Customer Services Operations Manager

Job Purpose

The Customer Service Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, strategy, and performance of the customer service function within a high-traffic public terminal facility. This role oversees multiple team leads/supervisors and their frontline teams of customer service ambassadors, ensuring consistent, high-quality service delivery across all information and assistance points in the facility. The Manager owns the department's budget, staffing strategy, service standards, and stakeholder relationships.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership and direction for the customer service department, managing team leads/supervisors who in turn oversee frontline ambassadors.
• Develop and implement customer service strategies, standard operating procedures, and service quality frameworks aligned with organizational goals.
• Own department-wide workforce planning: headcount forecasting, budgeting, recruitment strategy, and shift/roster structures across the facility.
• Set performance targets and KPIs (customer satisfaction, response times, complaint resolution rates, service coverage) and hold team leads accountable for results.
• Analyze service performance data and customer feedback trends to identify improvement opportunities and drive corrective action plans.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding design, training curriculum development, and career progression planning for the customer service team.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for high-severity customer complaints, service failures, or reputational risk situations.
• Build and maintain relationships with cross-functional department heads (security, operations, retail/concessions, transportation partners, facilities management) to align service delivery with broader operational needs.
• Represent the customer service department in leadership meetings, presenting performance reports and improvement initiatives to senior management/executives.
• Manage vendor or outsourced service provider relationships, if applicable, including contract performance and SLAs.
• Drive change management initiatives, including new technology rollouts (e.g., wayfinding tools, CRM/feedback systems) and process improvements.
• Ensure full compliance with regulatory, safety, and organizational policies across all customer-facing touchpoints.
• Lead crisis/incident response coordination from a customer communication standpoint during disruptions or emergencies.
• Mentor and develop team leads/supervisors, building a leadership pipeline within the department.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in customer service or customer experience roles, including 2+ years in a managerial capacity, preferably within a high-volume public-facing environment (transportation, hospitality, retail, or similar).
• Proven track record of managing multi-layered teams (leads/supervisors and frontline staff) at scale.
• Strong strategic thinking, budgeting, and workforce planning capabilities.
• Excellent stakeholder management and executive communication skills.
• Data-driven decision-making ability, with experience using performance dashboards and reporting tools.
• Experience leading process improvement or change management initiatives.
• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Hospitality Management, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Flexibility to work varied shifts and be available during high-impact operational periods or emergencies.
• Bilingual or multilingual abilities are a plus.

Key Skills

• Strategic leadership and team development
• Budget and resource management
• Data analysis and performance management
• Stakeholder and cross-functional relationship management
• Crisis and escalation management
• Change management