Operations Manager at Amazon

Job description

AWS has an opening for an Operations Manager, Customer Service, based in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Operations Manager will be responsible for managing a team of continuous improvement and quality improvement specialists. They will support, coordinate and facilitate structured process improvement activities aligned to AWS business goals. He or she will set the vision and direction that will fosters a culture of continuous improvement, providing thought leadership to and influencing change at all levels in the organization. This role reports to the Regional AWS CS Leader or CS Director, working closely with all levels of management within the organization.

The successful candidate for this role will be a fast, clear and independent thinker who is naturally curious about how things work, is metrics and number savvy, has an analytical mindset and has demonstrated leadership ability. This person will need an ability to see the big picture/whole system and execute on grass root level to improve the overall network. Additionally, they are never satisfied with the status quo, can show success in following-up and getting things done and have the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, customer-centric and ever changing Customer Service environment.

This role will use knowledge of continuous improvement to recognize opportunities for improvement across all disciplines. He or she will embed an improvement culture by leading improvement activities involving employees from all levels and will be accountable for the formation and coordination of the improvement portfolio. This will include developing the inputs from customer feedback, metrics, employee feedback and executive direction to identify challenges and coordinate the portfolio to deliver the necessary outputs that will drive customer satisfaction and efficiency gains. Quality improvements will focus on individual and team performance expectations and goals, providing individual coaching feedback sessions, maintaining singular focus on ensuring and improving customer satisfaction and serving as leaders and point of contact for escalated contact resolutions.

**This role is supporting cloud computing customers, so the individual will have to demonstrate a technology affinity to be successful.**

Overall Responsibilities Include

• People Management
• Leading and developing specialists responsible for the overall direction, coordination and evaluation of the team.
• Identifying and eliminating barriers to accuracy, productivity, and quality of work.
• Carrying out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with AWS (Amazon Web Services™) policies and procedures; additional responsibilities include interviewing, training and motivating employees; planning, assigning and directing work; rewarding and disciplining employees; and effective conflict resolution.
• Communicating policies to associates and become the primary information source for staff; following-up to ensure compliance and consistency; taking corrective action as necessary and documenting the issue and actions taken.
• Owning and driving performance metrics with the team, to include the use of a Quality Assurance program to "Move the needle"
• Project Management
• Develops and implements operations continuous improvement roadmap that includes a project selection list and yearly cost saving target or efficiency enhancement; and work with the management team to deploy the plan.
• Voice of the Customer: Summarizing and providing critical analysis to top 3 customer issues to be improved on quarterly review cycles.
• Coaches and trains management, Technical CS Associates and project teams on Continuous Improvement concepts and methodologies.
• Development, analysis and improvement of new strategies and procedures. The Operations Manager will have the ability to develop, plan, and implement short- and long-range goals.
• Leads and supports process improvement projects at the network level that may have a global impact.
• Performs quantitative analysis of key process indicators to identify opportunities for process improvement.
• Applies expert knowledge of continuous improvement principles and a proven track record of using these to implement changes.
• Demonstrates discretion in coordination of project scoping and selection to align with business objectives.

Required Experience

• 5+ years relevant experience managing Customer Service teams
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification
• Minimum of 5 years experience using Voice of the Customer analysis to drive improvements through the application of Lean and/or Six Sigma tools and concepts.
• Analytical background - 7 Quality tools, SPC, Hypothesis Testing, Regression Analysis
• Minimum of 5 years project management experience
• Strong oral (speaking, listening, interpretation) and written communication skills.
• Able to work in an ambiguous, internet-speed environment.
• Absolute passion for ensuring a great customer experience with every contact.
• A record of driving projects to improve support-related processes through structured project management methodologies
• Flexible work schedules (weekends and/or evenings)

Preferred Experience

• BA/BS/Masters degree or equivalent experience
• Mastery of SQL, SharePoint, Excel, Power Point, Word and a statistical package (e.g. JMP or Minitab
• This leader will be known for his/her ability to communicate vision and drive execution and work seamlessly with both technical teams and business teams.
• He or she will have a strong reputation for attracting and developing the best talent.
• This leader will have the intellectual capacity to look at a wide array of options and identify what truly matters.
• He or she will be someone who stays connected to the details of his or her business.
• He or she will be an inspiring people manager and adept at quickly growing the organization.
• Experience with AWS, Cloud Computing or technical support industry
• Experience with pre-sales in the IT industry