Jobs

We put our people at the heart of everything we do. Fuelled by the passion of the co-op values, principles and culture, we are thriving. Our 150 year legacy drives innovation and collaboration.

Current vacancies

Member Relations Officer

• Contract: Permanent
• Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week
• Salary: £25,454
• Location: Holyoake House, Manchester 
• Application deadline: Midnight, 20 February 2024
• Interviews: Wednesday 13 March 2024, Manchester

We are delighted to share this new and exciting opportunity for a Member Relations Officer to join our dynamic organisation.  

As the voice of the UK’s co-operative movement, we empower and support co-operative enterprise with specialised knowledge and expertise, to grow the co-operative economy and create a fairer society. From football clubs and farms to convenience stores and pubs, there are more than 7,000 co-operatives in the UK, each owned and controlled by their members and based on a set of shared principles and values. By promoting shared wealth through member ownership, we are committed to enable anyone in the UK to form, or join, thriving and sustainable co-ops. 

As the Member Relations Officer, you will contribute to the delivery of the Member Services Team’s strategy and activities. You will carry out member recruitment and retention activity, be a first point of contact for member enquiries, and provide members and prospective members with high quality customer experience and advice services. You will also proactively sell member benefits including advice products, affinity deals and membership.​ 

As an organisation we are led by our unwavering values of solidarity, self-responsibility, equity, and honesty, therefore if you share these core values, we would be delighted to receive your application. 

Core responsibilities 

We invite all interested parties to learn more about the role and our organisation within the recruitment pack, which can be downloaded from the recruitment documents section.  

• Act as a first point of contact for member and potential member enquiries by phone, email, website or in writing and follow-up within an agreed timeframe
• Manage member relationships and cases while escalating more complex queries to the Membership Manager or Advice Team as appropriate
• Communicate with members and wider stakeholders through various channels, following agreed communication and brand guidelines 

Member Relationships 

• Working alongside colleagues, develop and implement a member engagement strategy, including contact strategies that ensure effective relationships, and collects relevant data to support future activity
• Build and maintain an in depth understanding of our members, their member journey, needs and experience of Co-operatives UK. Further develop and maintain understanding of Co-operatives UK’s subscription model, packages, products and income generating services, and implementing communication strategies to upsell the services to new, prospective and existing members 
• Facilitate opportunities, between members and with Co-operatives UK, that enable networking and engagement, the sharing of member stories and case studies, linking members together for mutual benefit, best practice sharing, mentoring and business referrals and affinity deals
• Help inform the design and delivery of our membership awareness and recruitment campaigns ensuring consistently high levels of quality and alignment with our brand
• Contribute to the design and delivery of our membership processes ensuring a consistently high member experience
• Maintain and update member records, undertaking membership analysis and reporting on the Co-operatives UK customer relationship management system as and when required

Member Advice 

• Accurately process a range of information and documentation, including the completion of registration forms and applications to agreed standards and act as a conduit between members, clients and colleagues
• Develop and maintain an understanding of the co-operative business model, legal structures and associated law and best practice and provide advice and guidance at all stages of the co-operative life cycle
• Contribute to the development and delivery of new/improved advice products and services, including written guidance, based on member need
• Support the Advice Team by contributing to the design and delivery of our case management processes, and the collection of data to support these processes, using Salesforce and Asana where appropriate
• Working collaboratively with colleagues, promote the Advice Team as a key source of internal and external expertise

Essential skills: 

• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to build rapport and develop longer term working relationship both internally and externally 
• Able to prioritise, plan and meet deadlines in a busy work environment 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 
• Diligent with an attention to detail, accuracy, and quality when carrying out process driven tasks such as record keeping and database maintenance 
• Experience of dealing with enquiries from the public, customers or in a membership context 
• Demonstrated interest in co-operative values, principles, and the wider social economy

Benefits 

At Co-operatives UK we are a mindful, inclusive, and equal opportunities employer. As an organisation that is owned and controlled by its members, we put our people at the forefront of all that we do. We offer: 

• Flexible working options 
• Pension scheme  
• Discounted travel to work schemes 
• Employee wellbeing assistance programme including free eye tests 
• Personal and professional growth and development, including coaching  
• Trade union 

How to apply

• Download the recruitment pack
• Complete our application form – CVs cannot be accepted

Application deadline: Midnight, 20 February 2024

Interviews: Wednesday 13 March 2024, in Manchester

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