Manager, Support Services

Does the opportunity to devote your talents to a cause much greater than yourself excite you? Do you enjoy driving transformational change in customer support? The Arbor Day Foundation is a place where you can do work that matters, with people who care. As we say at the Foundation: life is short, love where you work.    

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. We foster a growing community of more than one million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by our bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees.    

Join the Arbor Day Foundation as a Manager, Support Services, where you drive a transformative shift in how we support customers and members – through new channels, evolving product offerings, and elevated service delivery. You will lead our internal Tier 2 support team and manage our external call center operations. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys quickly learning new products and tools, delivering exceptional customer experience, and building scalable support systems that grow with the organization.  

This role is based in Lincoln, Nebraska, and reports to the Director, Mission Delivery. Team members are expected to work in the office on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with optional remote work on Wednesday and Friday.  This role requires hands-on leadership during peak support hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, in alignment with customer support needs. 

What You’ll be doing:  
Customer Support Strategy and Operations 

• Define and maintain a clear support strategy, including supported channels, hours of operation, SLAs, escalation paths, and language requirements 
• Design and evolve the support delivery model to support diverse customer types and a growing product portfolio 
• Clarify and document roles, handoffs, and escalation processes across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 teams 
• Implement scalable systems and tools, ensuring alignment with internal teams and customer needs 
• Promote shared access to customer data by partnering with technology teams to connect systems and support informed service 

People Leadership and Team Development 

• Hire, train, and coach Tier 2 support staff, creating a high-performing, adaptable team culture 
• Ensure staff are equipped to support evolving products, tools, and service channels 
• Set clear goals and expectations, provide regular feedback, and support professional growth through mentoring and development 
• Foster a culture of ownership, continuous learning, and resilience 

Customer Experience 

• Champion a customer-first mindset through service design, training, and real-time support practices 
• Lead by example in handling complex or high-impact customer issues—especially in situations with limited precedent or documentation 
• Provide guidance and resources to help team members resolve challenges with confidence and consistency 
• Collaborate across functions  to stay aligned on updates and drive a seamless customer experience 

Vendor Management and Leveraging Technology 

• Manage third-party contact center performance and vendor relationships, ensuring quality and SLA compliance 
• Support volume forecasting and capacity planning by identifying seasonal trends and demand fluctuations 
• Evaluate, implement, and optimize tools such as AI chatbots, macros, and automations to improve efficiency and reduce manual workload 
• Drive self-service initiatives, including knowledge base development and help center improvements 

Metrics and Continuous Improvement 

• Build and maintain dashboards to monitor team performance, customer satisfaction, and operational metrics 
• Analyze support data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for service improvement 
• Share insights with internal teams to inform product decisions and drive business impact 
• Apply a continuous improvement mindset to support operations—refining processes, tools, and workflows as needs evolve 

What you’ll bring:  

• A proven track record of leading high-performing support teams, with 5+ years in customer support, experience, or service operations—including 3+ years in a people leadership role.  
• Demonstrated ability to lead through change, having successfully guided teams through large-scale initiatives such as platform transitions, the launch of new support channels, or shifts in service delivery models. 
• Experience managing third-party vendors or call centers, where you’ve set clear SLAs, monitored performance, and ensured service delivery aligned with organizational standards and customer expectations. 
• Hands-on expertise with support platforms and collaboration tools, including Zendesk, ServiceNow, Jira, Slack, Teams, and Google Workspace—leveraging these systems to streamline operations, improve workflows, and enhance visibility across teams. 
• Experience implementing automation, self-service tools, and AI-powered support solutions, resulting in increased efficiency, reduced manual workload, and an improved customer experience. 
• A mindset of continuous improvement, using customer insights and operational data to refine systems, scale best practices, and contribute meaningfully to cross-functional decisions. 

Love Where You Work:    

• Our work changes the world. We find deep purpose in our daily work, we’re helping to shape the planet for future generations.    
• We're in this together. A culture focused on a genuine interest in the wellbeing of others, collaboration, and the intrinsic shared purpose to do what's right.      
• We pride ourselves on the culture we’ve built. We love it, and we know you will too.     
• We care about your health. We offer competitive healthcare (health, dental, vision) coverage for you and your loved ones matched with a wellness incentives program.    
• We invest in your future. Company paid short-term and long-term disability, paid parental leave, life insurance and 401k with company match are available.    
• We know the little things matter. Team members receive a monthly parking stipend, a fully stocked kitchen, and access to a plethora of benefits at Arbor Day Farm.    
• We care about your growth. We allocate 40+ hours annually for our team members to focus on learning and development.    
• We want you to unplug when needed. We believe in taking your time off without guilt, including the week between Christmas and New Years that we close our Lincoln Campus to recharge.    
• We'll round out the experience. We put our culture first, and we host events and experiences throughout the year to show that we care about you (and your family).