Associate Director – Operations (KUL based only)

Careersatagoda; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 300,000 - 360,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation package

Relocation support

Job summary

Agoda seeks an Associate Director, Operations in Kuala Lumpur to lead the creation of a brand-new customer experience operations team. You will design the operating model, set response criteria, and scale the regional function with ownership and strategic impact.

You will bring 10+ years in contact center leadership, a passion for customer experience, and the ability to align cross-functional teams. This on-site role offers relocation to Kuala Lumpur for the right candidate.

Qualifications

• Business-level proficiency in English, both written and spoken.
• 10+ years of leadership in contact center, operations or customer service.
• Experience in travel-related operations preferred.
• Proven ability to build and scale teams from the ground up.
• Strategic mindset with data-driven decision making.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Build and shape a brand-new operations team from day one.
• Lead timely interventions to improve customer experience and trust.
• Partner with business units to translate insights into improvements.
• Use data to continually refine team performance and processes.
• Guide and develop team members through organizational change.
• Establish team identity, values, and ways of working.
• Navigate fast-changing priorities with calm and clarity.
• Present progress and insights to senior leadership.
• Uphold Agoda’s values and compliance in daily operations.

Skills

Business-level English

Leadership experience

Contact center ops

Travel ops knowledge

Data-driven decisions

Tools

CRM

Workforce management

Data visualization tools

Job description

About Agoda

At Agoda, we bridge the world through travel. Our story began in 2005, when two lifelong friends and entrepreneurs, driven by their passion for travel, launched Agoda to make it easier for everyone to explore the world.

Today, we are part of Booking Holdings [NASDAQ: BKNG], with a diverse team of over 7,000 people from 90 countries, working together in offices around the globe. Every day, we connect people to destinations and experiences, with our great deals across our millions of hotels and holiday properties, flights, and experiences worldwide.

No two days are the same at Agoda. Data and technology are at the heart of our culture, fueling our curiosity and innovation. If you’re ready to begin your best journey and help build travel for the world, join us.

Get to Know our Team:

At Agoda, we believe that the world is better when people can travel more freely, explore new places, and experience new things. Our Customer Experience Group (CEG) is at the heart of that mission, making sure every traveler feels taken care of, no matter where their journey takes them.

This team plays a unique and vital role within CEG: we step in at exactly the right moments when a customer needs extra care, when the experience starts to go off track, or when there's an opportunity to turn things around before frustration builds. This team is also the trusted voice customers hear when they need us most, helping them find the right way forward and stepping in personally on the moments that matter. We don't stop at fixing the moment, we dig deeper, uncover what caused the issue in the first place, and work hand-in-hand with teams across the business to make sure it doesn't happen again. It's meaningful, high-impact work that directly shapes how millions of travelers experience Agoda.

The Opportunity:

This is a rare chance to build something from the ground up. As Associate Director, Operations, you'll lead the creation of a brand-new team, reporting directly to the Director of Escalation and Incident Operation. You will have the freedom and the mandate to design the operating model, shape how the team identifies and responds to key moments and build a regional organization that will grow and scale over time.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this role is perfect for a leader who thrives on ownership and possibility, someone who gets excited by a blank page rather than daunted by it. You'll bring together strong people leadership, a genuine passion for customer experience, sharp analytical instincts, and the confidence to make great decisions even when all the answers aren't yet clear.

We welcome applications from both local and international candidates and offer a relocation package to help the right person make Kuala Lumpur home.

In This Role, You'll Get To:

• Build Something New: Shape the operating model, response criteria, and structure of a growing team from day one and see your ideas come to life.

• Make a Real Difference: Lead timely, thoughtful intervention on cases that need extra care, always putting yourself in the customer's shoes to find the right outcome. Keep the customer's experience and trust at the heart of every decision.

• Drive Meaningful Change: Partner with teams across the business to turn what we learn from these moments into lasting improvements.

• Lead with Curiosity: Use data and real results to keep refining and improving how the team operates, rather than sticking to a fixed playbook.

• Lead Your Team Through Change: Guide your people through the change that comes with building something new, communicating openly and helping them feel confident, informed, and excited about what's ahead.

• Create a Culture You're Proud Of: Shape the identity, values, and ways of working for a brand-new team from the very start.

• Thrive in Fast-Moving Environments: Stay calm, clear, and confident even as plans evolve, adapting quickly as you learn what works best.

• Tell a Compelling Story: Share progress and insights with senior stakeholders in a way that builds confidence and support for your team's work.

• Champion Our Values: Uphold the highest standards of compliance and bring Agoda's mission and values to life every day.

What You'll Bring:

• Business-level proficiency, spoken and written, in English

• 10+ years of leadership experience in contact center, operations, or customer service, leading through multiple layers of management across sites or regions

• Working knowledge of, or experience in, travel-related operations

• A track record of building and scaling teams or functions from the ground up

• A strategic mindset: you don't just execute a plan, you shape it, and know when to shift direction

• Strong analytical skills and comfort using data to guide decisions and coach others to do the same

• A natural ability to build trust and influence others, even without direct authority

• Excellent listening, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, with great attention to detail

• Confidence presenting to and engaging senior leadership

• Comfort navigating ambiguity, shifting priorities, and the energy of a fast-paced, evolving environment

• Based in or willing to relocate to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Nice to Have:

• Experience building a new team or function from scratch, especially in travel, e-commerce, or fintech

• Familiarity with Agile ways of working for managing multiple initiatives at once

• Hands-on experience with CRM, contact center, workforce management, or data visualization tools

• Exposure to predictive analytics or AI-driven tools

• Additional language skills

What Makes You a Great Fit:

Beyond the experience above, we're looking for someone who naturally brings these qualities to the table:

• A builder at heart: You love creating something from nothing, whether structure, process, or direction, rather than waiting for someone else to hand you the playbook.

• Genuinely customer-obsessed: You care about truly solving the customer's problem and finding the right outcome for them.

• A natural root-cause thinker: You look past the immediate issue to understand what's really going on, and you share what you learn so others can benefit too.

• Comfortable with data, driven by insight: You use evidence and real-world results to keep improving your approach, rather than sticking to a fixed plan.

• A trusted collaborator: People across the business want to work with you, because you build real partnerships, not just transactions.

• Calm, confident, and adaptable: You bring clarity and good judgment even when things are still taking shape, and you're comfortable making decisions without having every answer.

If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you. Join us in building something new and in making travel better, one customer at a time

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Equal Opportunity Employer

At Agoda, we pride ourselves on being a company represented by people of all different backgrounds and orientations. We prioritize attracting diverse talent and cultivating an inclusive environment that encourages collaboration and innovation. Employment at Agoda is based solely on a person’s merit and qualifications. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity regardless of sex, age, race, color, national origin, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, citizenship, veteran or military status, and other legally protected characteristics.

Wewill keep your application on file so that we can consider you for future vacancies and you can always ask to have your details removed from the file. For more details please read our privacy policy.

Disclaimer

We do not accept any terms or conditions, nor do we recognize any agency’s representation of a candidate, from unsolicited third-party or agency submissions. If we receive unsolicited or speculative CVs, we reserve the right to contact and hire the candidate directly without any obligation to pay a recruitment fee.