Deputy Director – Customer Experience – ORCA

Salary range is $105k to $200k, with a midpoint of $150k. New hires typically receive between minimum and midpoint, however, we may go slightly higher based on experience, internal equity and market.

Sound Transit also offers a competitive benefits package with a wide range of offerings, including:

• Health Benefits: We offer two choices of medical plans, a dental plan, and a vision plan all at no cost for employee coverage; comprehensive benefits for employees and eligible dependents, including a spouse or domestic partner.
• Long-Term Disability and Life Insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Retirement Plans: 401a – 10% of employee contribution with a 12% match by Sound Transit; 457b – up to IRS maximum (employee only contribution).
• Paid Time Off: Employees accrue 25 days of paid time off annually with increases at four, eight and twelve years of service. Employees at the director level and up accrue additional days. We also observe 12 paid holidays and provide up to 2 paid floating holidays and up to 2 paid volunteer days per year.
• Parental Leave: 12 weeks of parental leave for new parents.
• Pet Insurance.
• ORCA Card: All full-time employees will receive an ORCA card at no cost.
• Tuition Reimbursement: Sound Transit will pay up to $5,000 annually for approved tuition expenses.
• Inclusive Reproductive Health Support Services.
• Compensation Practices: We offer competitive salaries based on market rates and internal equity. In addition to compensation and benefits, you’ll find that we provide work-life balance, opportunities for professional development and recognition from your colleagues.

GENERAL PURPOSE: 

Under general direction, the Deputy Director – Customer Experience – ORCA leads the development and maintenance of strategic marketing and integrated communications plans and ensures customer satisfaction across all ORCA touchpoints in support of the successful operation of the ORCA fare system across seven regional transportation agencies. Serves as a key partner to the Director of Regional Fare Systems and Regional ORCA Operations Team (ROOT), by driving strategic development and execution of marketing and communications plans and obtaining and actioning customer feedback to drive value and satisfaction in support of ROOT and business goals. Maintains ownership of and accountability for those plans, working with marketing and communications, business, and product teams within the ORCA Agencies –our key customers– to ensure integrated, on-brand, and consistent two-way customer communication across all platforms. Initiates regional, cross-agency marketing campaigns for a variety of ORCA objectives, including the next generation ORCA launch campaign, increased ORCA adoption, customer information and engagement, and brand awareness. Develops content strategy for ORCA customer website, mobile app, email, and social media. Obtains and actions customer feedback, driving improvement across all interfaces, identifying customer value propositions, and eliminating customer pain points, with a focus on Equity and Inclusion. Supervises, plans, and delegates responsibility to assigned or contracted staff. Initiates and provides general oversight for consultants and on-call service support for campaign work as assigned. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

The following duties are a representative summary of the primary duties and responsibilities. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed and may be required to perform additional, position-specific duties.

