Director, Strategic Customer Relations

As Director, Strategic Customer Relations, you will own the strategy, operations, and outcomes of Imprint's customer escalations and back office functions. This is a senior leadership role with direct accountability for building and scaling a best-in-class escalations operation.

You will serve as the vision-setting, execution-driving leader across four core function areas: escalations, back office operations, credit reporting, and social media support — translating reactive, ad hoc processes into a structured, metrics-driven function with a clear roadmap for what great looks like.

This role requires a builder who has created functions like this from scratch, knows how to leverage outsourcing to scale, and can use technology — including AI — to transform how escalations work at Imprint.

What Success Looks Like in the First 90 Days

• Established operating structure, clear metrics, and backlog visibility across all four function areas

• Defined a 1–2 year vision for the escalations function and a concrete work-back plan to achieve it

• Replaced the current escalation process with a scalable, agent-facing solution

• Built productive working relationships with key cross-functional stakeholders: Risk, General Managers, Compliance, Legal, and Tech

• Demonstrated ability to manage and leverage the outsourced escalations team effectively to scale capacity

Responsibilities

• Own strategy, operations, and outcomes across escalations (organic, executive, and partner), back office functions, credit reporting, and social media support

• Build the operating infrastructure for the escalations function: processes, metrics, tooling, and backlog management — from the ground up

• Define and articulate a clear vision for what "great" looks like in 1–2 years, and drive stakeholder alignment and buy-in on the path to get there

• Lead and scale a hybrid team model, including internal staff and an outsourced partner, to meet growing demand without proportional headcount growth

• Identify, evaluate, and implement technology solutions — including AI-powered tools — to improve agent support, reduce escalation volume, and increase resolution quality

• Partner with Risk, Compliance, Legal, Tech, and General Managers to resolve complex escalations and ensure regulatory adherence

• Feed escalation themes back to Product and Engineering with actionable recommendations to address root causes and prevent recurrence

• Establish data infrastructure that connects ticketing systems (e.g., Linear) with broader analytics platforms (e.g., Sigma) for unified reporting and insight

• Oversee back office operations including trailing statements, SCRA, bankruptcy notices, and deceased notices

• Provide strategic oversight of social media support channels with a plan to expand coverage

Qualifications

Required

• Demonstrated experience building and scaling customer escalations, back office, or customer relations functions from an early, unstructured state — not just running a mature operation

• Strong analytical mindset with a track record of implementing metrics, operational structure, and process discipline in ambiguous environments

• Experience managing outsourced or BPO teams as a core part of the delivery model

• Practical experience leveraging AI in operations — e.g., agent assist tools, Slack bots, or automated resolution workflows

• Proficiency with ticketing systems and experience integrating them with data and analytics platforms for unified reporting

• Ability to set a clear vision, communicate it compellingly, and drive alignment across senior stakeholders

• Deep ownership mentality — identifies problems, drives solutions, and holds outcomes without being directed

Nice to Have

• Background in fintech, payments, or regulated financial services

• Experience at a high-growth startup navigating rapid scaling and operational volatility

• Exposure to a mature, well-run escalations or customer operations function, providing a clear benchmark for "what great looks like"

• Familiarity with social media support operations and community management at scale

Perks & Benefits

• Competitive compensation and equity packages

• Leading configured work computers of your choice

• Flexible paid time off