Team Lead, Technical Customer Service

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a global, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., working to improve human health, sustainability and resilience in the built environment through its programs and standards including LEED, the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Today, people in over 150 countries and territories live, work and learn in LEED certified buildings, communities and cities that protect health, climate and natural resources and enhance quality of life. 

Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) is the premier certification body responsible for global delivery and quality oversight of green building and green business sustainability standards. Its integrated team of green building specialists administers credentials and certifications for the U.S. Green Building Council (LEED), the International WELL Building Institute (WELL Building Standard), International Finance Corporation (EDGE), PEER, SITES, TRUE Zero Waste, and IREE. 

Customer Support is the front line for customer inquiries across USGBC and GBCI departments, including LEED certification, credentialing, membership, education, payments, and GBCI programs. Customer Support addresses over 60,000 inquiries a year submitted by our stakeholders via email and inbound phone inquiries. The Technical Customer Support (TCS) department provides customized and technical support for complex inquiries and/or escalations related to USGBC/GBCI products and services. 

Technical Customer Support team members serve as subject matter experts on various topics and processes. They maintain a suite of resources that provide consistent and high-quality issue resolution, including content in the USGBC.org Help Center and a robust and highly vetted set of internal standard operating procedures (SOPs) and stock text that are used for customer responses.  

This is a dynamic, integrated team of customer service professionals with a variety of backgrounds from architecture, engineering, building science, landscape architecture, planning, and sustainable development. The team is continually looking for ways to improve the customer experience, reduce response time and facilitate and achieve an effective and timely customer response. 

The Technical Customer Service team is divided among three groups: 

• Credentialing, Membership, and Education (CME): supports end to end customer experience throughout a customer’s relationship with their GBCI credential and certification, which consists of all LEED credentials, SITES AP, TRUE Advisor, and the SEA/SEP credentials. 
• Certification: supports a customers' journey throughout the entire LEED certification process, and supports questions related to Arc, recertification, and other GBCI programs such as SITES. 
• Technical: the technical group supports questions about the LEED Rating Systems, particularly from project teams preparing to pursue certification. 

The Certification group is seeking a team lead with sustainability and/or LEED certification expertise to manage staff and strategically evaluate how to effectively address and resolve customer inquiries addressed by their team. They will own the timely resolution of cases within their team’s purview and be responsible for staff performance reviews and quality assurance. In addition, they will directly contribute to case resolution and serve as a subject matter expert with in-depth experience that will provide stakeholders with accurate and high-quality support and engagement. They will be evaluated on the quantity and quality of their work and will complete special projects as assigned. 

Specific Responsibilities:

People Management: 

• Actively manage and coach up to 7 direct reports
• Collaboratively manage direct reports, regularly assessing performance, providing direction, training, and mentoring

Performance Goals: 

• Manage team performance to achieve and exceed individual performance goals
• Ensure high-quality responses from a balanced and fully utilized team

Strategic Goals: 

• Work with the Director to ensure individual and team strategic goals are achieved

Subject Matter Expertise: 

• Dive into new areas of expertise, developing success goals and managing processes for new scopes of services

Customer Support: 

• Contribute to customer support goals by meeting and exceeding case resolution targets
• Serve as the voice of the customer, providing input and feedback on initiatives

Special Projects and Communication: 

• Lead special projects as assigned
• Use sustainability expertise, communication, and professional writing skills to craft expert guidance
• Communicate across boundaries with a spirit of mission-driven teamwork and professionalism

Continuous Improvement: 

• Design, implement, and refine processes that empower customers to achieve USGBC’s mission
• Use and build on our team’s library of rating system expertise, database of standard operating procedures, and best practices

Required Education & Experience Qualifications:

Education and Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field of study (e.g., sustainability, architecture, engineering, landscape design, building management, environmental science, environmental education)
• 5-10 years of professional experience in a client-facing role, directly interacting and communicating with customers in green design, construction, sustainable operations, and maintenance, or sustainability education

Skills and Abilities: 

• Strategic thinking with the ability to deploy innovative solutions
• Experience assisting with LEED project applications, green building consulting, or supporting education/credentialing customers
• Strong focus on customer experience, customer success, and team orientation
• Excellent communication skills and empathetic problem-solving skills
• Familiarity with Salesforce and/or other CRM platforms
• Proficiency with Microsoft Suite and a willingness to learn new technology applications
• Eagerness, adaptiveness to change, and receptiveness to feedback
• Strong sense of personal responsibility and accountability for delivering high-quality work within set deadlines
• Demonstrated professionalism and the ability to handle confidential information with discretion
• Drive to continually develop skills, knowledge, and abilities to improve performance

Other Preferred Qualifications: 

• Master’s Degree or commensurate experience in a related field of study, such as sustainability, architecture, engineering, landscape design, building management, environmental science, environmental education, etc
• Eagerness to learn, develop your own expertise, and share your growing expertise with colleagues and customers
• Persistence in engaging with challenges, flexibility to find multiple solutions, and the ability to keep the end goal in mind while working on each part of the solution
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment and quickly adapt to new circumstances or juggle multiple daily tasks
• A strong commitment and passion to advance USGBC’s mission

Details: 

• Full Time, permanent, salaried, benefits-eligible 
• Location: Remote, or 2101 L Street NW, Washington, DC  
• Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm EST, 40 hours per week, including occasional evenings and weekends 
• Travel: 0-5%, upon request and approval 
• USGBC is an equal opportunity employer 

Benefits: 
  

Employees work for an established mission-based and member-driven nonprofit organization with a compelling vision, non-profit-competitive compensation commensurate with experience and skill level, generous benefits package, 401k matching and comprehensive health insurance.   

The headquarters office is a LEED Platinum commercial interior space in a LEED certified building in the LEED Platinum certified central business district in the first LEED Platinum certified city, Washington, DC.  The office serves as an example for green design and construction products and practices.  It is close to public transportation and incorporates many healthy and environmentally friendly features.