Job Title: Senior Operational Manager - Complaints
Location: Aspect House, Blantyre (Hybrid)
Salary: From £66,000 per annum + up to 20% bonus, car allowance, family private medical insurance + other excellent benefits
Closing Date: 21.06.2026
A dynamic and customer focused operational leader is needed to establish and lead a high‑performing complaints operation. The role holder will have end‑to‑end accountability for the management of effective, timely and fair resolution of customer complaints across all channels, including complex and escalated cases through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
The role is responsible for designing and implementing the operating model, including building and managing internal and outsourced delivery teams, ensuring consistent, high‑quality outcomes aligned to regulatory standards, customer expectations and commercial objectives.
Working in partnership with third‑party suppliers and internal stakeholders, the position will set clear performance, quality and governance frameworks to deliver best‑in‑class complaint management, drive continuous improvement, and reduce complaint volumes and cost‑to‑serve, while ensuring robust risk, control and compliance standards are upheld.
Responsibilities
* Work in partnership with third‑party suppliers and internal stakeholders to set clear performance, quality and governance frameworks for best‑in‑class complaint management, driving continuous improvement and reducing complaint volumes and cost‑to‑serve while upholding risk, control and compliance standards.
* Own end‑to‑end operational delivery of the complaints function across all channels (phone, email, web, written correspondence and social media escalations) ensuring timely, fair and well‑evidenced outcomes.
* Provide senior leadership across internal and partner/outsourced complaint‑handling teams, setting direction, priorities, standards and controls.
* Set and embed quality standards (empathy, ownership, clarity of explanation and remedy accuracy) using call/case assurance, calibration and targeted coaching to drive consistency.
* Act as the operational point of contact for external stakeholders (e.g., ADR bodies, consumer advocacy organisations) and embed learning back into operations and product/service teams.
* Deliver performance against agreed service levels, quality and cost, using insight and governance to manage risk, reduce repeat contacts and improve first‑time resolution.
* Ensure new product‑specific complaint drivers (provisioning delays, intermittent service, speed/coverage, billing, missed engineer appointments, contract changes and vulnerability needs) are managed through effective cross‑functional working and continuous improvement.
* Provide effective case governance for high‑risk and high‑impact complaints, ensuring correct triage, escalation, decision‑making and remedy approval (including vulnerability considerations).
* Effectively manage external supplier delivery to contractual KPI’s.
* Own operational responsibilities for external escalations (ADR), ensuring robust evidence packs, accurate narratives and timely responses; track outcomes, costs and systemic learnings.
* Work with complaint MI and insight colleagues to ensure full reporting and tracking (volume, drivers, root cause, repeat contact, resolution effectiveness and customer outcomes); translate insight into prioritised actions and measurable benefits.
* Collaborate with Operations, Network/Technology, Field Engineering, Billing and Product teams to remove root causes (e.g., provisioning delays, missed appointments, intermittent service, speed issues, billing disputes) and prevent recurrence.
* Maintain a strong risk, control and compliance framework (data protection, security, record keeping, audit readiness) and ensure colleagues follow policies and procedures.
* Manage operational readiness for demand spikes and major incidents, including resourcing plans, backlogs, customer communications and clear escalation routes.
* Overall accountability for product complaint outcomes, service levels, customer impact and external escalation performance (including associated costs and redress).
* Own and maintain a suite of end‑to‑end complaint processes across the new product (provisioning, faults, billing, contracts, vulnerability and service assurance), including multi‑channel workflows.
* Lead performance management for complaint‑handling teams (and external partners where applicable) covering productivity, quality, customer outcomes and compliance.
* Deliver business outcomes across complaints reduction, cost‑to‑serve and customer experience measures; ensure MI supports clear actions and prioritisation.
* Manage key compliance indicators across product complaint handling (data protection, security, record keeping, customer vulnerability and fair outcomes) for internal and external resources.
What you’ll bring
* Proven senior operational management experience in a complaints/contact centre environment within telecommunications.
* Strong knowledge of service delivery and customer journeys (sales, provisioning, installation, faults/repair, network performance, billing and contract management).
* Experience with external escalation routes and consumer bodies (e.g., ADR/ombudsman processes), including evidence management and response governance.
* Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at senior leadership level across Operations, Product, Technology/Network and Commercial functions.
* Strong working knowledge of risk, control and data protection requirements, operating in a regulated evidence‑based environment.
* Demonstrable capability in performance management, quality frameworks and continuous improvement (Lean/Six Sigma), translating insight into measurable change.
* Clear, confident communication, simplifying complex operational issues for a broad audience and driving alignment on actions and priorities.
* Strong commercial and numerical skills, including budgeting, cost‑to‑serve management and benefits tracking for improvement initiatives.
Minimum Criteria
* Substantial senior operational leadership experience in complaints, customer operations/contact centre environment, with direct accountability for performance and outcomes.
* Proven experience leading escalated and complex complaints (including high‑risk/vulnerability cases) with demonstrable improvements in speed, quality and sustained resolution.
* Strong telecommunications operational knowledge across the customer journey (sales, provisioning, installation, faults/repair, network performance, billing and contract management).
* Experience owning external escalation governance (ADR/ombudsman), including evidence pack standards, response quality control, outcome/cost tracking and embedding learning.
* Experience operating a robust risk, control and compliance framework (data protection, security, audit readiness, record keeping) with evidence‑based decision making.
* Strong performance management capability, setting targets, managing through leaders and driving measurable improvements using MI, root‑cause analysis and continuous improvement methods.
* Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders across Operations, Network/Technology, Field Engineering, Billing and Product to remove root causes and deliver cross‑functional change.
* Experience managing third‑party/outsourced service delivery (commercial performance, governance and quality controls) (desirable).
What’s in it for you
In addition to a competitive salary reviewed annually, you’ll enjoy a wide range of benefits including pension scheme, healthcare and many other perks.
Benefits
* 36 days annual leave
* Holiday Purchase – extra annual leave
* Share Schemes
* Payroll Giving and Charity Matched Funding
* Technology Vouchers
* Electric Vehicle Schemes
* Cycle to Work scheme and Public Transport Season Ticket Loans
* Healthcare benefits including Dental Insurance, Private Medical Insurance and Health Cash Plan
* Annual Health Assessments
* Life Assurance (4x salary)
* Financial wellbeing support
* Discounts on shopping, leisure, travel and more
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