AVP, Operational Learning & Performance

Korn Ferry; Toronto; On-site; CAD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Korn Ferry seeks an Assistant Vice President to lead a cross-border transformation of contact center operations, blending workforce management, quality, and analytics. The role shapes an AI-enabled operating model to improve capacity, performance, and customer outcomes.

The candidate will oversee a large, distributed team, drive governance, and partner with senior leaders to translate insights into action and measurable improvements across operations and services.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in contact center operations, workforce management, or operational transformation.
• Proven track record leading large, multi-site teams and matrixed collaboration.
• Demonstrated success implementing technology-enabled change, automation, AI, or analytics in operations.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders across operations, technology, data, and transformation.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute multi-year transformation for high-volume service ops across locations and channels.
• Redesign operating models to leverage automation, AI, self-service, and analytics.
• Improve service levels, customer effort, productivity, quality, and costs through data-informed actions.
• Lead adoption of new capabilities ensuring service continuity and strong governance.

Skills

Leadership

Transformation

AI/Analytics

Workforce Management

Cross‑functional collaboration

Job description

Locations: Toronto, CA or Waterloo, CA or Montreal, CA

Position Overview

Mandate

The Assistant Vice President, Contact Center Transformation & AI Enablement will lead a sizeable, cross-border organization focused on modernizing service operations. The role brings together contact center transformation, workforce management, quality, operational knowledge, performance enablement, and targeted learning to improve how work is planned, delivered, measured, and continuously improved.

This executive will shape the operating model for an increasingly digital and AI-enabled environment. Priorities include improving capacity and demand alignment, accelerating adoption of automation and interaction analytics, strengthening frontline execution, reducing avoidable service defects, and helping leaders translate real-time operational insight into better customer, employee, and productivity outcomes.

Principal Accountabilities

• Define and execute a multi-year transformation agenda for complex, high-volume service operations across multiple locations and delivery channels.
• Redesign operating practices, roles, workflows, and governance to support greater use of automation, artificial intelligence, self-service, and advanced interaction analytics.
• Assess current-state performance and identify opportunities to improve service levels, customer effort, productivity, quality, cost, and employee effectiveness.
• Lead implementation of new capabilities while maintaining service continuity and disciplined operational control.

Workforce Management & Capacity Optimization

• Strengthen forecasting, capacity planning, scheduling, intraday management, and performance routines across a distributed operating environment.
• Connect demand, staffing, skills, and workload data to support better resource decisions and more resilient service delivery.
• Partner with operations leaders to address capacity constraints, volume volatility, shrinkage, adherence, and productivity challenges.
• Use operational scenarios and performance data to inform hiring, location, sourcing, and deployment decisions.

AI, Analytics & Digital Enablement

• Advance practical use of AI and analytics across customer interactions, quality monitoring, knowledge access, coaching, and operational decision-making.
• Establish governance, calibration, and controls so automated insights are reliable, explainable, and useful to frontline and senior leaders.
• Translate data from multiple operational sources into clear priorities for intervention, investment, and process improvement.
• Build adoption plans that help managers and employees incorporate new digital capabilities into everyday work.

Performance, Quality & Frontline Effectiveness

• Modernize the quality and performance framework, moving toward risk-based monitoring and more comprehensive insight into customer interactions.
• Give leaders actionable visibility into performance at the operation, team, role, and employee level.
• Connect quality findings, customer feedback, productivity results, and workforce data to identify root causes rather than isolated symptoms.
• Improve manager coaching and performance routines so interventions are focused, timely, and measurable.

Operational Readiness, Knowledge & Capability

• Ensure frontline teams are prepared for new products, processes, policies, technologies, and operating-model changes before implementation.
• Oversee the operational knowledge framework, including governance, content ownership, maintenance, and digital access at the point of need.
• Align onboarding, role readiness, upskilling, and reinforcement with the specific performance requirements of contact center and service operations.
• Use early-tenure, proficiency, quality, and productivity data to refine readiness and capability interventions.
• Lead a large, geographically dispersed, multidisciplinary team spanning operational transformation and enablement capabilities.
• Build a commercially minded, evidence‑based culture focused on execution, measurable outcomes, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with senior leaders across operations, technology, customer strategy, data and analytics, risk, human resources, and transformation.
• Create shared accountability for service performance, workforce capability, adoption, and customer outcomes.

Candidate Profile

• At least 15 years of progressive experience in contact center operations, workforce management, operational transformation, shared services, business process outsourcing, or a comparable high-volume service environment.
• Significant leadership experience within a large, complex, multi-site operation, including accountability for transformation, performance improvement, or workforce optimization.
• Demonstrated success implementing technology-enabled change, automation, AI, analytics, or digital service capabilities in an operational setting.
• Experience leading sizeable, distributed teams and influencing outcomes across a matrixed organization.
• A record of effective partnership with senior leaders in operations, technology, customer experience, workforce management, data, and transformation.
• Experience in a regulated industry is preferred; financial services exposure would be useful but is not required.
• Experience with learning, quality, or knowledge management is valuable when combined with a strong operational foundation.
• Ability to operate in more than one language would be advantageous.

Leadership Capabilities

• Deep understanding of contact center operating models, workforce levers, service performance measures, and the practical drivers of frontline productivity and customer outcomes.
• Ability to connect AI and digital capabilities to specific operating problems, adoption requirements, controls, and measurable business value.
• Strong analytical judgment with the ability to synthesize workforce, quality, customer, and operational data into decisive action.
• Credibility with senior stakeholders and the ability to gain alignment across functions without relying on direct authority.
• A pragmatic, delivery-oriented approach to transformation, supported by clear communication, disciplined governance, and sustained follow‑through.

Vacancy Status

Yes

Artificial Intelligence tools may be used in connection with the recruitment process for this position.