Operations Manager
About the Role
The Manila Operations Centre supports the Group's Australian and New Zealand business across frontline customer service, after sales service, dispatch, accounts payable and receivable, and marketing services. As the Group grows across three brands and three countries, the capability and cost efficiency of this site becomes a direct driver of Group performance.
The Head of Offshore Operations is the most senior aligned leader in Manila. Reporting to [Sydney executive], you own the performance of the site today and its capability tomorrow. That means running a disciplined operation through a Team Leader and Manager layer, and at the same time reshaping what the site is capable of - through automation, AI, process redesign and the transfer of new work from Australia.
This is a role for someone who has run offshore operations at scale and has genuinely changed them, not simply administered them. You will be expected to bring a point of view on where the operating model should go and the commercial judgement to make the case for it.
Key Responsibilities
Strategy and Operating Model
Own the Manila operating model: what work is done on site, how it is structured, and how it is resourced.
Develop and deliver a multi-year capability plan covering technology, automation, skills and process maturity.
Build the business case for transitioning additional work from Australia and New Zealand, and lead those transitions end to end.
Own site cost performance, including cost per contact and cost per transaction, and drive measurable improvement.
Provide the commercial and performance view of the outsourcing partner relationship to the Sydney leadership team, and support commercial reviews and negotiations.
Leadership
Lead the Manager and Team Leader group across all site functions, setting a single standard for performance management, coaching and conduct.
Build leadership depth and succession so the site is not dependent on any individual, including yourself.
Own the site operating rhythm through to monthly business reviews with the Sydney leadership team.
Own engagement, attendance, adherence and attrition outcomes and act early where trends deteriorate.
Represent the organization's culture, values and customer commitments on site.
Operational Performance
Hold full accountability for service level, abandonment, first contact resolution and quality across all customer queues managed from Manila.
Hold Managers and Team Leaders accountable for turnaround, accuracy and SLA performance in after sales service, dispatch, accounts payable and receivable, and marketing services.
Own the quality assurance framework, including calibration with Sydney and documented coaching outcomes.
Own capacity planning and forecasting for the site in partnership with Sydney, across trading peaks, promotional periods and dual-region public holidays.
Ensure controls, approval limits and segregation of duties are respected in the finance functions.
Escalation and Governance
Own the end-to-end escalation pathway from Manila to Sydney across every function, and be personally accountable for its effectiveness.
Personally review high-risk matters - consumer law, safety, financial or reputational exposure - before they leave the site.
Maintain governance-grade reporting on escalation volume, ageing and root cause, and drive the changes that reduce recurrence.
Own business continuity and site risk, including weather, power, connectivity and staffing disruption, and lead the response when events occur.
Ensure customer and financial data is handled in line with the organization's privacy, security and acceptable-use standards, including in the use of AI tooling.
Technology, AI and Automation
Own the contact centre technology agenda for the site - platform configuration, routing design, reporting and workforce tooling.
Use call recording, transcription and screen capture to investigate escalations, verify facts and evidence coaching, and ensure Team Leaders do the same.
Own the AI roadmap for the site: automated quality scoring at scale, conversation summarisation, sentiment and intent analytics, agent assist, knowledge retrieval, and AI-assisted deflection and self-service.
Own back-office automation: identify high-volume manual workflows across dispatch, AP, AR and marketing services, build the business case, and deliver the change.
Act as the Manila operational lead for the organizations system change programmes (ERP, point of sale, telephony and workflow), including readiness, testing, training and cutover.
Bring a clear point of view on emerging contact centre and back-office technology and what the organization should adopt.
Skills and Experience
Essential
Senior leadership experience running an offshore, shared services or BPO operation of comparable scale, including managing through a Manager and Team Leader layer.
Demonstrated track record of transforming an offshore operation - not only running it - with quantified service and cost outcomes.
Experience supporting an overseas client, ideally in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States.
Deep working knowledge of contact centre platforms and telephony (for example Genesys, NICE, Five9, Amazon Connect, Talkdesk, 3CX or similar), including reporting, routing configuration and call review tools.
Demonstrated ownership of an AI or automation agenda in an operational environment, with evidence of benefit delivered and adopted.
Sound commercial judgement; able to build and defend a business case and to hold a delivery partner to account.
Exposure to transactional finance operations and the controls that matter.
Excellent written and spoken English, and the presence to operate credibly with an Australian executive audience.
Experience leading work transition or site expansion.
Desirable
Retail, e-commerce, furniture, logistics or big-ticket consumer goods background.
Working knowledge of Australian Consumer Law obligations and complaint-handling expectations.
Experience through an ERP, CRM or telephony migration in a multi-country environment.
Continuous improvement credentials (Lean, Six Sigma or equivalent).