Job description

Job title:  Customer Service Representative - membership

Job purpose:   The Membership Customer Service Representative deals with existing and potential AOP members and Optometry Today (OT) subscribers daily to provide swift and efficient responses to queries by 'phone, email and face-to-face. Delivering excellent customer service to welcome, support and advise members, the role contributes to the growth of our member base.

Reports to:  Membership Officer

Responsible for:  N/A

Budget responsibility:  N/A

Directorate:

The Finance team is responsible for the maintenance of controls and procedures for the accurate record keeping, custody of assets, completeness of income, credit control, fraud prevention, management and support on the internal budget framework and compliance with regulatory framework.  

The Membership team is responsible for the maintenance, quality, protection, and accuracy of member data, reporting of member and subscriber information to the business, and the renewal and retention process of the membership base.  

1  Duties and key responsibilities

Customer service activity 

• Respond to emails, post, voice messages and inbound calls from members and subscribers in a timely and professional manner
• Undertake welcome calls to new members to build solid relationships by making members aware of the full range of benefits available
• Deliver outbound recruitment call campaigns to convert past and potential members to the membership and contribute to the growth of the business
• Implement outbound email and call campaigns to increase engagement with students and newly-qualified optometrists and grow the AOP's market share in this area
• Attend key events to promote membership and respond to member enquiries
• Process data received from the General Optical Council (GOC) into the CRM and implement appropriate communications to members, non-members and optometry related organisations

Membership administration 

• Record interactions (calls, emails, post etc.) against the individual’s CRM record in a manner that reflects the nature of the interaction 
• Process membership and subscriber application forms, renewal forms, Direct Debit mandates, stationary and bookshop orders and other administrative items in a timely manner 
• Produce mailing lists and implement mail outs using the CRM, Excel and Word  
• Contribute to the efficient delivery of the annual membership renewal programme 
• Update reports from the CRM and other sources on email and call volumes, outbound call conversions and mailings undertaken 
• Working in a GDPR compliant manner, undertake routine data checks to maintain the accuracy of the data on the CRM and implement the data retention policy 
• Implement business rules, processes and procedures for membership and OT subscriptions and maintain up to date manuals

Financial administration 

• Produce and submit the Direct Debit BACs file to facilitate the monthly Direct Debit collection
• Record Direct Debit amendments, changes, cancellations and fails onto the CRM and implement appropriate customer communications 
• Assist in the financial accounting process by producing daily, weekly and monthly reconciliations
• Process funds when appropriate and gain approval 

2 General responsibilities

• Be proactive in keeping up to date with developments affecting your work at hand and maintain and improve personal competence through continuous professional development 
• Operate within organisational policies, codes of conduct and practice and working collaboratively with staff across the association
• Contribute to team meetings and organisational priorities, strategic goals and performance targets
• Be flexible and carry out other associated duties as may arise, develop or be assigned within the broad remit of the post

3 Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of working in a KPI focused member or customer service team with a high level of member interaction by 'phone, email and post
• Experience working with a CRM system for customer record management, administration, communications and reporting 
• Dealing with large volumes of email using a shared Outlook inbox and functionality such as quick parts and categories
• Outbound call campaigns experience using scripts to convert leads to customers or members 
• Administration experience, specifically sales support and data entry, preferably within a membership organisation
• Financial administration, experience with the Direct Debit process would be useful.

Skills and abilities

• Excellent up to date computer skills, including Microsoft Office packages, including Outlook, database or CRM systems and internet-based services
• Proficient in Excel for segmenting and manipulating data with the ability to use Word for mail merges and work with templates 
• A confident telephone manner able to deliver outbound call campaigns in a professional manner
• Strong communications skills both written and oral with high levels of accuracy and numeracy
• Able to time-manage and prioritise to ensure timely response to member queries

Knowledge

• Good understanding and knowledge in delivering excellent customer service
• Knowledge of professional membership or other membership structure desirable
• Good understanding of Data Protection principles

Education/training

• Qualified to ‘A’ level or equivalent standard  

Personal attributes and other requirements

• Experience working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM would be desirable.  

To apply

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send a covering letter, explaining your suitability for the role, and your CV to [email protected].