Manager of Retention Strategy

Description

Are you someone who can balance empathy with strategy and turn customer challenges into long-term loyalty? Do you thrive in fast-paced environments where innovation, automation, and human connection all play a critical role? Are you energized by solving problems, leading teams, and finding smarter ways to improve the customer experience?

We’re looking for a Manager of Retention Strategy with a heavy focus on AI to help lead the future of customer loyalty and retention at IdeaTek. This role is far more than traditional customer retention—you’ll help build proactive, data-driven strategies that reduce churn, bridge the gap between pre-install and post-install phases, leverage new technology to create a seamless journey,protect revenue, and improve the overall customer experience.

In this role, you’ll combine leadership, analytics, automation, and emotional intelligence to help identify customer risks before they happen, implement smarter AI-driven retention workflows that scale and create a high-touch customer experience that keeps people connected to IdeaTek long-term.

This role is open to candidates who live in the state of Kansas and are commutable to the Wichita, KS area every 2-3 weeks.

A Day in the Life

You’ll start your day reviewing customer retention trends, install pipeline activity, and AI-driven at-risk customer accounts—working to identify opportunities for proactive engagement before cancellations happen.

Some days you’ll be coaching your team through complex customer conversations, reviewing AI-generated customer insights, or building smarter automation workflows to eliminate friction in the customer experience. Other days are spent bridging the gap – collaborating with Sales and Operations teams to reduce installation fallout, presenting predictive retention trends to leadership, or developing new loyalty initiatives designed to ensure the human touch remains at the center of our growth.Throughout it all, your work will directly contribute to protecting revenue, improving customer satisfaction, and helping communities stay connected.

What You'll Do

Key responsibilities include:

• Strategic Leadership & Mentorship: Lead and mentor a team of Retention Specialists. Design a holistic retention framework that eliminates silos between pre-install and post-install phases, ensuring a seamless customer journey from sale through long-term loyalty.
• End-to-End Lifecycle Management: Own the critical post-sale, pre-install experience to reduce pipeline slippage and buyer’s remorse. Build and optimize proactive workflows, "save" campaigns, and win-back initiatives across the entire customer lifecycle.
• AI & Automation Integration: Implement AI-driven tools and automation to streamline reporting and customer engagement. Use technology to scale outreach efficiently while maintaining the "human touch" in every interaction.
• Predictive Analytics & Data Insight: Utilize predictive analytics and behavioral data to identify at-risk accounts. Analyze churn trends and KPIs to develop automated yet high-touch retention playbooks that increase LTV.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Sales, Marketing, Operations, and support to create a "single source of truth" for customer health. Serve as the voice of the customer to leadership, identifying recurring pain points for process improvement.
• Escalation & Performance Optimization: Support escalated customer conversations with empathy and professional problem-solving. Manage loyalty incentives and promotional offers, balancing business impact with a superior customer experience.

What Will Help You Stand Out

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience implementing AI tools, workflow automation, or predictive analytics in customer-facing environments
• Experience within telecommunications, SaaS, technology, subscription-based services, or customer lifecycle industries
• Familiarity with automation platforms such as Zapier or similar workflow tools
• Experience managing customer retention metrics, churn analytics, or customer lifecycle initiatives
• Experience leading customer loyalty, save desk, or customer advocacy programs
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Analytics, or a related field preferred

Desired Attributes

Beyond the qualifications, these attributes are what make someone a great fit for our team:

• Empathetic leader – You know how to balance accountability with emotional intelligence and customer care
• Strategic thinker – You can see the big picture while building practical solutions that drive results
• Innovative – You embrace technology and look for smarter, more efficient ways to improve processes
• Data-driven – You use analytics and customer insights to guide decisions and identify opportunities
• Calm under pressure – You can confidently navigate escalated customer situations and difficult conversations
• Collaborative – You build strong relationships across departments and understand retention is a team effort
• Mission-focused – You genuinely care about helping communities stay connected through reliable internet access

Why Join IdeaTek?

IdeaTek is a cutting-edge telecommunications company dedicated to bringing fast, reliable internet to underserved communities. We're a passionate team of innovators and problem-solvers committed to making a difference in the lives of our customers. At IdeaTek, we value our employees and foster a culture of collaboration, growth, and community involvement.

A few of the key ways we strive to make employees feel valued include:

• Competitive pay + bonus potential
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and 401k with match
• Free coaching/counseling for employees & families
• Free internet service (if available in your area) or internet reimbursement
• Tuition reimbursement for personal and professional growth
• Community engagement opportunities
• Culture that values results, effort, and integrity

Our Core Values

• We are Trustworthy – We build confidence through transparency, follow-through, and dependability.
• We count on Big Thinkers – We don’t just imagine the future—we create it with bold, actionable ideas.
• We have a Resilient Spirit – We embrace challenges, bounce back from setbacks, and keep striving for more.
• We stand on Belief – We believe everyone deserves access to technology that helps them learn, grow, and thrive.
• We foster Connectedness – Our work goes beyond broadband—we build real connections within our team and our communities.
• We drive Innovation – We're always looking for ways to improve and redefine what’s possible.

Ready to Apply?

If you’re ready to help shape the future of customer retention through innovation, strategy, and human connection, we’d love to hear from you. Apply today!

Requirements

What We’re Looking For

To be considered for this role, you'll need the following required qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in Customer Service, Customer Success, Account Management, Marketing, Retention, or related fields
• 2+ years of leadership or team management experience
• Experience building and utilizing AI-driven tools, automation platforms, and CRM systems – such as Zoho, HubSpot, Salesforce, etc. – to scale customer engagement.
• Experience managing cross-functional customer lifecycle transitions, such as bridging the gap between Sales, Install, and Support teams.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, and conflict resolution skills
• Ability to manage escalated customer situations with empathy, professionalism, and composure
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities with the ability to translate churn data into proactive "save" strategies.
• Ability to work cross-functionally in fast-paced and evolving environments
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
• Ability to translate complex technical or billing information into clear, customer-friendly communication