and emotional intelligence and ability to work with a diverse group of leaders.
• Strong interpersonal communication, active listening, and time management skills.
• Strong written, verbal, and public-speaking skills, including experience engaging diverse audiences.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Proficiency in task and project management software.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Dynamics 365 or an equivalent platform.
• Experience supporting teams of entry-level professionals and coaching rising leaders.
• Commitment to The Contingent’s mission, including Every Child and The Script.
• Ability to relate and work effectively with people across ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Ability to articulate a position on the importance of faith-community engagement with vulnerable children, youth, and families.
• Commitment to serving vulnerable children, youth, and families, and the government staff who work with them.
• Commitment to increasing leadership diversity in the communities served.
• Growth mindset and commitment to developing and improving processes and program efficiencies.
• Passion for operational, technical, and customer experience excellence.
• Flexibility and receptiveness to constructive feedback.
• Self-motivated leadership and initiative.
• Adaptability to changing situations and processes.
• Legal eligibility to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual Spanish/English skills; candidates who test for fluency will be compensated for this skill.
• Experience with SharePoint and Microsoft Teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and support Customer Experience Specialists and Associates.
• Set expectations and drive performance in quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
• Conduct regular one-on-one meetings to support staff growth, engagement, and development.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing team culture.
• Support onboarding, training reinforcement, and ongoing skill development.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex or sensitive customer issues.
• Guide Specialists in resolving customer inquiries across multiple channels.
• Model exceptional customer service, professionalism, and problem-solving.
• Provide frontline customer support as needed to maintain service levels.
• Ensure customer concerns are resolved in alignment with service standards and SLAs.
• Monitor team and customer experience metrics to identify coaching and improvement opportunities.
• Support daily operations, including workflow coordination, queue management, and staffing coverage.
• Partner with leadership to achieve service, quality, and productivity goals.
• Communicate operational updates and organizational priorities clearly and consistently.
• Identify trends, risks, and recurring issues and escalate them as appropriate.
• Support the implementation of new processes, tools, and initiatives.
• Promote adoption of best practices and standard operating procedures.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, efficiency, and customer outcomes.
• Use technology, automation, AI tools, and knowledge resources to enhance performance.
• Share recommendations and frontline insights to drive continuous improvement.
• Maintain communication that reflects organizational values and service standards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support operational success.
• Participate in hiring, interviewing, and onboarding activities as needed.
• Promote accountability, teamwork, learning, and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Premium medical, vision, and dental insurance covered 100% for employees and partially (80%) for spouses and/or dependents.
• 19 paid holidays, plus vacation, sick, bereavement, and parental leave.
• 401(k) with a 6% annual salary match (2027).
• Equivalent time off for work scheduled during the extended end-of-year holiday period.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level