Senior Manager, Workforce Management Scheduling & Planning

Job Description

Title: Senior Manager, Workforce & Service Performance

Location: Texas or Wisconsin (Hybrid or Remote; flexible hours to support global stakeholders)

Experience: 8+ years professional experience

Reports to: Director, Workforce Optimization

Role overview

The Senior Manager, Workforce & Service Performance (WSP) owns the end-to-end Workforce Management (short- and long-term forecasting, capacity/headcount planning, scheduling, and real-time/intraday management) and Quality Assurance lifecycle (sampling strategy, reviews, coaching/calibration, and performance analytics) for a global, multi-skill support and back-office organization supporting the Zendesk Enterprise. This leader converts strategy into execution by running day-to-day operations, governing cadences and standards, and driving KPI/OKR attainment; they build and mentor a high-performing team, influence cross-functional partners, and deliver measurable gains in service levels, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategy, Planning, & Decision-Making

• Build and execute short- and long-term capacity plans and multi-channel forecasts (phone, email, messaging) using Erlang C, statistical modeling, and historical/forward-looking drivers.
• Own daily/weekly forecasting and staffing plans for supported teams; balance service and employee experience within known constraints.
• Run scenario and “what-if” analyses to evaluate demand, shrinkage, AHT, FTE impacts, channel shifts, and policy changes; identify risks, mitigations, and clear recommendations.
• Translate enterprise goals into functional WFM roadmaps; prioritize initiatives that improve forecast accuracy, schedule efficiency, SLA/ASA performance, and cost/contact.
• Make data-driven decisions; communicate rationale, trade-offs, and risk mitigation plans to leadership and stakeholders.
• Define the QA operating model: sampling rates by program/risk, manual vs. AutoQA allocation, review SLAs, and quality standards aligned to business outcomes.
• Design and evolve QA rubrics, calibration cadence, and inter-rater reliability targets; align QA objectives to OKRs and customer experience goals.
• Integrate QA insights into planning (e.g., defect trends impacting AHT, training needs, policy changes), and size QA capacity accordingly.

Execution & Operational Excellence:

• Oversee intraday management and playbooks (reforecasting, skilling, channel routing, backlog recovery) to protect SLAs and reduce abandonment.
• Ensure timely and accurate schedule creation, maintenance, and change management
• Establish and maintain reporting cadences (daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly), delivering timely insights and course-corrective actions.
• Maintain WSP data integrity, governance, and documentation (processes, workflows, policies); standardize and continuously improve WSP practices across geographies.
• Partner with Operations, product developers, IT, Training, AI Automations, and Finance to align on hiring ramps, shrinkage drivers, capacity assumptions, tooling, and readiness.
• Own QA delivery: manage intake, prioritization, and timely completion of targeted and investigative reviews.
• Run QA calibrations and drive inter-rater reliability; implement feedback loops from QA to agents/leaders with coaching playbooks and follow-through.
• Govern AutoQA and conversation intelligence: tune models/thresholds, define exception workflows, and monitor precision/recall and bias; route exceptions for human review.

Influence, Change Leadership, & Stakeholder Management:

• Lead strategy-driven conversations and negotiate cross-functional trade-offs that align interests across teams; address conflict head-on and drive to shared outcomes.
• Champion innovation and automation opportunities; stay current on industry trends and translate insights into practical improvements.
• Develop and execute change management plans with clear communications, stakeholder input, and consistent updates; proactively manage resistance with empathy.
• Socialize QA findings with business leaders (e.g., VOC, compliance risks, coaching priorities); influence roadmaps, policies, and enablement based on evidence.

People Leadership & Development

• Manage day-to-day operations of the WSP team and coach/mentor multiple WSP roles.
• Set clear goals, monitor progress, and provide regular, actionable feedback; foster cross-training and growth aligned to business needs and individual aspirations.
• Empower team members to make decisions within their remit; recognize contributions and build resilience during periods of change.
• Model emotional intelligence—adjust leadership style to team morale, navigate difficult conversations with tact, and seek feedback for continuous improvement.

Analytics & Reporting

• Develop and evolve real-time and historical reporting; create accessible dashboards and data stories for leadership using available reporting resources
• Analyze trends in demand, AHT, shrinkage, adherence, occupancy, coaching effectiveness; link QA insights to business outcomes (CSAT, churn, efficiency); provide timely insights and recommended interventions.
• Partner with Finance on labor planning for supported departments; maintain budget awareness.

Key tools and environment

• WFM: Playvox and Zendesk WFM

• QA: Zendesk QA

• Analytics/BI: Tableau, Looker; advanced Google Workspace

• Methods: Erlang C (required), queueing theory, statistical modeling; QA sampling methodologies, calibration techniques

• Channels: Phone, email, messaging

• Work context: Global coverage from the U.S.; flex hours to meet with teams across time zones

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional WFM experience across forecasting, scheduling, and intraday for contact centers; experience with back-office workloads.

• 3+ years of professional QA experience across rubrics, celebrations, coaching, and insight delivery

• 5+ years of people management experience

• Advanced Excel/Google Sheets, SQL, and statistical modeling required.

• Proficiency with Tableau and/or Looker required.

• Proven experience in B2B support within the technology industry.

• Strong communication, data storytelling, and negotiation skills; demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and align teams.

• Demonstrated results orientation: manages short- and long-term priorities, drives accountability, adapts quickly to changing business needs.

Preferred

• Six Sigma/Lean exposure.

• Formal project/change management experience or certification (e.g., PMP, Agile, Prosci/ADKAR).

• Experience with AI/automation initiatives in support operations.

KPIs and success measures

• SLA/ASA attainment and abandonment rate

• Forecast accuracy (volume, AHT, shrinkage) and capacity plan accuracy

• Schedule efficiency and schedule adherence

• Occupancy and balanced utilization

• Cost per contact and efficiency improvements

• Timeliness/accuracy of reporting and schedules; intraday recovery performance

• QA coverage; QA accuracy and calibration agreement

• Coaching effectiveness, and CSAT/NPS impact from QA-driven improvement

• Stakeholder satisfaction and successful delivery of prioritized initiatives

• Team development, engagement, and role readiness

Work model

• Hybrid or remote with periodic travel (as needed) for workshops, calibrations, or program rollouts

The US annualized base salary range for this position is $112,000.00-$168,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.

Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with your specific accommodation request.