Head of Customer Operations

Smollan

Johannesburg

On-site

ZAR 1,800,000 - 2,400,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Executive leadership

International exposure

Job summary

Smollan in Johannesburg is seeking an Executive Head of Customer Operations to provide strategic and operational leadership for the organisation’s contact centre. You will develop and execute the contact centre strategy, lead large-scale teams and drive customer engagement across all channels to support growth and profitability.

The role requires 10+ years of senior leadership experience, a strong commercial acumen and fluency in transforming customer operations within FMCG or financial services

Qualifications

Relevant degree in business/operations/commerce or related field.
Postgraduate qualification or MBA would be advantageous.
At least 10 years’ relevant experience with senior leadership in large contact centre environments.
Demonstrated experience leading senior management teams and managing complex operations.
Proven skills in strategic planning, budget management and performance optimisation.
Experience in FMCG, retail or financial services exposure preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement the overall contact centre strategy aligned with business objectives and growth plans.
Provide strategic direction to operations ensuring scalability, efficiency and service excellence.
Partner with executive leadership to identify opportunities for improvement, innovation and revenue growth.
Lead transformation initiatives to enhance processes, engagement and service delivery.
Oversee day-to-day performance against KPIs including service levels, quality and cost per interaction.
Drive workforce planning, capacity management and operational reporting.
Champion a customer-centric culture across all channels and stakeholder touchpoints.
Manage budgets, resources and cost structures to achieve financial targets.
Develop senior managers and cultivate a high-performance leadership team.
Leverage data, AI and analytics to inform decisions and forecast demand.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic thinking

Commercial acumen

Operational excellence

Customer experience

Data-driven decisions

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

People leadership

Problem-solving

Innovation

Resilience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Operations/Commerce or related field

MBA or postgraduate qualification

Tools

CRM platforms

Workforce management tools

Job description

Job Title: Head Customer Operations

Seniority: Executive / Senior Leadership

Department: Operations / Customer Experience

Industry: FMCG, with preference for Financial Services exposure

Experience: 10+ years, including significant senior or executive-level leadership experience

Reporting to: Chief Operating Officer / Executive Leadership

1. Job Purpose

The Head of Contact Centre will provide strategic and operational leadership for the organisation’s contact centre function, ensuring operational excellence, exceptional customer experience, commercial performance and sustainable business growth.

The role is responsible for developing and executing the contact centre strategy, leading large-scale teams, optimising service delivery, driving productivity and ensuring that customer interactions support the organisation’s broader business objectives. The successful candidate will bring strong commercial acumen, operational expertise and the ability to manage complex, high-volume customer environments, ideally within FMCG and/or financial services.

2. Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

Develop and implement the overall contact centre strategy, aligned with the organisation’s business objectives and growth plans.
Provide strategic direction to contact centre operations, ensuring scalability, operational efficiency and service excellence.
Partner with executive leadership to identify opportunities for business improvement, innovation and revenue growth.
Lead transformation initiatives to improve operational processes, customer engagement and service delivery.

Operational Excellence

Oversee the day-to-day performance of contact centre operations, ensuring service levels, productivity and quality targets are achieved.
Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), including service levels, average handling time, first-contact resolution, customer satisfaction, quality scores and cost per interaction.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs and improve service delivery.
Ensure effective workforce planning, resource allocation, capacity management and operational reporting.

Customer Experience & Relationship Management

Champion a customer-centric culture that prioritises customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty.
Develop strategies to improve customer experience across all contact channels, including voice, email, digital and other relevant platforms.
Use customer feedback, complaints data and performance insights to identify service gaps and implement improvements.
Build and maintain strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to ensure consistent customer service delivery.

Commercial Performance & Business Growth

Drive commercial outcomes through improved customer engagement, retention, sales conversion, cross-selling and upselling, where applicable.
Manage operational budgets, cost structures and resource utilisation to achieve financial targets.
Identify opportunities to improve profitability, productivity and overall return on investment.
Support business development and client retention initiatives where contact centre operations form part of a client-facing service model.

People Leadership & Development

Lead, coach and develop senior managers and contact centre leadership teams, building a high-performance culture.
Establish clear performance expectations, accountability frameworks and succession plans.
Drive employee engagement, talent development and leadership capability across the function.
Lead organisational change and ensure teams remain aligned with business priorities.

Technology, Data & Innovation

Leverage contact centre technologies, CRM platforms, workforce management tools, automation and analytics to improve performance.
Identify opportunities to use AI, digital self-service and process automation to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.
Use data-driven insights to inform strategic decisions, forecast demand and improve performance.
Ensure systems and processes remain fit for purpose as customer expectations and business requirements evolve.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

Ensure adherence to relevant legislation, company policies, operational controls and industry requirements.
Establish appropriate quality assurance, risk management, data protection and escalation processes.
Where applicable, ensure compliance with financial services requirements, including relevant customer communication, conduct and regulatory obligations.
Maintain appropriate governance standards across all contact centre activities.

3. Minimum Qualifications & Experience

A relevant degree in Business Management, Operations Management, Commerce, Customer Experience or a related field.
A postgraduate qualification or MBA would be advantageous.
At least 10 years’ relevant experience, including substantial leadership responsibility within large-scale contact centre or customer operations environments.
Demonstrable experience leading senior management teams and managing complex, high-volume operations.
Proven experience in strategic planning, operational transformation, budget management and performance optimisation.
Experience managing large teams, multiple operational functions or geographically dispersed operations.

4. Industry Experience

Strong experience within FMCG, retail, consumer-facing businesses or other high-volume customer environments.
Experience in financial services, banking, insurance, lending, collections or financial customer engagement would be highly advantageous.
Candidates from other industries may be considered if they have successfully led large-scale, complex contact centre operations with comparable commercial and customer service requirements.

5. Key Competencies