1871 - Sr. Customer Success Manager, Corporate Experience

ABOUT 1871

The story of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 isn’t really about the fire. It’s about what happened next: A remarkable moment when the most brilliant engineers, architects, and inventors came together to build a new city. Their innovations – born of passion and practical ingenuity – shaped not just Chicago, but the modern world. What started 140 years ago continues to this day.

1871 exists to inspire, equip, and support founders, growth scalers, and innovators in building great businesses. We deliver unfair advantages at scale. The team supports ~420 young companies, 200+ growth stage members and 100+ partners made up of Chicago’s brightest digital designers, engineers, and leaders shaping new technologies, disrupting old business models, and resetting the boundaries of what’s possible.

Come to a place where you can share ideas, make mistakes, partner with others, work hard, grow professionally and, with a little luck, change the world. If that sounds like you, join us.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

As the Sr. Customer Success Manager of Corporate Experience at 1871, you will work closely with the Head of Member Experience, Chief Experience Officer (CXO), and leaders from the 1871 Marketing, Events, and Finance teams to manage relationships with existing 1871 corporate members to ensure their needs are met and to identify business opportunities through membership renewals and expansion revenue. You will join a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment where your job each day is to ensure that members are having an unparalleled experience, such that they stay longer, expand their work with 1871, and refer others to the community.

Reporting to the Head of Member Experience, the Sr. Customer Success Manager of Corporate Experience will manage 1871’s existing corporate member community. Success in this role will hinge on your capacity to drive growth through corporate member retention and expansion. The individual in this role will quickly become a prominent face in the community as they will represent the 1871 team and be incredibly active within the tech community.

We are looking for someone who loves people and spends time building empathic relationships, in addition to being structured, data-driven, and a creative problem solver. This position is ideal for someone who excels in building client relationships, thrives in unstructured environments, and can manage multiple priorities while maintaining a goal-oriented and resilient mindset.

Relationship Management & Member Retention:

• Act as a thought leader and subject matter expert for members and partners about the full suite of our products and services.
• Manage and oversee the customer journey including end-to-end partner relationship from initial engagement to on-boarding and corporate innovation community focused events.
• Maintain regular communication with key partners about their onboarding, usage trends, & sentiment, and realize opportunities for deeper engagement with them.
• Drive retention and growth among our members and partners by understanding their business needs and helping them succeed.

Sales and Business Development:

• Negotiate contracts and proactively close annual corporate member renewal agreements.
• Ensure the timely and successful delivery of solutions according to member needs and objectives.
• Serve as an 1871 ambassador within the greater technology community Project Management:
• Effectively manage multiple member accounts simultaneously, ensuring all member needs are met against identified timelines

Coordination and Collaboration:

• Act as internal 1871 advocate to ensure corporate member and partner needs are met, relaying member feedback to our internal product team as needed, and establishing effective routes for team communication.

Problem Solving:

• Keen eye and quick to identify issues, analyze data while maintaining collaboration with teams to create effective solutions.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and adaptability to foster strong customer relationships while navigating diverse challenges in dynamicenvironments.
• Designing and owning the customer journey with the customer experience in mind.Data Analysis and Reporting
• Responsible for the strategy, tracking and reporting on metrics relatedto customer growth, customer health, churn and retention, and overall effectiveness of the corporate membership. Regular review of performance against targets, with proactive adjustments to tactics andstrategies, is essential.
• Utilize CRM and various tools (including Hubspot and Asana) on behalfof the Member Experience Team.

THIS ROLE IS A FIT FOR SOMEONE WHO IS...

● Client focused – you have demonstrated proven success in building and nurturing client relationships.

● Highly self-sufficient -- you revel in ambiguity and find success in unstructured environments

● Able to juggle multiple priorities -- you are able to manage multiple projects and always on deadline.

● Goal-oriented and highly resilient -- you thrive on surpassing goals and enjoy finding new ways to problem-solve to achieve them.

● Organized and full of integrity -- you are incredibly attentive to detail and you follow through on your commitments.

● A team player -- you appreciate your team depending on you and therefore you work hard to play your part to drive the bigger mission of the whole organization.

● Dynamic -- you exuberate a positive attitude and can easily develop trusting relationships with team members across different functions.

Requirements

REQUIREMENTS:

● 5+ years of experience in relationship management, business development,

and/or sales role

● Exceptional ability to communicate and foster positive business relationships

● Deep understanding of customer concerns and thoughts regarding the use of

products, and the ability to troubleshoot as needed

● Superb project management skills

● Exceptional written and verbal communication skills

● Proven organizational and multitasking skills

● Proven track record of success and bias for action

● Impeccable customer service skills

● Appetite to work independently in a fast-paced environment

● Cross functional leadership across 1871’s departments

● Deep curiosity and knack for creating change and optimizing workflows

● Experience with CRMs, Hubspot, or other marketing automation tools is

strongly preferred

Benefits

BENEFITS:

1871 offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, dental, vision, 401k, unlimited PTO, opportunities to participate in workshops and events, and more!

PERKS:

In addition to our impressive benefits, there are other fun reasons to work with us.

● Work at the center of Chicago tech innovation.

● Unparalleled access to opportunities and networking with some of the biggest players in tech.

● Convenient downtown location

● Casual environment and dress code

● Work as part of a diverse team

● Remote work opportunities [This role has a hybrid format - virtual 2 days a week and in person from the 1871 space in the Merchandise Mart for 3 days a week.]

1871/CEC is an equal employment opportunity employer with a strong focus on crafting an inclusive and diverse environment. We encourage individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply for this position.