Senior Manager Customer Care Centre

SA Water; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

SA Water is seeking a senior leader to head the Customer Care Centre in South Australia, shaping how customers experience service across 24/7 operations. You will drive customer advocacy, manage complex complaints and lead transformation initiatives that link policy, technology and people.

Working with executive leaders and regulators, you will develop capability, empower leadership and ensure delivery excellence while focusing on vulnerable customers and the community we serve.

Qualifications

• Relevant qualifications in business management or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of leading practices and technology in contact centre environments.
• Broad knowledge of customer service delivery initiatives across industries.
• Proven ability to make effective decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• Highly developed communication and engagement skills.
• Ability to build constructive relationships across a large organisation.
• Strong financial acumen and experience in debt management, including hardship support.
• Experience leading large, multidisciplinary, 24X7 contact centres.
• Demonstrated self-management and ability to work autonomously.

Responsibilities

• Effectively manage recruitment, development and retention of a large and diverse workforce in a 24x7 environment.
• Oversee general call centre, service desk, debt recovery and escalated complaints resolution.
• Lead field-based response activities and cross-functional collaboration.
• Identify and implement customer service delivery improvements to boost satisfaction and brand perception.
• Ensure a current business plan aligned to SA Water Strategy with aligned staff goals.
• Plan long-term service delivery transformation across touchpoints using leading practice tech and processes.
• Manage a 24x7 operation within a $12.5m expenditure and $2.5m revenue budget.

Job description

About the Company

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

As Senior Manager Customer Care Centre, you will lead one of SA Water’s most critical customer‑facing functions, shaping the experience of customers across South Australia and influencing how customer service is delivered across the organisation. Leading a large and diverse operation, you will be responsible for customer service delivery, customer advocacy, complaint and fault management, debt recovery and field‑based customer support, ensuring customers receive responsive, empathetic and high‑quality service at every interaction.

This is a highly strategic leadership opportunity where you will drive the future direction of the Customer Care Centre while ensuring operational excellence across a complex 24/7 environment. You will lead the development of customer‑focused policies, champion continuous improvement initiatives and identify opportunities to modernise systems, processes and service delivery models to meet the evolving needs of customers and the community. A key focus of the role will be leading transformation initiatives that improve customer outcomes, enhance operational efficiency and position the function for long‑term success.

Working closely with executive leaders, regulators, government agencies and stakeholders across the business, you will influence strategic decision making, provide expert advice during major incidents and ensure customer insights help shape organisational priorities. You will also play a critical role in supporting vulnerable customers, managing complex and high‑profile complaints and building a culture where customer service excellence is embedded in everything we do.

Beyond operational leadership, this role is about creating capability for the future. You will develop and empower your leadership team, creating an environment where managers are equipped to lead confidently, make sound decisions and drive performance within their own teams. By uplifting leadership capability across the function, you will create the space to focus on strategic priorities, innovation and the ongoing evolution of customer care at SA Water.

This is a max‑term opportunity for 3 years.

About the Person

You are an accomplished senior leader with extensive experience leading large‑scale contact centre, customer service or customer operations functions within complex service environments. Ideally, your experience comes from utilities, essential services, government or similarly regulated industries where delivering exceptional customer outcomes is balanced with operational performance, community expectations and regulatory obligations. You understand the challenges of leading services that genuinely matter to customers and are motivated by making a positive impact for the communities you serve.

You bring demonstrated success leading transformation within customer service environments, with experience improving processes, building capability and implementing modern technologies that enhance both customer and employee experiences. You have successfully led organisations through significant change, including system transformation programmes, technology modernisation initiatives and the replacement of end‑of‑life platforms. You are comfortable navigating complexity and know how to translate strategic objectives into practical, sustainable outcomes.

A passionate people leader, you have a strong track record of building high‑performing cultures and developing leadership capability at all levels. You understand that exceptional customer outcomes start with capable leaders and engaged teams, and you know how to coach and empower managers to lead effectively, think strategically and drive accountability within their areas. You create environments where people feel supported, challenged and motivated to perform at their best.

You are highly skilled at working across large, multi‑disciplinary organisations and have demonstrated success influencing and negotiating with senior leaders and executives. You build strong relationships quickly, collaborate effectively across business functions and are known for your ability to bring people together to solve complex problems. You are someone who willingly leans in to support colleagues and contributes beyond your immediate area.

Most importantly, you are a calm, resilient and authentic leader who remains steady under pressure. You bring consistency to your decision making, confidence during periods of change and a genuine commitment to both your people and your customers. Your leadership style is collaborative, approachable and grounded, enabling you to build trust, inspire confidence and lead a large customer‑focused function through its next stage of growth and transformation.

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:

• Effectively manage recruitment, development and retention of a large and diverse workforce in a highly responsive, 24x7 environment across general call centre, face to face service desk, outstanding account recovery, escalated complaints resolution, and field‑based response activities.
• Responsible for the identification, prioritisation and implementation of customer service delivery improvements leading to efficiencies, increased levels of customer satisfaction and enhanced SA Water brand perception.
• Ensure a current business plan aligned to the SA Water Strategy is in place and individual staff member goals and objectives are aligned and levels of authority are in place to enable them to achieve outcomes.
• Lead the long‑term planning for service delivery and the transformation of Customer Care Centre functions across all touchpoints to drive business efficiency and great customer experiences through the adoption of leading practice technology and process improvement ensuring continuity of service provision and as changes are implemented.
• Responsible for leading a high performing team, delivering a 24 x 7 operation within a$12.5m expenditure and $2.5m revenue budget.

Your success in this role will come from:

• Relevant qualifications in business management or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge and experience in implementing leading practices and technology in contact centre environments.
• A broad and current knowledge of initiatives in customer service delivery across industries.
• A demonstrated ability to make effective decisions in a complex, fast paced environment.
• Highly developed communication and engagement skills.
• The ability to make and maintain constructive relationships with people across a large, complex organisation.
• Highly developed financial acumen and experience in debt management, including supporting customers in financial hardship.
• Experience in leading large, multidisciplinary, 24X7 contact centres.
• Demonstrated self‑management skills and capacity to work autonomously and independently.

Further information can be found in the attached in the candidate pack. Candidate Pack - Senior Manager Customer Care Centre

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.

Applications close 5pm, Saturday 26 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.