Referrals Manager

About the Role: 

The Referrals Manager will lead our referral marketing initiatives, leveraging networks of staff, partners (affiliates), alumni, and current learners to recruit new learners. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker with excellent relationship building skills, able to inspire confidence and drive action through influence.

The Referrals Manager is an exempt position and will report directly to the Director of Growth and will work primarily with the Marketing, Admissions, and Program teams across Merit America. A successful candidate will: 

1) Develop the infrastructure for a strong referral program, working from minimum viable products to identify the best solution 

2) Develop campaigns that drive referrals, and

3) Measure and evaluate results to inform future campaigns.

What You’ll be Doing: 

The deliverables of the Referral Manager will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Planning/Strategy (50%): 

• Development: Create and implement a comprehensive referral marketing strategy that aligns with our organizational values and OKRs
• Cross-Function: Work closely with the alumni, admissions, and program teams to ensure alignment and maximize the impact of referral initiatives.
• Sourcing: In addition to alumni and staff referrals, identifying additional sources such as affiliates networks that we could test as a source for referrals 
• Rewards and Incentives: Design and manage an effective incentive program to encourage and reward high-quality referrals.

Execution/ Program Management (50%):

• Campaign Development & Execution: Design, launch, test, and report on performance and manage referral marketing campaigns 
• Program Management: Collaborate with teammembers and ensure end-to-end referral process, from lead capture to conversion, ensuring a smooth experience for both the referrer and referee
• Analytics: Monitor and report on referral metrics, leveraging insights to optimize and refine the referral program.
• Feedback Loop: Gather feedback from both internal and external sources to continually enhance the referral experience.
• Stay Updated: Keep abreast of the latest trends and best practices in referral marketing to ensure our strategies remain competitive and effective.

What Makes a Successful Candidate: 

We know that women, people of color, and individuals with disabilities are often less likely to apply to a position if they don’t match 100% of the job qualifications.  Don’t let that be the reason you miss out on this opportunity!  We encourage you to apply if you can demonstrate many of these skills and competencies. Below are the skills that are relevant for thriving in this role:

Must Haves: 

• Proven experience in driving referrals through various channels 
• Experience building, testing and iterating programs and processes
• Ability to track performance and outcomes
• Be energized by our organizational mission - to provide a pathway to family-sustaining careers for Americans stuck in low-wage work
• Proven history of living within our values
• Champion of collective success
• Commitment to DEIJ

Nice to Have:

• Experience working with referral platforms (tracking set-up)
• Participation in community and/or alumni events/conferences 

Other Logistics 

• This position is full-time: 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week)
• Location:  Remote
• Salary :  $112,000
• Application Deadline: Monday, 1/29 at 11:59pm ET

Our goal is to have competitive and equitable compensation.  We have a market-based compensation approach, which means we benchmark each role from reputable data sources. We compare our benchmarks against similarly sized non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets and geographical areas. We pay the same rate for the same roles and adjust to comply with statutory mandates.