Senior Operations Manager - Contact Centre

Unifi Africa; Bellville; On-site; ZAR 1,400,000 - 2,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Unifi Africa is seeking a Senior Operations Manager for the Contact Centre to lead the Sales operation and deliver sustainable growth. You will own performance, build teams, and use data and frontline understanding to improve acquisition, conversion, and client experience.

The ideal candidate will be commercially minded, flexible, and capable of leading complex group-level discussions while also engaging in frontline work when needed. A proactive attitude and humour are an asset.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in senior management within high-volume sales.
• Experience leading large-scale contact centre operations.
• Strong data fluency and ability to optimize conversion funnels.
• Knowledge of financial services sales environment preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end performance of the Sales division with SLA delivery.
• Develop sales strategies that drive sustainable growth while treating clients with dignity.
• Own sales performance across teams and drive improvements in conversions and revenue.
• Collaborate with Data, Credit Risk, IT, Marketing, Finance and operations to improve results.
• Use analytics to diagnose bottlenecks and optimize sales funnels.
• Recruit, develop and retain high-performing sales talent and build future leaders.

Skills

Leadership

Senior management

Strategic thinking

Communication

Stakeholder management

Education

Tertiary qualification

Tools

SQL

Power BI

Excel

Job description

About Unifi

Boldly different. Fiercely human. Proudly African.

Unifi is redefining credit in Africa with simple, fast personal loans delivered through online, mobile and branch channels. We make life easy for millions of clients across Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Tanzania. Unifi has conviction in the African continent and its people, and our products enable our clients to achieve even more. As one of the fastest-growing lenders in Africa, we combine exceptional client service with the very best tech and data analytics.

Purpose of the role

Senior Operations Manager - Contact Centre reports to the Deputy Country Manager. You will lead Unifi South Africa's Sales operation to deliver sustainable growth while making life easy for our clients. You will own the performance of the Sales operation, build strong teams and leaders, and continuously improve how we sell. You will use data, technology and a deep understanding of the frontline to improve acquisition, conversion, productivity and the client experience.

The ideal candidate must be commercially minded, flexible, organised, and comfortable to lead complex debates at group MANCO level, while also making and taking client calls when needed. We're a business that encourages all to get stuck in! A positive attitude, healthy spirit of adventure and sense of humour would be most helpful.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the executive operational leader for the Sales division, driving end-to-end performance, operational cadence, and strict SLA delivery across high-volume acquisition, conversion, and agent productivity metrics;
• Develop and implement effective sales strategies and techniques that drive sustainable growth while ensuring clients are treated with dignity and respect throughout the sales journey;
• Take ownership of sales performance across teams, identifying trends, gaps and opportunities and taking decisive action to improve results;
• Work closely with Group Data, Credit Risk, IT, Marketing, Finance and SA operational teams to continuously improve sales performance, customer acquisition and conversion;
• Leverage advanced operational analytics, data warehousing, and business intelligence (including SQL/funnel modeling) to diagnose bottlenecks, optimize conversion funnels, and make decisive strategic choices;
• Understand the detailed working of business IT systems, sales processes and customer journeys and propose and, when appropriate, implement changes effectively within the team;
• Continuously refine measures of team and individual productivity, performance, conversion and target achievement;
• Drive a high-performance sales culture that balances short-term target delivery with sustainable growth, customer experience and the development of people;
• Develop and implement effective coaching and performance management practices to improve individual and team capability;
• Ensure Agents have the product knowledge, systems knowledge, sales skills and customer service capability required to perform effectively;
• Work with the training and operational teams to identify skills gaps and ensure appropriate training and development interventions are implemented;
• Drive consistent adherence to sales processes, affordability requirements, quality standards and relevant regulatory and business requirements;
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, remove operational friction and make the sales experience easier for both clients and employees;
• Support the development and refinement of sales incentives and performance measures to encourage the right behaviours and sustainable performance;
• Recruit, develop and retain high-performing sales talent and build a strong pipeline of future leaders within the operation;
• Talk to clients, do the work of the agent, and help to make that work and the lives of clients easy;
• Serve as a key contributor at Manco and cross-functional forums, maintaining accountability for strategic projects, business policies, and group alignment;
• Help make Unifi a cool place to work.

Requirements

• Relevant tertiary qualification;
• At least 10 years’ senior management experience in a high-volume sales environment, with proven success leading large-scale contact centre operations across complex shift structures;
• Demonstrable experience of managing large-scale sales operations with clear accountability for sales targets, productivity, conversion and revenue growth;
• Strong understanding of contact centre sales methodologies, performance management and sales coaching;
• Strong technical acumen and data fluency (e.g. SQL, PowerBI, advanced Excel) analyze application flows, and optimize technical conversion funnels;
• Experience managing sales teams through periods of growth and operational change;
• Experience working closely with Data, Credit Risk, IT, Finance and other business functions to improve operational and commercial outcomes;
• Experience in financial services, lending or a regulated sales environment would be advantageous;
• Solid understanding of customer acquisition, lending products and the online sales journey would be advantageous;
• Working knowledge of the National Credit Act, Financial Intelligence Centre Act and Protection of Personal Information Act;
• Strong understanding of customer service and the importance of responsible and compliant selling;
• Great communicator, written and verbal;
• Commercially minded and results driven;
• Organised and analytical;
• Energetic and hands-on.