Description
Summary
As Senior Customer Services Manager you will lead the strategic and operational management of AQA’s Customer Services delivery team, ensuring the successful delivery of exceptional service to schools, teachers, students, and other customers. This role is pivotal in upholding AQA’s reputation for reliability, fairness, and support in the assessment process.
Your main responsibilities will be leading the day-to-day operations of our dynamic customer services contact centre, ensuring exceptional service, operational efficiency, and employee engagement are delivered to a high standard. You will provide hands on, visible leadership, focussed on coaching and development, fostering a customer-centric and performance-driven culture.
You will also work collaboratively across AQA to drive and improve Customer Experience and play a pivotal role in driving and embedding strategic change initiatives that enhance customer experience, streamline processes, and support long-term business goals.
Your leadership ensures that AQA’s customer services contact centre is not just a support function, but a strategic asset; building trust, resolving issues, and reinforcing AQA’s reputation for reliability and care. In a world where educational outcomes are deeply personal and time-sensitive, your role is essential in delivering reassurance and clarity when it matters most for customers.This is a senior leadership role within Customer Services, reporting directly to the Head of Customer Services. As Senior Customer Services Manager at AQA, you operate at the heart of a dynamic and high-stakes environment where accuracy, efficiency, and strategic foresight are paramount. Your landscape is one of constant movement, balancing the demands of peak exam seasons, evolving regulatory requirements, and the diverse needs of customers who rely on timely, accurate, and empathetic support.
The Senior Customer Services Manager will lead the customer services contact centre delivery team - circa. 50 core people and up to 100 seasonal temporary staff. You will line manage several Team Managers, working alongside the Resource Planning and Training & Quality teams to effectively align operational plans to support strategic priorities.
The Senior Customer Services Manager is critical to the successful delivery of service for our customers, and you will be responsible for engaging and managing stakeholder relationships with various groups to deliver excellent customer service across the whole of AQA, including Service Development, Exams Officer Support, Sales and Account Management, Subject Support, Operations, OxfordAQA, Enterprise Technology, Finance, People Group, Exams Integrity, Oversight, Risk and Compliance.
Activities:
Strategic Leadership
Develop and implement long-term plans & strategies to improve customer service delivery across the whole of AQA
Align contact centre operations with broader AQA objectives.
Engage with external stakeholders and industry bodies (e.g. CCMA) to share best practices, benchmark performance, and bring in external insights to enhance AQA’s customer service strategy.
Operational Management
Monitoring daily operations to ensure service levels, KPIs and SLAs are met.
Optimise ways of working, processes and technologies to improve operational efficiencies.
Team Leadership and Development
Lead, coach and develop Team Managers to achieve performance targets.
Foster a high-performance culture and ensure staff engagement and retention.
Create talent pipelines across the customer functions and wider AQA driving colleague engagement and capability.
Customer Advocacy
Acting as the voice of the customer within AQA, using insights from frontline interactions to improve processes, and enhance overall customer experience.
Crisis and Peak Management
Navigating high-pressure periods such as exams and results days with precision planning, real-time decision making, and robust contingency strategies.
Maintain composure in highly stressful or adverse situations, employing reason-driven decision-making.
Change Management
Act as a leader of change, providing clear direction, communication, and support through periods of change.
Engage stakeholders to build commitment and reduce resistance to change.
Drive the successful adoption of new systems, processes, and ways of working across the contact centre.
Customer Experience Oversight
Ensure a consistent, high-quality customer experience across all channels (phone, email, live chat and social media)
Implement feedback loops to improve service.
Performance Monitoring and Reporting
Analyse performance data and generate reports on the contact centre's performance to senior management.
Use insights to drive continuous improvement initiatives.
Budget Management
Manage budget, staffing levels and resource allocation.
Identify and implement changes to drive efficiency and productivity
Ensuring Compliance
Maintaining compliance with relevant regulations, policies, and procedures.
Need to know (to be successful in this role, you will need to know):
Leadership and Management: Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills are essential. Proven ability to deliver business results through others by setting a clear vision, creating a great place to work, setting clear expectations and developing people.
Customer Focused: Prioritise the needs and satisfaction of customers to address customer concerns.
Solution Orientated: Takes the initiative and drives change initiatives forward independently
Problem-Solving: Ability to identify and resolve operational issues effectively, making pragmatic decisions where necessary.
Continuous Improvement: Commitment to ongoing process improvement, innovation and learning.
Effective Communication: Ability to clearly communicate and influence key stakeholders, including senior leaders.
Knowledge of KPIs and Metrics: Familiarity with key contact centre performance indicators and how to track and improve them.
Technology and innovation: Familiarity with typical contact centre technologies and industry trends and best practices (e.g., CRM systems, cloud telephony, workforce management tools, AI chatbots etc.)