Team Lead, Customer Experience

The Contingent • Portland, OR

2d • $58,000 - $62,000 • 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 expertise, and operational management. It involves coaching and developing staff, serving as an escalation point for complex customer situations, and providing frontline support when needed. The Team Lead helps build an inclusive, high-performing team culture aligned with The Contingent’s values.

The position uses customer feedback, operational data, and technology to identify trends and improve processes, workflows, and customer and employee experiences. It supports inquiry management across technology platforms, helps implement new processes and tools, coordinates daily operations, and partners with leadership and cross-functional teams to achieve service, quality, and productivity goals. Responsibilities may vary as directed by the supervisor in a dynamic work environment.

This is a full-time, exempt position based in Portland, Oregon, with a hybrid schedule of 2–3 days in the office and 2–3 days working from home. Core hours are 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Pacific Time. The role may be scheduled to work during the organization’s extended end-of-year holiday period, with equivalent time off scheduled outside that period. The annual salary range is $58,000–$62,000, with estimated total compensation of $68,000–$72,000. Candidates must be legally eligible to work in the United States. Employment is at will and includes 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 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 successfully working with diverse constituents using multicultural intelligence, intentional listening, appreciation, and respect.
• Ability to work in a lean, fast-paced organization with limited administrative support and to take a hands-on approach.
• Strong written, verbal, public-speaking, and active-listening skills, including experience engaging diverse audiences.
• Time-management skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Proficiency in task and project management software.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Dynamics 365 or an equivalent platform.
• Experience supporting teams of entry-level professionals and coaching emerging leaders.
• Commitment to The Contingent’s mission, including Every Child and The Script.
• Ability to articulate a position on the importance of faith communities engaging with vulnerable children, youth, and families.
• Commitment to serving vulnerable children, youth, and families and the government professionals who work with them.
• Commitment to increasing leadership diversity in the communities served.
• Growth mindset and interest in improving processes and program efficiency.
• Passion for operational, technical, and customer experience excellence.
• Flexibility, receptiveness to constructive feedback, initiative, and adaptability.
• Legal eligibility to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual Spanish/English skills; candidates who test for language 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 employee growth, engagement, and development.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative, accountable, and high-performing team culture.
• Support onboarding, training reinforcement, and ongoing skill development.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex or sensitive customer issues.
• Guide specialists in resolving inquiries across multiple communication 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 line 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 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 support 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.

Benefits

• Premium medical, vision, and dental insurance, covered 100% for employees and 80% for spouses and/or dependents.
• 19 paid holidays, plus vacation, sick, bereavement, and parental leave.
• 401(k) plan with a 6% of 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: Manager