Manager, Support & OperationsNew

Podium81; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & wellbeing allowance

4 weeks annual leave

Melbourne CBD office

Snacks and drinks

Catered lunch

Job summary

Podium in Melbourne is seeking a senior Manager, Support & Operations to align local and offshore teams, including the Philippines and Pakistan, with our fast-growing AI customer-support scale.

You will lead Product Support Specialists, own end-to-end ticket flow, and partner with Product and Engineering to deliver fast, high-quality resolutions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in technical or product SaaS support with 2+ years leading a team.
• Experience managing distributed/offshore teams across countries and time zones.
• Proven ability to drive accountability through influence with peer teams who don’t report to you.

Responsibilities

• Own ticket flow from triage through resolution across local and offshore teams.
• Define ownership and handover expectations across teams.
• Act as escalation point for complex/high-priority cases.
• Monitor workflow health and address bottlenecks.
• Lead, coach and develop Product Support Specialists in the Philippines and Pakistan.
• Ensure CSAT, response and resolution times meet targets.
• Collaborate with Product and Engineering on escalations.

Skills

Support leadership

Distributed teams management

Data-driven decision making

Customer-focused

Zendesk/Salesforce/Intercom

Tools

Zendesk

Salesforce

Intercom

Job description

At Podium, we bring AI Employees to local businesses that turn every conversation into revenue. Trusted by 60,000+ businesses across Auto, Home Services, and Aesthetics, Podium captures and converts leads 24/7, driving both new business and repeat customers.

In under 24 months, we crossed $100M in AI Agent ARR, scaling 300% year-over-year. During this time, we’ve deployed 10,000 AI employees to empower real business outcomes for our customers. Podium is building what we believe will be the most impactful AI employee ecosystem for local business.

Podium has been recognized as the Best AI Implementation by Inc. Magazine, highlighted by OpenAI for building revenue-driving AI Agents, and awarded the #1 AI Agent for Business Operations by G2.

Our operating principles guide daily behavior and ensure we hire people who will thrive at Podium. If you're hungry for growth, aligned to our operating principles, and ready to get to work, you won't find a better place to learn and accelerate your career.

Job title

Manager, Support & Operations

Own how support work flows across Melbourne, the Philippines and Pakistan. Lead offshore teams at one of the fastest-growing AI companies in local business.

About PodIum

Podium brings AI Employees to local businesses, turning every conversation into revenue. We’re trusted by 60,000+ businesses across Auto, Home Services and Aesthetics, capturing and converting leads 24/7.In under 24 months we crossed $100M in AI Agent ARR, growing 300% year-over-year, and we’ve deployed 10,000 AI employees. We’ve been named Best AI Implementation by Inc. Magazine, highlighted by OpenAI for building revenue-driving AI Agents, and ranked the #1 AI Agent for Business Operations by G2.We hire exceptional people, hold them to high standards, and give them room to grow. If you’re hungry to learn and ready to get to work, you won’t find a better place to accelerate your career.

About the role

As Manager, Support & Operations, you’ll own how support work flows across our local and offshore teams, and directly lead our Product Support Specialists in the Philippines and Pakistan from your base in Melbourne. Your teams answer how-to questions and troubleshoot customer inquiries so businesses can stay focused on growing.

This is a senior, hands-on role that combines people leadership with operational ownership. You’ll be accountable for how every ticket moves through support, from triage and prioritisation through each tier, escalation and resolution, with clear owners and follow-through at every stage. You’ll also make sure CX, customers and Engineering stay aligned on escalated issues until the resolution is confirmed and communicated back.

You’ll work in close partnership with the TPS Manager (who retains TPS people leadership and technical delivery), and you’ll get results through influence as much as authority, working with Product, Engineering and the wider Support organisation.

What you’ll be doing

• Own how tickets move from triage through each support tier, technical escalation and resolution
• Define ownership, handover expectations and follow-through across local and offshore teams, and hold teams to them
• Act as the escalation point for complex or high-priority cases
• Monitor workflow health (ageing tickets, handover quality, escalation follow-through) and act early on bottlenecks
• Make sure every escalated issue has a named owner, a scheduled next update and a confirmed outcome
• Communicate confirmed resolutions back to customers and the teams involved
• Hold Product and Engineering to agreed SLAs on escalated issues
• Act as the Voice of the Customer, bringing organised insights to Product
• Establish shared support processes with the TPS Manager
• Agree and regularly review boundaries and handoffs between Support and TPS
• Lead, coach and develop Product Support Specialists in the Philippines and Pakistan
• Own team performance against CSAT, first response and resolution times, quality scores and SLA adherence
• Run 1:1s, team meetings and performance conversations, and support career growth
• Manage coverage, rosters and handovers across time zones
• Recruit, onboard and train new team members with local leadership and HR
• Keep internal documentation current and well used
• Train the team and broader customer-facing teams on products and new features
• Use data to spot trends, forecast capacity and report to senior leadership

What you’ll bring

• 5+ years in technical or product support within SaaS or tech, including 2+ years leading a support team
• A track record of building support operations, including triage, tiering, escalation and handover processes others actually follow
• Proven ability to drive accountability through influence with peers and partner teams who don’t report to you
• Experience managing distributed or offshore teams across countries and time zones, with cultural awareness and the ability to build trust remotely
• Strong coaching skills and a history of building motivated, high-performing teams
• Strong troubleshooting skills and the ability to vet product issues with Product and Engineering
• Experience running closed-loop escalation communication
• A customer-first mindset and clear communication across email, SMS, phone and video
• A data-driven approach to support metrics and reporting
• Flexibility to work across time zones as needed
• Experience with Zendesk, Salesforce or Intercom is highly regarded

What success looks like

• Ageing tickets are visible, owned and moving, with nothing stalled between tiers or teams
• Handovers are complete, timely and need no rework
• Every escalation is followed through to a confirmed outcome
• Offshore CSAT, response and resolution times, quality and SLA targets are met
• Engagement and retention are strong in both the Philippines and Pakistan
• Open and transparent culture
• $650/month health and wellbeing allowance, spend it your way
• 4 weeks’ annual leave
• Melbourne CBD office on the corner of Queen & Collins St, with end-of-trip facilities and bike storage
• Snacks and drinks always stocked
• Catered lunch in the last week of every month