Operations Manager

Humankind; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Humankind is seeking a senior leader to head collections and contact centre operations, leveraging digital campaigns, dialler strategies, and BI-driven insights.

The role emphasizes developing scalable operating models, enhancing recovery rates, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Strong leadership and a track record of delivering KPI-driven outcomes in large BPO-like environments are essential.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of senior-level experience in collections, debt recoveries, or related environments.
• At least 10 years of managerial or team leadership experience is highly advantageous.
• Proven experience managing large call centre teams and delivering against targets.
• Strong knowledge of call centre metrics, workforce management, and quality assurance.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily inbound, outbound, and blended call centre operations.
• Develop and implement operational strategies to achieve KPIs, SLAs, and customer experience objectives.
• Optimize workflows, resource allocation, and processes for productivity and cost efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with regulations, data protection, and internal policies.
• Identify operational risks and implement mitigation strategies.
• Oversee digital collections campaigns across SMS, WhatsApp, AVM, and chatbots.
• Monitor dashboards and reports to drive performance improvements and reporting to stakeholders.

Skills

Senior leadership

Call centre operations

Operational analytics

Data-driven decision making

Performance management

Risk & compliance

Tools

CRM systems

Power BI

Tableau

Data integration

Job description

Minimum Requirements:

• 10+ years of senior-level experience in collections, debt recoveries, or a closely related environment.
• At least 10 years of managerial or team leadership experience is highly advantageous.
• Proven experience managing large call centre teams and delivering against operational and collections targets.
• Strong understanding of call centre performance metrics, workforce management, quality assurance, and customer experience.
• Demonstrable experience in dialler management, campaign optimization, and CRM-integrated collections technologies.
• Experience managing client relationships within an outsourcing or business process outsourcing (BPO) environment.
• Strong knowledge of collections processes, operational controls, compliance, and risk management.
• Experience using data, dashboards, and reporting tools to drive operational performance.

Technical Skills & Competencies

• Digital collections platforms, including SMS, WhatsApp, chatbots, and AVM.
• Dialler configuration, campaign management, and contact strategy optimization.
• Collections and payment technologies, including NAEDO and DebiCheck.
• CRM systems and data integration.
• Business intelligence and reporting tools such as Power BI and Tableau.
• Portfolio performance analysis, predictive insights, and KPI monitoring.
• Workflow automation, challenger testing, and continuous improvement.
• Risk identification, root cause analysis, and compliance management.

Responsibilities:

Operational Leadership

• Oversee daily inbound, outbound, and blended call centre operations.
• Develop and implement operational strategies to achieve business targets, KPIs, SLAs, and customer experience objectives.
• Optimize workflows, resource allocation, and operational processes to improve productivity and cost efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations, data protection requirements, and internal policies.
• Identify operational risks and implement effective controls and mitigation strategies.

Digital Campaign & Dialler Management

• Oversee the design and execution of digital collections campaigns across SMS, WhatsApp, automated voice messaging (AVM), and chatbots.
• Manage dialler configuration, campaign strategies, segmentation, and optimization to improve contact and recovery rates.
• Leverage real-time performance data to enhance campaign effectiveness and customer engagement.
• Drive automation and continuous improvement initiatives across collections processes.

Performance Management & Reporting

• Monitor operational performance through dashboards, reports, and key collections metrics.
• Analyse trends, identify performance gaps, and implement corrective actions.
• Drive quality assurance, service delivery, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with Business Intelligence, Quality Assurance, and Training teams to enhance operational outcomes.
• Provide actionable insights and performance reports to support strategic decision-making.

People Management & Leadership

• Lead, coach, and mentor Operations Managers, Team Leaders, and frontline call centre agents.
• Foster a high-performance culture focused on accountability, engagement, productivity, and service excellence.
• Oversee workforce planning, capacity management, scheduling, and performance reviews.
• Drive employee development, retention, and succession planning initiatives.
• Ensure adherence to HR policies, labour legislation, and organizational values.

Client & Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary escalation point for operational and client-related matters.
• Build and maintain strong client relationships through regular communication, performance reviews, and reporting.
• Work collaboratively with IT, HR, Finance, Training, and other stakeholders to achieve business objectives.
• Manage client expectations and ensure consistent delivery against contractual obligations and service standards.

Collections Technology, Risk & Portfolio Optimization

• Leverage collections platforms, CRM systems, and business intelligence tools to improve portfolio performance.
• Apply knowledge of payment collection technologies, including NAEDO and DebiCheck, to improve payment success rates and reduce failed debit orders.
• Use data analytics and predictive insights to identify risks, recovery opportunities, and portfolio trends.
• Drive workflow automation, strategy testing, and data-driven decision-making.
• Monitor portfolio KPIs and implement strategies to improve recovery outcomes and operational efficiency.