Retail Operations Shared Services Manager at TFG (The Foschini Group)

Service Delivery and Operational Leadership

• Lead all teams across Operations Shared Services, guiding Team Leaders on work priorities and developing resource capacity plans to ensure optimal resource utilisation and efficient delivery of operational priorities.
• Ensure all service interactions are efficiently logged, tracked, and resolved within the service management systems (Synergy and CSM), with proactive follow-up to ensure complete resolution.
• Act as the senior escalation point for complex cases or Heads of Business and/or Heads of Operations, stepping in when issues exceed the resolution capabilities of the Coordinators to ensure timely and professional resolution.
• Develop and recommend relevant policies and procedures, ensuring team compliance with all protocols and authorising deviations where appropriate to maintain service standards.
• Address recurring deviations, concerns, or non-compliance by engaging with relevant business and ROH teams, providing actionable insights and recommendations to enhance service delivery, compliance, and stakeholder satisfaction.

Oversees Service Management Systems and Optimisation

• Oversee the setup, monitoring, and maintenance of service management systems, ensuring they are fit for purpose and meet the operational needs of the business.
• Be the custodian of all Operations Shared Services Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and regularly engage with internal and external stakeholders and service providers, ensuring understanding and agreement of SLAs, compliance through regular monitoring, reports, and dashboards, and communicating potential breaches to relevant stakeholders.
• Develop feedback loops with internal teams across the Hub to address recurring issues and drive improvements in store and customer support based on data and insights.
• Coordinate with Infotech and Retail Operations Specialists to prioritise system enhancements aligned with business needs.
• Drive the optimisation of systems, resources, and team capabilities as a senior SME by collaborating closely with the Change and Comms team, the ROH Architect team (Retail Operations Specialists), managers, and stakeholders across departments on initiatives that impact Operations Shared Services, ensuring these changes elevate service quality and streamline operations.
• Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives to maximise service efficiency, ensuring all enhancements align with strategic objectives and operational requirements.

Service Performance Custodian and Continuous Improvement

• Act as the voice for Operations within Shared Services offering across business (Fuse, IT, HR, and NMP), ensuring service needs and priorities are clearly represented and addressed.
• Proactively review root cause analysis on SLA breaches and escalations, influencing relevant teams to implement corrective actions or escalate findings to the Head of ROH and the Leadership team.
• Regularly review service metrics to identify areas for improvement, ensuring that processes and technology evolve in response to customer feedback and operational needs.
• Oversee the redesign of processes or development of new services to improve the internal and external customer experiences, minimise handling time, and enhance operational efficiency.
• Oversee Quality Assurance and audit processes, ensuring adherence to compliance standards and establishing action plans to maintain and improve service quality and/or concerns.

Leadership and People Management

• Serve as a member of the ROH management team, collaborating to shape strategy and set objectives for the Retail Operations Hub. 
• Translate the agreed-upon strategy into tactical plans for Operations Shared Services that align with the ROH’s goals and drive team delivery accordingly.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for all Team Leaders, ensuring accountability and supporting consistent achievement of service excellence.
• Coach and mentor team members, fostering a high-performance culture and continuous improvement through targeted training and development opportunities.
• Facilitate regular interdepartmental meetings and communication to promote collaboration, prevent silos, and maintain alignment across capabilities within the Hub.
• Promote open and consistent communication across teams, creating clear direction, encouraging collaboration, and fostering a cohesive approach to achieving shared goals.
• Oversee and manage relevant budgets, serving as the final point of review and control for all necessary authorisations

Qualifications and Experience:

• Relevant tertiary qualification in Business Administration, Operations, or a related field. Relevant postgraduate degree advantageous 
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in operations, shared services or customer support. 
• Proven experience in managing teams, systems, and driving process improvements within a similar or same environment. 
• Strong knowledge of service management systems (e.g., Synergy) and SLA development. 
• Ability to analyse data, develop reports, and manage compliance across processes.