Senior Manager (Zendesk and Support tools)

Senior Manager (Zendesk and Support tools)

The Systems & Technology team operates within the Customer Support, Safety, and Experience organization and has the crucial responsibility of ensuring the presence and optimal functionality of appropriate Support tools and technologies. The primary objective of the team is to support and accelerate the current and future operation, growth, and scalability of the Customer Support, Safety and Experience business.

As the Senior Manager of the Systems & Technology team within CSSE, you will be a seasoned leader responsible for overseeing a team of Zendesk developers and Admins (and co-managing data analysis, with the Sr. Data Analyst), who own the maintenance, development, and optimization of our Support tools to derive insights from interactions between our Support team and end users. Your expertise and strategic vision will drive innovation, streamline processes, and ensure that our Support delivery and operation teams are efficient, data-driven, and centered around delivering exceptional customer experiences.

In this role, you and your team will prioritize system stability, fostering innovation that directly enhances the customer and agent experience. You will collaborate with the Service Experience Product Manager, and other cross-functional teams to understand the needs of our customers and our support team(s), working tirelessly to enhance their journey and satisfaction.
By fostering an environment of continuous learning and improvement, you will empower your team to excel in their respective domains, leading to greater customer satisfaction and employee engagement.

What you’ll do:

Ensuring Systems Health:

• Proactively supervise and maintain the optimal health and proper functioning of the support tools/systems
• Ensure the team provides high-quality and timely resolutions to technical issues and inquiries reported by the Support delivery and operations teams, minimizing disruptions to Support delivery and operations.
• Implement necessary measures to optimize system performance, ensuring smooth workflows and user experiences for the Support team.
• Track and report key metrics related to system health and user satisfaction.

Strategic Direction and Innovation:

• Drive the strategic direction of team-level work with minimal oversight, aligning initiatives with the broader organizational strategy, with a specific focus on the Service Experience roadmap.
• Independently seek out and act upon high-impact opportunities for improvement in customer experience, team efficiency, and individual growth.
• Utilize a deep understanding of the current strategy to propose innovative solutions and improvements.
• Mentoring and Guiding Team Members:
• Provide ongoing mentoring and guidance to team members, ensuring they possess the knowledge, expertise, and tools needed to succeed in their roles.
• Empower team members to work independently and take ownership of tasks and projects from inception to completion, delivering high-quality results.
• Establish and monitor performance objectives for yourself and your team, ensuring alignment between individual goals and the overarching objectives and V2MOM of the CSSE organization and company.
• Act as a coach, supporting team members' development and identifying opportunities for growth.
• Identify high performers and provide opportunities for their growth and advancement within the organization.
• Support professional development opportunities to foster a culture of continuous learning and growth within the team.

Domain knowledge and expertise:

• Serve as a company-wide expert in Support Tools (Zendesk, integrations, Dev work, etc) and Data tools.
• Set an example of rigor and thoughtfulness in tasks, projects, and interactions with stakeholders, colleagues, or peers.
• Proactively call attention to major challenges and pain points, driving the necessary changes for improvement.
• Practice effective change management to ensure the smooth adoption of new tools and processes.

Develop and maintain knowledge through documentation and visualization:

• Lead the documentation efforts for processes, workflows, and system configurations within the Systems & Technology team. Ensure everything is well-documented and easily accessible to team members.
• Work closely with your team members to visually represent system configurations, enhancing the team's clarity and ease of understanding.
• Promote a culture of knowledge sharing and documentation within the team, ensuring continuity and efficiency in operations.

Skills and knowledge you should possess:

• Zendesk experience (proven experience with Zendesk) - a must.
• 3+ years of experience leading a technical team - Zendesk admins and Developers, IT, or an Engineering team (of 3+ members).
• Proven ability to lead and mentor technical team members, shaping their career development. Expertise in creating comprehensive job descriptions, setting clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and designing personalized career paths for each individual, fostering a culture of growth and continuous improvement
• Proficient in deploying tools for system health monitoring and creating technical documentations
• A demonstrated history of successfully leading complex projects from inception to fruition.
• Strong understanding of customer support operations and processes, with a passion for enhancing the customer and agent experience.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across functional teams, exhibiting proficiency in effective teamwork.
• Coding and scripting experience - big advantage
• Scrum master/experience in Agile/Scrum - big advantage

Bonus points (nice skills to have, but not needed): 

• Bachelor's degree in IT, business administration or related field
• Customer Support background - advantage
• Scrum master/experience in Agile/Scrum