Head: Operations Support at Pepkor Payments & Lending

Key Performance Areas

Strategic Management

• Develop and execute the strategic roadmap for Quality Assurance, Workforce Management and Dialler Support, aligned to strategic business objectives.
• Translate and plan functional strategy into annual operating and project plans by providing clear communication of departmental direction and priorities
• Execute functional strategy through reviewing and reporting on operational and project plans to ensure departmental productivity improves year on year
• Benchmark operations against industry standards and implement best‑practice enhancements.
• Identify opportunities for automation, AI integration and digital optimisation to enhance efficiency.
• Lead Operations Support participation in approved projects and initiatives (e.g. system implementations, channel expansion, digital adoption)
• Identify and execute continuous improvement opportunities using data driven insights.

Operations Management

Workforce Management

• Collaborate with operational leaders and cross-functional teams to ensure WFM alignment with business objectives
• Produce reporting to key stakeholders based on data-insights to inform management decision-making
• Participate in annual budget cycles and provide resource planning recommendations
• Drive process automation, technology adoption, and project involvement for enhanced efficiency.

Quality Assurance

• Lead the overall QA function and implement a comprehensive QA framework to ensure compliance, call quality and customer experience excellence.
• Oversee effective trend analysis, reporting and insight generation to inform improvement initiatives
• Ensure governance is upheld through calibration, sampling, quality standards and compliance oversight.
• Benchmark QA practices against industry best practice.
• Drive technology adoption, automation opportunities and project-related QA enhancements.

Dialler Support Services 

• Oversee the delivery of effective Dialler Support Services and Dialler Administrator coverage across all Contract Centres, aligned to Contact Centre operating hours.
• Proactively monitor system performance, identifying and resolving issues promptly to minimise downtime and disruptions to operations.
• Conduct thorough analysis of system performance data, identifying trends, potential bottlenecks, and areas for improvement
• Help develop and maintain comprehensive documentation of performance metrics and troubleshooting procedures.  Ensure real-time monitoring, first-level troubleshooting and best practices in system usage.
• Ensure strict adherence and execution of Collections dialling strategies prescribed by Credit Risk.
• Oversee accurate and timely campaign data file loading as per campaign requirements
• Lead ongoing engagement with Communications Technology for upgrades, functional enhancements and roadmap planning.
• Support business projects, campaigns and service improvement initiatives.
• Provide regular reporting on campaign performance, dialler efficiency and system utilisation.

General

• Conduct budgeting and forecasting processes for own department and actively participate in annual budget cycle to support Contact Centre Executives with headcount budgets based on WFM resource planning.
• Manage departmental expense budgets in line with approved cost centre allocations.
• Identify, assess and monitor operational risks, ensuring compliance with policies, standards and regulatory requirements
• Identify cross-functional improvement initiatives and collaborate on digital optimisation projects with measurable impact
• Lead the overall Workforce Management function covering Forecasting, Scheduling, Real-Time Management, Capacity Planning and Reporting and Analytics.
• Ensure adherence to industry-accepted methodologies, calculations and reporting standards.
• Drive efficiency in resource utilisation, capacity planning and scheduling to meet SLAs and operational business targets

Leadership and People Management

• Build and sustain an engaged, high-performance culture across the Operations Support teams.
• Facilitate regular departmental communication to ensure teamwork, integration and alignment.
• Manage performance in accordance with company policies and frameworks.
• Inspire, coach and develop managers and teams; ensure readiness to meet evolving business needs.
• Maintain organisational structures, capability and career pathways aligned to strategic objectives.
• Establish and maintain succession plans.
• Ensure regular performance reviews and talent development activities.
• Model company values and leadership behaviours consistently.

Qualification and Experience

• Relevant tertiary qualification: BCom or Business Management Degree/Diploma
• Work experience: 8–10 years’ operational management experience in a large inbound and outbound, multi-channel contact centre environment
• Minimum of 5 years’ leadership experience managing middle management
• Direct experience in Operations Support functions, including Quality Assurance (QA), Workforce Management (WFM), and Dialler Support
• Strong exposure to QA frameworks, WFM methodologies, workforce management systems, and forecasting principles
• Solid understanding of Quality Assurance methodologies and frameworks (e.g. ISO, Total Quality Management, Six Sigma)
• Knowledge of dialler support, administration, and dialler systems would be advantageous
• Strong understanding of contact centre best practices and performance analytics
• Experience in process engineering, SOP development, and compliance management
• Proven ability to lead and manage multi-disciplinary teams