• Establishes and manages marketing and communication program goals and objectives, including acquisition and conversion goals, aligning with ROOT and region-wide fare collection goals and objectives; establishes and reports on performance measures; addresses obstacles that impede progress toward achieving goals.
• Develops and implements short and long-term ORCA marketing and communications plans; maintains ownership and accountability for those plans, iterating as customer markets, agency needs, and technology landscapes change.
• Plays instrumental role in leading the next generation ORCA customer launch campaign; assesses outcomes and reactively adjusts customer information as needed; develops additional promotions and campaigns as new features and capabilities are introduced in later phases; helps author internal ORCA Agency staff messaging for changes.
• Establishes and executes integrated communications and content strategy on all channels (website, mobile app, email, social media, and to a limited extent: vending machines, validators, and CRM/customer service) that result in positive ORCA customer engagement experiences.
• Leads strategy and management of customer support and responses via Apple and Google app stores, ensuring a high user rating through problem resolution and troubleshooting.
• Develops plans and strategy for live customer engagement, including real-time social media engagement, Facebook Q&A virtual events, and Open House web conferences.
• Considers other marketing and advertising channels such as paid search, print, out of home, etc., and initiates marketing efforts where applicable; monitors digital business intelligence, usage data, content, functionality, and design; maintains awareness of new trends and developments in the fields related to area of assignment; makes timely recommendations for change as appropriate.
• Oversees efforts to obtain customer feedback through outbound customer outreach and surveys and inbound channels, including App store ratings, social media engagement, support contacts, customer service interactions, and CRM data. Analyzes customer feedback and synthesizes it into trends and priorities, working with product development and technical teams to fix problems and add features that are most important to customers.
• Develops and supports strategy for regional business team for ORCA card replacement, distribution, and overall product lifecycle.
• Using customer feedback, delivers actionable strategies and plans for customer-driven product improvement across all interfaces, including websites, apps, field equipment, retail, and customer service.
• Consults with product management, regional business managers, and technical teams to identify customer value propositions and eliminate customer pain points.
• Provides on-call support to regional stakeholders and product team for user-flow optimization and content changes in website and app products.
• Ensures customer satisfaction by supporting internal and external product testing plans and communications.
• Manages maintenance and iteration of the Brand Guidelines and Corporate Style Guide; ensures adherence to brand specifications.
• Produces customer tutorial videos through end-to-end, in-house production.
• Oversees coordination of retail store marketing efforts with Retail Network Service Provider, corporate retail contacts, store managers, and store customers; aligns retail messaging with overall marketing and communications strategies.
• Partners with ORCA Agency Public Information Officers (PIOs) and communications staff to promote effective and efficient coordination of content via all channels; coordinates regional messaging in response to media and customer inquiries and complaints.
• Develops the strategy for and project manages the execution of press events and briefings.
• Develops and manages ongoing relationships with ORCA Agency marketing and communications teams; builds strategic relationships with ORCA Agencies across other functions and levels, acknowledging the regional nature of the division; establishes and communicates service level agreement to the ORCA Agencies for marketing and communications project delivery; ensures satisfaction with team performance and delivery.
• Builds the Marketing and Communications Team within the ROOT, comprised of staff and/or contractors; gets buy-in from ORCA Agencies on team composition; assesses the needs of the department and establishes the team; evaluates Team member work and makes effective suggestions and recommendations.
• Manages team performance including annual goal setting, coaching, and performance reviews.
• Participates in the procurement of consultant and on-call services as needed, directs consultants and vendors responsible for marketing and communications initiatives, and implements and oversees management of their projects.
• Plans, directs, supervises, and reviews the work of assigned staff and/or contractors; collaborates with design and editorial staff to ensure product deliverables are aligned with marketing objectives and expectations; delegates authority; manages team performance; coaches, trains, and motivates; monitors projects for completion within scope, schedule, and budget and confirms that all objectives are effectively met.
• Leads a diverse Team, encouraging diversity for better problem-solving abilities, and respecting and enabling an environment that prides individual differences.
• Consults on the allocation of Department resources to achieve goals and objectives; makes recommendations and forecasts for future needs for staffing/contracting, equipment, software, materials, and supplies; adjusts plans and budget to address new and emerging programs, policies, and expectations.
• Provides support to the Director on strategic projects and initiatives as directed; serves as staff on a variety of committees; prepares and presents reports and other necessary correspondence; attends and participates in professional group meetings.
• Acts as primary department liaison for ORCA-related Sound Transit CREI projects.
• Maintains training on and can utilize the Sound Transit Racial Equity Tool (RET) to identify opportunities to improve equity across the regional fare payment system.
• Ensures all digital and printed materials meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility standards and are translated into languages that serve all transit customers in the Puget Sound region.
• Acts as Chair of the Regional Customer Service and Retail Sales Channel ORCA committees, and department lead for the Regional Marketing and Public Information Officer committees.
• Champions and models Sound Transit’s core values and demonstrates values-based behaviors in everyday interactions across the agency.
• Contributes to a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion in alignment with Sound Transit’s Equity & Inclusion Policy.
• It is the responsibility of all employees to follow the Agency safety rules, regulations, and procedures pertaining to their assigned duties and responsibilities, which could include systems, operations, and/or other employees.
• It is the responsibility of all employees to integrate sustainability into everyday business practices.
• Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Web Design, or closely related field and six years of experience in digital/web marketing, advertising, communications, public relations, or product development; OR an equivalent combination of education and experience. Four years of leadership, budgetary, planning, and workforce management experience.

Required Knowledge and skills:

• Americans with Disabilities (ADA) standards across all communications channels.
• Market research practices and analytical tools for digital marketing.
• Operations and activities of digital channels including web design and development, web hosting, web maintenance, content management, social media management, mobile applications, and email communication.
• Strategy and execution of traditional media channels, including print, radio, transit system, and other out of home (OOH) advertising.
• Principles of successful User Interface/User Experience (UI/UX) design.
• Function and theory of Content Management Systems for the web.
• Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, and web analytics.
• Principles of product development for communication technologies including customer-facing applications and integrated marketing platforms.
• Function and theory of Customer Relations Management systems.
• Graphic and web design software suites to collaborate and direct the work of designers.
• Modern office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and statistical databases.
• Managing the operations, services, and activities of marketing and advertising programs.
• Marketing strategy and planning; including principles of brand management.
• Assessing results of campaigns using analytical information, applying lessons learned.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; public speaking acumen and skill in public relations tactics; must be able to communicate to individuals at multiple levels and from multiple disciplines.
• Supervising, leading, and mentoring staff/contractors; delegating tasks; performance assessment.
• Coordinating work with web developers, IT staff, vendors, or consultants to implement updates to software and technology arising from digital design or content-management requirements.
• Creative problem-solving skills, including setting strategy, identifying alternatives, developing concepts, projecting consequences of proposed solutions, and implementing recommendations.
• Project management skills including ability to manage multiple projects concurrently, organizing work to meet challenging priorities and deadlines.
• Fostering a positive attitude in a dynamic technical environment; techniques to work effectively under pressure, meet deadlines, and adjust to competing and changing priorities.
• Strong relationship building skills for partnering and collaborating with diverse work groups and individuals; ability to bring people together and build consensus while working towards a common goal.
• Demonstrating a positive customer service orientation with both internal and external clients; identifying and responding to sensitive community and organizational issues, inquiries, concerns, and needs; complaint resolution.
• Writing, editing, and preparing a variety of public information pieces; strategic writing including reframing technical content for non-technical audiences; writing for the web.
• Language translation project management and delivery in six languages, across all communications formats and channels.
• Graphic design skills for creating mobile and web user flows, product-mockups, document designs and other formats, as needed.
• End-to-end production of in-house customer tutorial videos, including copywriting, voiceover, on-screen graphics, and video editing.

Physical Demands / Work Environment: 

• Most work is performed in a hybrid office and field environment.
• Position may need to attend events where setup and assembly is required. May be subject to bending and carrying and lifting of objects up to 25 pounds.
• The Agency promotes a safe and healthy work environment and provides appropriate safety and equipment training for all personnel as required.

Sound Transit is an equal employment opportunity employer. No person is unlawfully excluded from employment action based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class.

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