BPO Operations Manager

Posted 8 Days Ago
Be an Early Applicant
Cape Town, Western Cape, ZAF
In-Office
Senior level
Fashion
The Role
Owns operational performance for global 24/7 customer experience and customer service teams. Leads managers and frontline teams, develops operational strategy, manages KPIs, improves processes, supports workforce planning, ensures compliance, and builds strong client relationships. The role also involves scaling operations, coaching leaders, managing escalations, and partnering with Finance, HR, and Recruitment to support growth and service delivery.
Summary Generated by Built In

About Keen:

At Keen, we don't just deliver services — we embed ourselves into the heart of our clients' businesses. From digital marketing and creative to customer experience, we craft bold, high-performance digital experiences for global brands. Keen helps some of the most exciting U.S. and international brands scale smarter by embedding expert teams that drive results across marketing, creative, customer experience, and sales. We're not just another legacy BPO.

We're a partner in growth — and that's where you come in.

About the Role:

We're hiring an Operations Manager – Customer Experience to take ownership of operational performance across our global Customer Experience and Customer Service environments.

This is a hands-on senior leadership role for someone who can operate strategically while staying close to the day-to-day business. You'll be responsible for strengthening operational structure, developing leaders, improving performance, and working closely with clients to ensure teams consistently deliver against expectations.

You'll have significant ownership over how our operations evolve — from processes and performance frameworks to team structure, client delivery, and continuous improvement. We're looking for someone who doesn't simply manage an existing operation, but can identify opportunities, build solutions, and bring people with them.

What You'll Do:

  • Own operational performance across our 24/7/365 Customer Experience and Customer Service teams, ensuring consistent delivery against client and business objectives
  • Lead and develop frontline and management teams, building a strong leadership pipeline and creating clear paths for performance and growth
  • Act as a senior client partner, building trusted relationships with stakeholders and taking ownership of operational discussions, escalations, and delivery
  • Translate business goals into operational strategy, setting priorities and driving execution across multiple teams and client environments
  • Own KPI and performance management, using data and operational insights to identify trends, solve problems, and improve results
  • Build and optimise processes, systems, and ways of working that improve efficiency, quality, scalability, and consistency
  • Lead operational improvement initiatives, identifying opportunities to strengthen workflows, reduce friction, and improve the customer and employee experience
  • Partner cross-functionally with Finance, HR, Recruitment, and other internal teams to support forecasting, workforce planning, hiring, and operational growth
  • Ensure operational compliance with client requirements, internal standards, and relevant regulatory expectations
  • Support the development of our Salt River office environment and culture, helping create a high-performing and accountable in-office experience
  • Coach and mentor managers and emerging leaders, building the capability required to scale the operation sustainably
  • Take ownership of complex operational challenges, bringing structure and clear decision-making to high-pressure situations

Requirements

What we're Looking For:

  • 8+ years of experience in operations leadership, ideally within BPO, Customer Experience, Customer Service, or a similar high-volume environment
  • Proven experience leading large teams and multiple layers of leadership
  • Experience building, restructuring, or scaling operations, rather than simply maintaining an established environment
  • Strong understanding of CX operations, performance management, workforce planning, and operational KPIs
  • Demonstrated experience managing senior client and stakeholder relationships
  • Strong analytical ability with the confidence to use data to make operational decisions
  • Experience developing Managers, Team Leaders, and frontline teams
  • Strong understanding of CRM, ticketing, workforce management, and CX platforms such as Zendesk
  • Comfortable managing teams of varying sizes, from smaller specialist teams through to 50+ agents
  • Strong commercial awareness, including exposure to budgets, forecasting, staffing, and operational planning
  • A strong sense of ownership, with the ability to operate independently and make sound decisions
  • Excellent communication, collaboration, and change-management skills
  • Experience working with international clients is advantageous
  • Six Sigma, Lean, COPC, or compliance experience/certification is advantageous

Benefits

Why Join Keen?

Join a collaborative, high-performing team where your growth is a priority. We invest in our people through ongoing learning, career development, an annual Professional Development Budget, and Birthday Leave.

Compensation

  • Competitive Base Salary
  • Medical Aid
  • Attendance & Timeliness Bonus
  • Transport Allowance
  • Monthly Performance Bonus


Global Support Environment

As we support clients across different time zones, Keen operates in a 24/7/365 environment. Team members should be comfortable working flexible schedules to support our clients and deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Skills Required

  • 8+ years of experience in operations leadership, ideally in BPO, customer experience, customer service, or a similar high-volume environment
  • Experience leading large teams and multiple layers of leadership
  • Experience building, restructuring, or scaling operations
  • Strong understanding of customer experience operations, performance management, workforce planning, and operational KPIs
  • Experience managing senior client and stakeholder relationships
  • Strong analytical ability and confidence using data for operational decisions
  • Experience developing managers, team leaders, and frontline teams
  • Understanding of CRM, ticketing, workforce management, and customer experience platforms such as Zendesk
  • Experience managing teams ranging from specialist teams to 50+ agents
  • Commercial awareness, including budgets, forecasting, staffing, and operational planning
  • Ability to operate independently, take ownership, and make sound decisions
  • Excellent communication, collaboration, and change-management skills
  • Experience working with international clients
  • Six Sigma, Lean, COPC, or compliance experience or certification
Am I A Good Fit?
beta
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.

The Company
HQ: Portland, OR
726 Employees
Year Founded: 2003

What We Do

KEEN is a values led, outdoor footwear brand with a mission to responsibly create original and versatile products, improve lives, and inspire outside adventure. Founded in 2003, KEEN ignited a revolution in the footwear industry with the introduction of the Newport sandal, launching the concept of Hybrid footwear into the market and setting KEEN on a path of driving consistent product innovation that exists today. As a company, we strive to live by our values, from the products we make to the actions we take, and by activating communities and individuals to protect and preserve the places where we work and play. We passionately endeavor to live fulfilling lives, challenge the status quo, do good, give back, and inspire others. Looking ahead, our vision is to be the most trusted outdoor footwear and lifestyle brand in the world. Discover more about KEEN at keenfootwear.com, facebook.com/keen and twitter.com/ke

Similar Jobs

In-Office
Cape Town, Western Cape, ZAF
726 Employees

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Logo Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Software Engineer

Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Information Technology • Consulting
In-Office
Cape Town, Western Cape, ZAF
85422 Employees

CDW Logo CDW

Senior Reward Analyst

Information Technology
Hybrid
Cape Town, Western Cape, ZAF
15100 Employees

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Logo Hewlett Packard Enterprise

HPE Networking Senior Presales Engineer

Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Information Technology • Consulting
In-Office
2 Locations
85422 Employees

Similar Companies Hiring

Tapestry - Coach and Kate Spade Thumbnail
eCommerce • Fashion • Retail • Sales • Wearables • Design
New York, NY
16000 Employees

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account