Head of Customer Support

The Head of Customer Support has the primary objective of driving the vision for consistency in customer support standards. The Head of Customer Support is accountable for shaping and delivering the business’s consumer service propositions in order to drive the overall performance of the department.

The Head of Customer Support balances customer support strategy with delivery and champions for people management, performance management, and talent agendas, enabling excellence in customer support delivery, upholding a consumer-centric focus and mind-set of surpassing departmental expectations. The Head of Customer Support oversees cost effectiveness, productivity, and the provision of customer support procedures that nurture continuous improvement.

Objectives and Responsibilities of the Head of Customer Support

Leadership/Supervisory Role: The first and most prominent role of the Head of Customer Support is to provide leadership and direction to the entire customer support department. He establishes and oversees the adoption of the support department’s vision, goals and objectives at all levels. The Head of Customer Support leads ground support for customer support agents and managers, developing and implementing efficient officers in implementing customer experience support plans. This is inclusive of leading analyses, workshops, and the development of recommendations for consumer insights for review by the Director of Sales and key stakeholder meetings.

In his leadership role, the Head of Customer Support ensures that customer support department needs are correctly prioritized in order to ensure the correctly prioritized allocation of resources. He also ensures that customer support activities are seen to deliver measurable and significant value to the businesses and meet customer loyalty targets. The Head of Customer Support also evangelizes the importance of customer experience to the overall performance of the business and establishes himself as the go-to expert for senior sales management within the sales department and the business at large.

In this capacity, the Head of Customer Support also plays a mentorship role to key customer support personnel by assisting in the execution of their duties upon request, ensuring constant sharpening of their skills and grooming them for the occupation of his position in the future.

Strategy: The Head of Customer Support plays the lead role in strategy formulation for the customer support department. He also oversees and determines key strategic direction and objectives of customer support department. The Head of Customer Support drives necessary changes for the improvement of operating and organizational efficiency of the customer support team.

He orchestrates the continuous improvement of customer experience through the formulation or constant improvement of the approaches and strategies applied by the team. The Head of Customer Support also supports the relevance of the business’s customer loyalty targets in order to ensure that they are communicated and applied correctly across the sales department as a whole.

Analytics: The Head of Customer Support is also tasked with a strategic role, where he measures the effectiveness of all customer support approaches and initiatives primarily through conducting consumer surveys and analysis of recorded support agent to consumer correspondence. The Head of Customer Support also conducts research and puts performance measures in place for the purpose of continually monitoring the customer support performance processes, which leads to the formulation of improved approaches and strategies that facilitate the achievement of consumer satisfaction targets.

The Head of Customer Support is also tasked with conducting financial analysis for the department, managing the departmental budget, voicing any additional financial support to the finance department for the purpose of facilitating improvement in customer support initiatives. He additionally creates reports and strategic recommendations from various customer support research and analyses, which he presents to the Director of Sales, the Chief Sales Officer, and relevant stakeholders.

Relationships: The Head of Customer Support is also in charge of managing both internal and external relationships on behalf of the customer support department. He is in charge of all top administration customer support management and stakeholders as well as engaging in direct interactions with the business’s consumers. These interactions will normally involve negotiation with consumers with an aim of collecting feedback on customer support efforts and influencing senior customer support management and stakeholders on proposed approaches and strategies for the department.

Other Duties: The Head of Customer Support also performs other duties as are he deems necessary in the execution of his duties or duties as delegated by the Director of Sales, the Chief Sales Officer, or the Employer.

Required Qualifications of the Head of Customer Support

Education: The Head of Customer Support must have a master’s degree (PhD preferred) in Business Administration, Project Management, Public Relations, Psychology, Information Systems, International Relations, Information Technology, or any other related field. The equivalent in working experience is also acceptable.

Experience: A candidate for this position must have had over 7 years of working experience in customer support, preferably working as a Customer Support Manager for a business within a fast-paced and competitive environment. The candidate will also have vast experience in customer service research and analytical techniques.

A suitable candidate will also have had proven and successful experience driving positive change and influencing enhanced performance in a customer support department. This candidate will also have had a proven and successful experience mapping consumer journeys and creating customer support strategies. As a bonus, the candidate will also portray a deep understanding of the importance of aligning departmental targets with the business KPIs.

Communication Skills: Communication skills are one of the most important assets for a Head of Customer Support. The efficiency of the entire customer support department is dependent on the clarity of communication relayed on junior customer support personnel by the Head of Customer Support. More importantly, the Head of Customer Support will need exceptional communication skills in order to effectively communicate with consumers and convey accurate and high-quality feedback to the business that will facilitate the formulation of effective approaches and strategies.

The Head of Customer Support will also need to have excellent communication skills that will aid in the creation of engaging reports and presentations for senior customer support management. He must also be capable of tailoring messages for different audiences, bringing out complex concepts in a simple, unambiguous, understandable, and convincing manner.

MS Office/Platforms: The Head of Customer Support must demonstrate proficiency in MS Word and PowerPoint, which will be useful in the creation of visually and verbally engaging reports and presentations and conveyance of detailed customer support information to junior customer support and other sales personnel, for example policies, operational procedures, and processes.

Technological Savvy/Analytical Skills: The Head of Customer Support must also have technological acumen, which is necessary today if the business is to gain a wider consumer reach. This is because most consumers have integrated technological communication channels and appliances in their day-to-day lives and the business must follow suit if they are to maintain regular and effective contact with their consumers.

A suitable candidate will also demonstrate a keen understanding of financial metrics inclusive of cost management, budget setting, call forecasting, and revenue generation. The candidate will also possess strong skills in data management, analysis, and processing, having an ability to translate raw consumer support data and information into actionable solutions and strategies.

Interpersonal Skills: The Head of Customer Support must have an ability to think creatively and strategically, have the ability to multi-task and work comfortably under pressure, to identify issues and work to resolve them in partnership with business leaders and have an ability to operate effectively under pressure and deliver results.

This candidate will have an ability to prioritize, manage multiple projects and meet deadlines, possess strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, be self-motivated working under minimal supervision, and demonstrate calmness and composure under stress and uncertainty and inspire the same in junior customer support personnel.

Leadership/People Skills: A suitable candidate will possess outstanding leadership skills. He will portray an ability to inspire and motivate others, guiding them in a unified direction and taking accountability for the group’s actions. He will also be an approachable and relatable individual, making it easy for junior personnel to follow in his direction and for senior customer support management to earn his trust and give credit to his insights and judgments.

JOB SKILLS REQUIRED FOR Head of Customer Support
Career path
SYNONYMS AND VERY SIMILAR JOBS