Customer Advocacy Manager

Blackbaud; United States; Remote; USD 78,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Remote-flexible workforce

Wellness Programs

401(k) program with employer match

Flexible paid time off

Generous Parental Leave

Donations for Doers

Pet insurance, legal and identity保护

Tuition reimbursement program

Job summary

Blackbaud is seeking a Customer Advocacy Manager to evolve our customer advocacy ecosystem, building on Community and Champions programs to create scalable, signal-driven advocacy across the customer journey.

You will lead integration of community engagement, data, and AI-enabled capabilities to identify, engage, and activate customers who can share expertise, influence peers, and strengthen the social impact community.

Qualifications

• Deep experience leading and evolving a mature customer advocacy program within a SaaS organization.
• Experience building or managing an integrated advocacy ecosystem including communities, champions, references, and stories.
• Strong understanding of customer community strategy and engagement to identify and sustain advocates.
• Experience with AI-forward advocacy technology and using signals, data, automation for timely experiences.
• Track record of moving advocacy toward a coordinated, customer-centered model that benefits customers and the business.
• Strategic, cross-functional leadership with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Data-informed program leadership with meaningful measures of engagement, health, and impact.
• Excellent relationship-building and communication skills with executives and teams.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the strategy for Blackbaud Community and the Champions program.
• Develop a signal-driven approach to advocacy using data, automation, and AI capabilities.
• Build scalable advocacy pathways for Champions, speakers, reviewers, references, and more.
• Create engaging community experiences through campaigns, groups, events, and peer connections.
• Shape an AI-forward advocacy tech ecosystem connecting platforms, data, and workflows.
• Build trusted relationships with advocates and create value for both customers and Blackbaud.
• Partner across Marketing, Customer Success, Sales, Product, and Events to embed advocacy into priorities.
• Establish governance and practices to simplify collaboration while protecting customer experience quality.
• Define and measure community health and engagement to demonstrate impact.

Skills

Advocacy strategy

Community engagement

Cross-functional leadership

AI-forward technology

Data-driven decision making

Relationship building

Communication skills

Strategic vision

Agile prioritization

Executive stakeholder management

Job description

About the role

We’re looking for a Customer Advocacy Manager to lead the evolution of Blackbaud’s customer advocacy ecosystem, building on our Community and Champions programs to create a more connected, scalable, and signal‑driven approach to advocacy. In this role, you’ll shape how Blackbaud identifies, engages, develops, and activates customer advocates across the customer journey. You’ll bring together community engagement, customer relationships, technology, data, and AI-enabled capabilities to create meaningful opportunities for customers to share their expertise, influence others, and strengthen the broader social impact community. You’ll own the strategy for Blackbaud Community and the Champions advocacy program while helping define what comes next. This is an opportunity for an experienced advocacy leader to bring a strong point of view, modernize our approach, and build an integrated advocacy ecosystem that engages the right customers in the right opportunities at the right moments.

What you’ll be doing

• Own and evolve the strategy for Blackbaud Community and the Champions program, creating an integrated experience that deepens customer engagement and expands the reach and impact of customer advocacy.
• Develop a modern, signal‑driven approach to advocacy, using customer data, engagement signals, automation, and AI-enabled capabilities to identify and activate the right customers at the right moments.
• Build scalable advocacy pathways that help customers become Champions, speakers, reviewers, references, storytellers, peer leaders, and product contributors based on their interests, expertise, and relationship with Blackbaud.
• Create compelling community and advocacy experiences through targeted campaigns, communications, member‑led groups, peer connections, events, and other opportunities that deliver value to customers.
• Shape and advance an AI‑forward advocacy technology ecosystem, identifying opportunities to connect platforms, data, workflows, and automation to deliver more personalized customer experiences at scale.
• Build trusted relationships with customer advocates, understanding their motivations and creating opportunities that are valuable to both the customer and Blackbaud.
• Partner across Marketing, Customer Success, Sales, Support, Product, Partners, Events, and Brand to embed customer voices and advocacy opportunities into broader customer and business priorities.
• Establish clear program governance and operating practices that make it easier for internal teams to identify, engage, and collaborate with customer advocates while protecting the quality of the customer experience.
• Define and measure community health, advocacy engagement, and business impact, using insights to strengthen programs, prioritize investments, and demonstrate the value of customer advocacy.
• Stay current on emerging advocacy practices and technologies, bringing new ideas and an informed perspective on how customer advocacy should evolve within a modern SaaS organization.

What you’ll bring

• Deep experience leading and evolving a mature customer advocacy program within a SaaS organization, with demonstrated success scaling advocacy across the customer lifecycle.
• Experience building or managing an integrated advocacy ecosystem that may include customer communities, champion programs, references, reviews, customer stories, speakers, peer engagement, user groups, and other forms of customer participation.
• A strong understanding of customer community strategy and how community engagement can help identify, develop, and sustain long‑term customer advocates.
• Experience with modern, AI-forward advocacy technology, along with a clear vision for using customer signals, data, automation, and AI to create more timely, relevant, and scalable advocacy experiences.
• A track record of moving advocacy beyond individual programs or one‑time requests toward a coordinated, customer‑centered model that creates value for customers and the business.
• Strong strategic and cross‑functional leadership skills, with the ability to align stakeholders, influence without direct authority, and translate advocacy opportunities into shared priorities.
• A data‑informed approach to program leadership, including experience defining meaningful measures of customer engagement, program health, operational effectiveness, and business impact.
• Excellent relationship‑building and communication skills, with the judgment and credibility to work effectively with customers, executives, and teams across the organization.
• A builder’s mindset, combining strategic vision with the ability to translate ideas into practical programs, processes, technology, and customer experiences.
• The ability to prioritize effectively in an agile environment, balancing longer‑term transformation with the ongoing needs of active customer programs.

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Benefits Include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Remote-flexible workforce
• Wellness Programs
• 401(k) program with employer match
• Flexible paid time off
• Generous Parental Leave
• Donations for Doers
• Pet insurance, legal and identity protection
• Tuition reimbursement program

Blackbaud powers social impact through purpose-driven technology and responsible AI. Guided by our Intelligence for Good vision, we’re building a culture where innovation, trust, and human expertise come together to help organizations make a greater difference in the world. Blackbaud is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive work environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.

The starting base pay is $77,700.00 to $104,500.00. Blackbaud may pay more or less based on employee qualifications, market value, Company finances, and other operational considerations.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community‑nonprofits, foundations, corporations, education institutions, healthcare institutions and individual change agents, Blackbaud connects and empowers organizations to increase their impact through software, services, expertise, and data intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, peer‑to‑peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility, school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing, and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.