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