Head of Membership Operations & Customer Experience

About Re-turn Ireland has one of the most beautiful natural environments in the world, and we want to keep it that way. Appointed by the Irish government, but operating as a standalone company, Re-turn is a not-for-profit organisation established to run Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), a simple solution to achieving higher collection rates for drinks containers. DRS schemes operates successfully in more than 40 countries. DRS schemes reduce litter, prevent waste, lower emissions and relieve pressure on natural resources. The Irish scheme went live on 1 February 2024 and has already collected over 2.5 billion drinks containers across the country. This means high-quality material can be reprocessed and used to make new products – supporting a truly circular economy. We're a small but growing team and we've got off to a great start, but there's still plenty to do to ensure Ireland's scheme runs as efficiently as possible and achieves its high recycling ambitions. Role Summary We're hiring a Head of Membership Operations & Customer Experience to provide strategic leadership and operational oversight of Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) stakeholder ecosystem. This role owns the full lifecycle of stakeholder relationships and compliance across producers, distributors, retailers and consumers, ensuring the commercial network operates effectively, remains compliant, and delivers a high-quality experience. You will define and deliver the strategy for membership operations, translating organisational objectives into structured execution plans, and ensuring consistent, data-driven performance across Retail, Producer & Distributor, and Customer Experience functions. This is a senior leadership role responsible for building capability, strengthening governance, improving responsiveness, and embedding a customer-first, high-performance culture across a complex, multi-side network. Qualifications in these areas are a plus; proven experience is essential. What You'll Achieve A clearly defined and executed membership and customer operations strategy aligned to organisational and regulatory objectives. A high-performing, compliant and well-governed membership ecosystem across producers, distributors and retailers. Ownership and accountability for the full people-management lifecycle across producer & distributor, retailer, and our call centre function, building high performance and setting clear expectations to driving capability development. A data-driven operating model, where performance is actively monitored, analysed and improved through structured insight and decision-making. A high-quality, well-managed customer contact centre delivering consistent service, strong SLA adherence and effective issue resolution. Clear ownership and management of stakeholder escalations, with systemic issues identified, addressed and reduced over time. Accurate, audit-ready producer and product data, underpinned by robust validation, reporting and governance processes. Consistent, audit-ready QMS documentation and risk-management frameworks across Retail and Producer operations. What You'll Do Set and deliver the membership operations & customer experience strategy, setting direction, defining priorities and aligning stakeholder operations with organisational and regulatory objectives. Lead and develop the retail and producer & distributor functions, ensuring strong performance, accountability, and long-term capability. Own end-to-end stakeholder operations, including retailer performance, producer and distributor compliance, and CX delivery. Oversee our customer contact centre, ensuring SLA performance, service quality, and operational alignment. Act as the final escalation point for complex stakeholder and customer issues, ensuring timely resolution and addressing root causes. Define and implement a data-driven operating model, using performance insights to identify issues, inform decisions, and drive continuous improvement. Own QMS governance and risk management across stakeholder operations, ensuring audit readiness and regulatory compliance. Champion cross-functional collaboration with Service Delivery and other internal teams to ensure aligned execution and effective resolution of issues. Deliver strategic programmes and operational initiatives using structured project management methodologies and governance. Who Are You? A senior leader with demonstrable experience operating at Head-of or equivalent level within complex, regulated or multi-stakeholder environments. A strategic thinker who can design operating models, set direction, and translate strategy into effective execution. An experienced people leader with a strong track record of building, developing and managing high-performing teams. Highly data-driven, with the ability to analyse performance, generate insights, and make informed, evidence-based decisions. An experienced programme and project leader, capable of delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives. Highly effective in stakeholder engagement, with the ability to influence and build credibility with senior internal and external stakeholders. A clear communicator, able to align multiple teams and stakeholders around shared objectives and priorities. Essential 7+ years' demonstrable experience in senior operational, stakeholder management, regulatory or programme delivery roles. Leadership experience at senior level, managing multiple teams and functions. Proven experience in strategy development and execution within complex operational environments. Strong people management experience, including performance management, coaching and capability building. Demonstrable experience in data analysis and data-driven decision making. Proven programme and project management experience, delivering complex initiatives to scope, timeline and governance standards. This role will require travel, so a full clean driver's licence is essential. Desirable Experience overseeing customer service or contact centre operations. Strong data analysis skills (patterns, trends, KPIs, operational insights) that drive accuracy and decision making. Formal qualification in business (MBA), Project Management (e.g. PRINCE2, PMP , operations , analytics , retail management or related field a plus). Familiarity with FMCG, retail operations or supply chain environments. Experience working with outsourced service providers. Experience using AI-powered features in workplace tools to improve efficiency and confident in leveraging generative AI models (e.g., CoPilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) for daily tasks and workflow optimisation. Experience in environmental schemes, waste management or Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks. About Our Benefits We offer a competitive salary and benefits package which includes 23 days' holiday plus 2 company days (Good Friday & Christmas Eve) plus 10 bank holidays. Hybrid working: we operate a hybrid working arrangement with 2 days home working permitted per week (1 to be a Friday). Flexible working: 37 hour week with core times Monday to Thursday 08:45 to 15:45 & Friday 08:45 to 12:45. Company Pension Contribution of 5%, increasing with service. Company Health Insurance Scheme. Employee Assistance Programme. Income Protection. Life assurance. Parking on site. Subsidised Canteen. Gym Membership Subsidy. Leap Card Subsidy. We are an equal opportunities employer and happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments that may be needed for successful candidates. Closing Date for Applications Friday 3rd April 2026 J-18808-Ljbffr