Workshop Operations Lead — Repair & Productivity

Motorfocus Autobody; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & wellbeing allowance

4 weeks annual leave

Melbourne office access

Snacks and drinks

Catered lunches

Job summary

Podium is seeking a Manager, Support & Operations to own how support work flows across Melbourne and offshore teams in the Philippines and Pakistan. You’ll directly lead Product Support Specialists from Melbourne, guiding triage, escalation and resolution of customer inquiries to keep businesses focused on growth.

This senior, hands-on role combines people leadership with operational ownership across time zones, with a customer-first mindset and data-driven decision making.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in technical or product support within SaaS or tech, incl. 2+ years leading a team.
• Proven ability to build support operations with triage, tiering and handover processes.
• Experience managing distributed/offshore teams across countries/time zones.
• Strong coaching, customer-first mindset and clear cross‑team communication.
• Data-driven approach to support metrics and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Own how tickets move from triage through each support tier and escalation.
• Define ownership and handovers across local and offshore teams.
• Act as escalation point for complex/high-priority cases.
• Monitor workflow health and address bottlenecks early.
• Ensure clear owner, next update and outcome for escalations.
• Communicate resolutions to customers and teams; meet SLAs with Product/Engineering.
• Lead, coach and develop Product Support Specialists in the Philippines and Pakistan.
• Oversee CSAT, first response, resolution times and quality scores.
• Hire, onboard and train new team members; manage rosters across time zones.

Skills

SaaS support leadership

Offshore team leadership

Process ownership

Escalation management

Data-driven metrics

Zendesk/Salesforce/Intercom

Tools

Zendesk

Salesforce

Intercom

Job description

Manager, Support & Operations – Podium

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. We’ve deployed 10,000 AI employees.

Our growth is fueled by hiring exceptional people, holding them to high standards, and creating opportunities for them to grow.

About the role

As Manager, Support & Operations, you’ll own how support work flows across our local and offshore teams, 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.

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