Manager Customer Advocacy

SA Water; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SA Water in Adelaide is seeking an experienced leader to head the Customer Advocacy and Resolution function, driving fair outcomes through complaints handling, advocacy, and continuous improvement. You will work with internal and external stakeholders to identify trends and inform strategic decisions, balancing customer needs with organisational goals.

You will lead a team, coach staff, and deliver reliable, data-driven insights to shape customer experiences and service standards across the

Qualifications

• Experience leading complaints management and customer advocacy teams.
• Ability to interpret data and provide insights for improvements.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience reporting to senior leadership and boards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of SA Water's Customer Advocacy and Resolution function, ensuring complaints, escalations and advocacy are managed fairly and within service standards.
• Ensure complaint management practices comply with legislative, regulatory and organisational requirements.
• Provide oversight of complex, high-risk customer matters to ensure equitable outcomes and risk management.
• Prepare and oversee reporting for the Senior Leadership Team, Board, EWOSA and other stakeholders.
• Maintain constructive relationships with EWOSA and other external bodies.

Skills

People leadership

Complaints management

Customer advocacy

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Change management

Education

Bachelor's degree in management or business

Job description

At SA Water, our work sustains life. Every day, we deliver safe, reliable water and wastewater services to more than 1.8 million South Australians, supporting healthy communities across our state.

Behind this essential service are people who care. From engineering and science to construction, digital, operations and customer experience, every role plays a part. We bring our authentic selves to work, driven by purpose, supporting one another to deliver work that truly matters.

About the job

We are seeking an experienced and customer-focused leader to join our team in a role dedicated to delivering positive customer outcomes through effective complaints management, advocacy, and continuous improvement. This position provides an opportunity to lead a high-performing team while ensuring customer concerns are managed fairly, transparently, and with empathy.

As a leader within the business, you will oversee complaint resolution and customer advocacy activities, using insights and data to identify trends, inform decision-making, and drive improvements across processes and customer experiences. You will work closely with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, building strong relationships that support collaboration and deliver meaningful outcomes. Operating in a complex and dynamic environment, you will be comfortable managing competing priorities, navigating ambiguity, and making sound decisions that balance customer needs with organisational objectives.

This role offers a high degree of autonomy and requires someone who can confidently take ownership, lead through complexity, and contribute strategically to both team and business success.

About the Person

You are an experienced people leader with a strong background in complaints management, customer advocacy, customer resolution, or a similar customer-centric environment. You are passionate about delivering fair and positive outcomes for customers and have a demonstrated ability to support, coach, and develop teams to achieve their best.

You bring excellent stakeholder management skills and are comfortable engaging, influencing, and collaborating with stakeholders at all levels. Your experience in reporting and analysis allows you to interpret data, identify emerging trends, and provide insights that support continuous improvement and informed decision-making. You are highly organised and able to manage complex and sensitive matters with professionalism, resilience, and sound judgement.

Most importantly, you are a self-starter who enjoys working autonomously and taking ownership of outcomes. You thrive in environments where complexity is the norm, remain focused under pressure, and are motivated by creating positive experiences for customers, colleagues, and the organisation as a whole. Your strong communication skills, customer-first mindset, and ability to lead through change will position you for success in this role.

About Customer, Community and Engagement

Customer, Community and Engagement connects us with the people we serve, from everyday customer interactions to long-term community relationships. The team includes customer service call centre professionals who provide frontline support, as well as specialists who engage communities and stakeholders, and partner with businesses to help shape how we plan, deliver, and communicate about our services.

Working here means meaningful engagement, supporting customers when they need it most, managing impacts and enquiries, communicating change, and helping communities understand and benefit from the essential water and wastewater services they rely on every day.

In addition, your responsibilities will include:

Fostering trust with our people, customers and community by providing expert advice and service that ensure we effectively communicate and engage audiences with our business strategy and its delivery across South Australia, every day.

You will:

• Lead the effective delivery of SA Water's Customer Advocacy and Resolution function, ensuring complaints, escalations and advocacy matters are managed fairly, consistently and within agreed service standards.
• Ensure complaint management practices comply with relevant legislative, regulatory and organisational requirements.
• Provide oversight of complex, sensitive and high-risk customer matters to ensure equitable outcomes and effective risk management
• Prepare and oversee reporting requirements for Senior Leadership Team, Board, ESCOSA, National Performance Reporting and other relevant stakeholders.
• Maintain a constructive, collaborative and effective relationship with the Energy and Water Ombudsman South Australia (EWOSA).

Your success in this role will come from:

• Tertiary qualifications in management or business, or experience deemed equivalent.
• Ability to lead and motivate a team to deliver the customer service objectives of SA Water.
• High level interpretation, problem solving and analytical capabilities.
• Exceptional communication, stakeholder engagement, and conflict resolution skills
• Extensive experience in customer service delivery environments
• Highly developed influencing, negotiation and mediation skills

Applications close 4pm,Wednesday 9 September 2026.

A great customer experience is best achieved by having a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the community we serve. Applications are encouraged from everyone, including people living with disability, job seekers of all ages, members of the LGBTIQA+ community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Our Industry is like no other. Dive into the wonderful world of water and explore the boundless opportunities. Learn more about the water industry at careersinwater.com.au