{"id":793352,"url":"https://alion.io/job/travellab-operations-manager-customer-service","title":"Operations Manager - Customer Service","company":{"id":694391,"name":"Travel Lab","domain":"travellab.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/travellab","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Breezy","truth_index":null},"role":"Management","role_family":"Management","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["Cape Town, South Africa"],"countries":["ZA"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":25000,"max_usd":48000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":34},"experience_years_min":6,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Microsoft Excel","optional":false},{"name":"Microsoft Office","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-31T14:12:48Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-08","last_verified_at":"2026-11-12T06:48:17Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":72,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":72},"description":"Our Group Operations Division is looking for anOperations Manager for the Customer Support Team, which is known as One Team! \n(This role is based in Gardens, Cape Town (South Africa))\nAbout the Role\nThe Operations Manager is responsible for driving operational excellence, maximising efficiency, and leading a high-performing team of Team Leaders and Customer Support Agents. This role ensures the consistent delivery of service level agreements (SLAs), key performance indicators (KPIs), and strict compliance with company policies, quality standards, and attendance governance. The ideal candidate balances data-driven leadership with robust people-development strategies.\nKey Responsibilities\nOperational Delivery & SLA Management\nDrive day-to-day operational execution to consistently meet or exceed contractual SLAs and KPIs.\nHold Team Leaders accountable to daily, weekly, and monthly performance targets through structured performance reviews.\nOversee real-time queue management and agent utilisation across multiple shifts and geographies (ZA & IN).\nProcess Optimisation & Automation\nConduct continuous process capability audits to eliminate operational bottlenecks, reduce waste, and improve productivity.\nIdentify, scope, and champion automation opportunities (e.g., robotic process automation, script enhancements) to elevate customer experience and optimise cost-per-contact.\nPartner with product/tech teams to rigorously test and validate website/internal system changes before and after go-live.\nFinancial & Resource Efficiency\nOptimise staffing schedules against forecasted contact volumes and historical trends to minimise shrinkage and overtime costs.\nManage operational budgets strictly, identifying cost-saving mechanisms while scaling operational capacity efficiently.\nResponsible for mitigating process and technical errors by identifying operational trends, conducting RCAs, and overseeing the delivery of corrective action items. \nCustomer Experience (CX) Governance\nOwn the CSAT / NPS loop; analyse customer feedback trends to systematically fix upstream product issues or communication gaps.\nAct as the ultimate escalation point for high-calibre or high-risk customer complaints (including Social Media escalations), resolving them with a blend of commercial acumen and customer empathy.\nTalent & Culture Development\nCultivate a high-performance, metric-driven culture that balances accountability with strong team morale and engagement.\nOversee targeted training, upskilling, and mentorship pipelines across the operational tiers.\nPartner with HR to execute timely recruitment, performance interventions, and formal counselling procedures when necessary.\nStrategic Reporting & Ad-Hoc\nDeliver robust operational reporting, trend analyses, and executive summaries to Senior Management.\nExecute ad-hoc strategic projects as dictated by shifting business needs.\nJob Requirements\nQualifications & Experience\nMinimum 6 years of experience in the Travel Industry / Call Center Operations.\nAt least 4 years in a distinct Senior Management / Operations Manager role within a high-volume BPO or contact centre environment is essential.\nTechnical Proficiency: GDS proficient- Amadeus expertise (including a deep understanding and implementation of complex fare rules).\nProficient in MS Excel and the broader MS Office / GSuite ecosystems.\nDemonstrated experience in Workforce Management (WFM), capacity planning, and managing real-time queue dynamics.\nTrack record of leading large-scale process migrations, automation projects, or tech implementation within a travel operations framework.\nRobust experience in performance management, conflict resolution, and employee relations.\n Education: Grade 12 required; a relevant Tertiary Qualification (Commerce, Business Management, or Operations) is highly advantageous.\nCore Knowledge & Skills\n BPO Metrics Rigour: Deep understanding of contact centre metrics (ASA, AHT, CSAT, FCR, Shrinkage, and SLA adherence).\nAnalytical Capability: Ability to translate raw operational data into actionable performance improvement plans.\nChange Management: High adaptability with a proven ability to lead teams through structural, technical, or procedural shifts.\nCommunication & Assertiveness: Exceptional verbal and written English communication skills; commanding presence with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders.\nSolution-Driven Mindset: Proactive problem solver who leverages root-cause analysis rather than treating symptoms.\nFunctional Competencies\nData & Trend Analytics: Provides statistical performance tracking; ability to build data-backed business cases.\nWorkforce Rigour: Practical knowledge of scheduling, forecasting, and real-time intra-day management.\nTravel Best Practices: Expert-level knowledge of global ticketing, disruptions, and Amadeus GDS functionalities.\n Continuous Improvement: Familiarity with process improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, COPC standards) is highly valued.\nPeople Leadership: Advanced capability in performance coaching, progressive discipline, and remote team management.\nBehavioural Competencies\nHigh Level of Urgency: Operates effectively under pressure in a fast-paced environment.\nDecisiveness: Ability to make sound commercial decisions quickly based on data points.\nChange Resilience: Highly adaptable, emotionally intelligent, and capable of guiding teams through ambiguity.\nDetail Orientation: Uncompromising commitment to accuracy, data integrity, and policy compliance.\nAssertive Collaboration: Comfortably challenges the status quo while maintaining strong, collaborative stakeholder relationships.\nAbout the team\nThe Team is the engine room of our Group Travel Operations. We support multiple global regions and brands, managing complex customer interactions and fulfilment. Utilising our robust in-house system (TCC), we collaborate as a unified front to ensure that buying and modifying air travel is a seamless experience for thousands of clients daily. We value expertise, sharp wit, and a shared passion for the aviation and travel industry","description_format":"text","description_chars":6086,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":6,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[{"language":"English","level":"Upper-Intermediate (B2)","optional":false}]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"South Africa","iso":"ZA","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Travel Technology"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-12T04:11:46Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":19,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.542,"p_room":0.36,"age_days":71,"expected_fill_days":36,"reasons":["conf:2","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-11-11T05:49:22Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/travellab-operations-manager-customer-service","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/travellab-operations-manager-customer-service.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-12T09:32:27Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":19388,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-13T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":694391},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=694391"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Ftravellab-operations-manager-customer-service"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":2,"usd":0.2},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Ftravellab-operations-manager-customer-service"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Ftravellab-operations-manager-customer-service"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/travellab-operations-manager-customer-service\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Ftravellab-operations-manager-customer-service"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":793352}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"travellab.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":793352},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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