Membership Manager

Encountr crafts extraordinary, wine‑led experiences for the genuinely curious—people who want to discover the world through shared taste and the art of gathering. With unparalleled industry knowledge, each team member has spent a career cultivating genuine connections and bringing together networks with shared values. Our vision is to be the world’s leading curator of life‑changing experiences — where wine, dining and luxury converge to create unforgettable encounters and life‑long connections.

The Opportunity: We are approaching the launch of our custom membership platform and we need our first dedicated Membership Manager to own its deployment, shape the member experience from day one, and grow the community with the same care and precision we bring to every event we host. This is not a role for someone who wants to manage a steady‑state inbox. It is for someone who wants to build something from the ground up: to own the CRM architecture, CMS deployment, design the member journey, and—as the membership gains momentum—step into the room and win the kind of relationships that no algorithm can replicate.

You will own the full membership operation: the platform, the data, the member journey, and the in‑person relationships that turn members into advocates. The role is deliberately weighted toward CRM deployment and operational excellence at the outset, with the expectation that as the membership scales, your focus will shift toward business development, community programming, and building the team around you.

• CRM Deployment & Platform Ownership: Own the membership CMS & CRM end‑to‑end — from data architecture and member segmentation to billing flows, onboarding sequences, and lifecycle communications, ensuring each touch point feels personal rather than automated. Serve as Encountr's internal lead on the platform build: attending sprint reviews, feeding back on member‑facing functionality, and ensuring the CRM logic reflects the actual member journey. Define and document the full member journey including application, vetting, onboarding, renewal, and upgrade triggers. Own data integrity: clean, structured, and actionable member records from day one. Establish reporting dashboards that give the founding team real‑time visibility on MRR, churn, tier distribution, NPS, and engagement rates.
• Member Experience & Retention: Own the onboarding experience for every founding member. Monitor member engagement signals and proactively intervene before churn. Manage the no‑show problem: implement confirmation flows, calendar integrations, and penalty mechanics that protect the experience for attending members. Collaborate with the COO on waitlist management, tier cap enforcement, and the sequencing of membership across future tiers. Gather and act on member feedback — NPS surveys, post‑event reflections, and informal signals — and feed insight back into the product and experience roadmap.
• Community Building & In‑Person BD: Represent Encountr in the room — at events, partner venues, and member gatherings — building genuine relationships with members and the wider community. Support the CEO and COO in activating the partner ecosystem: briefing partners on member benefits, coordinating redemptions and ensuring the benefit set delivers tangible value. Identify referral opportunities within the existing member base and design mechanics that reward advocacy without cheapening the brand. As the membership grows, take on increasing responsibility for community programming — sub‑group events, "Bring Your Bottle" nights, member introductions, and the kind of low‑key moments that make a membership feel like it is working even between major experiences. Supporting the COO in laying the groundwork for a junior team: document processes, build playbooks, and be ready to hire and manage when the time comes.
• Commercial Contribution: Track and report on the KPIs that matter: MRR, churn rate, tier conversion, waitlist growth, NPS, and partner redemption rates. Work to the 2026–2027 commercial targets. Contribute to pricing and tier decisions with data.

Required Experience/Skills:

• Ability to work in the UK.
• 3-4+ years of experience in private memberships positions in private clubs, luxury hospitality or premium lifestyle brands.
• Proven experience managing a premium or curated membership community— you understand that retention in this context is emotional as much as operational.
• Proficiency (or willingness to learn) relevant Project Management software (Asana), Google Services, Website CMS (custom), Marketing Tools, SEO, etc.
• Ability to form relationships outside of the internal team and to cultivate new business over time.
• Comfortable with travel.
• Social confidence and genuine presence in the room — you are as comfortable hosting a table of members as you are writing a comms sequence in the back end.
• Highly organised and self‑directing — in a small founding team, you will often be setting your own agenda, KPIs and deadlines.
• CRM architecture and data management — structured, clean, actionable.
• Lifecycle and behavioural comms automations— you write comms that feel personal at scale.
• Analytical — comfortable with dashboards, cohort analysis, and churn modelling.
• Commercially minded — you understand MRR, LTV, and the levers that move them.
• Strong communicator — written and in person, with an instinct for tone that matches the brand.
• Discreet and trustworthy — you will hold sensitive member data and personal relationships.
• Entrepreneurial — you do not wait to be told; you identify the gap and fill it.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Hands‑on CRM deployment experience: you have built or owned a CRM system, not just used one — you understand data architecture, segmentation logic, automation flows, and integration with billing platforms.
• Interest in wine, gastronomy, art, luxury, fashion.
• An existing network of thought‑leaders, customers, partners.
• Experience in/with the service industry.
• Familiarity with subscription billing platforms (Stripe or equivalent).

Growth Path: This role is designed to evolve. You are joining as the first membership hire, reporting to the COO, with full ownership of the CRM and member experience. As the membership scales and the platform matures, the expectation is that you will:

• Build and lead a small membership team — likely a Community & Events Coordinator and a CRM/Data Analyst as MRR allows.
• Take on increasing ownership of community programming and in‑person business development, as the operational layer becomes more systematised.
• Grow into a Head of Membership title as the team and responsibilities expand.

Partnership acquisition and rewards/benefits agreements will remain with the COO/CEO during the early phase. Your role in this area is activation and delivery — ensuring that what has been agreed is experienced by members in a way that justifies the membership fee. As momentum builds, the scope of your commercial remit will be reviewed.

Education: BA required. Technical training may be considered in lieu of degree.

Pay & Benefits Summary: The possibility of bonuses based on overall team performance. Minimum pension contributions year 1. 25 days holiday, excluding bank holidays.