Director of Member Services & Engagement Industrial Designers Society of America

The Opportunity

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is one of the oldest and largest professional organizations serving industrial designers worldwide. Founded in 1965 IDSA remains committed to elevating the practice of industrial design and advancing our field through research advocacy careerlong learning and excellence in design standards-core pillars of our Strategic Framework.

The Director of Member Services & Engagement leads the Member Services & Engagement department and plays a pivotal role in shaping member and volunteer experiences across our global community. This role supports IDSAs mission-to foster careerlong development and inspire excellence-by ensuring our membership programs volunteer engagement and service touchpoints reflect our design-minded collaborative and service-oriented values.

This is a fully remote position reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) with periodic travel for events and community engagement. The ideal candidate thrives in a high performance fast paced environment consistently demonstrating clarity precision empathy and a proactive solutions-oriented mindset.

Interested candidates should submit their resume outlining their qualifications and experience with a cover letter.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Operational Excellence

• Lead engagement efforts for IDSAs global membership and robust volunteer leader network-including chapters sections committees and councils-in alignment with IDSAs Strategic Plan and long-term goals for community growth and design advocacy.
• Align department priorities with organizational pillars such as Education & Career Pathing Design Excellence and Design Advocacy ensuring programs meaningfully support designers at every stage of their professional journey.
• Design and continuously improve member and volunteer experiences reducing friction and reinforcing IDSAs service-oriented value.
• Maintain a high standard of operational excellence by establishing clear repeatable processes that embody our values of clarity precision and intentionality.
• Identify the need for new policies or updates to ensure systems remain efficient inclusive and reflective of best practices.
• Integrate principles of Diversity Equity and Inclusion into all membership and volunteer strategies.

Component Relations Volunteer & Stakeholder Engagement

• Oversee strategy and support for IDSA chapters sections committees and councils ensuring leaders receive high quality guidance resources and responsive service.
• Develop a robust infrastructure including clear systems templates and onboarding processes that empower volunteers and bring consistency across all community touchpoints. This reflects our values of clarity collaboration and service orientation.
• Serve as a trusted resource to internal stakeholders and volunteer leaders supporting a sense of mutual respect and shared purpose.

Member Recruitment and Retention

• Develop creative design minded recruitment and retention campaigns aligned with IDSAs purpose and mission to create a better world through industrial design.
• Collaborate with Brand Strategy and internal teams to deliver consistent high impact membership experiences throughout the member lifecycle-including onboarding communication touchpoints and feedback loops.
• Communicate IDSAs value proposition through authentic member-centered conversations by email phone or in person.

Team Development

• Model IDSAs Mindset of Excellence through transparent leadership active listening and collaboration.
• Establish clear goals for team members provide consistent feedback and ensure resources align with high impact priorities.
• Foster a department culture that is curious growth oriented and continuously seeking improvement.

Financial Management

• Partner with Finance & Accounting on annual budgets and forecast projections.
• Review monthly financials to identify trends and opportunities elevating issues and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Support financial reporting needs related to membership for annual audits.

Association Management System (AMS) & Reporting

• Build deep expertise in the Fonteva AMS and champion best practices to maintain data quality and member centric functionality.
• Use analytics segmentation and user data to guide decision making aligned with organizational KPI goals such as retention and acquisition.
• Generate reports and presentations for staff senior leadership the Board of Directors and other stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree or higher.
• 810 years of experience in membership component relations or related work.
• At least 5 years of experience leading a membership department with demonstrated success in motivating staff and achieving growth goals.
• Strong organizational project management and communication skills.
• Ability to work autonomously with initiative precision and accountability.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office project management tools and Association Management Systems.

Preferred

• Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential.

Personal Attributes

• Demonstrates a design minded approach to problem solving and process improvement.
• Values mutual respect inclusion and diverse perspectives.
• Highly organized precise and disciplined in execution.
• Proactive solutions oriented and able to manage complex portfolios with confidence.
• Thrives in collaborative environments and communicates with clarity and empathy.
• Resilient under pressure and comfortable adapting to shifting priorities.
• Curious open to learning and motivated by continuous improvement.

Compensation & Benefits

• Starting annual salary range: $90000 $110000
• Health dental and vision insurance
• Employer paid life AD&D short term disability and long-term disability
• Generous vacation and sick leave
• 9 standard holidays 4 flexible holidays
• 401(k) and Roth 401(k)
• Cell phone reimbursement

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit their resume outlining their qualifications and experience with a cover letter.

For questions please contact ERIC WANN at .

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive virtual environment for all employees.

This comprehensive job description ensures that potential candidates understand the scope of responsibilities and the skills required for the role of Director of Member Services and Engagement at IDSA.

We encourage candidates to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position description; we will consider people from a variety of backgrounds and career experiences.

Required Experience:

Director