Customer Contact Manager

Job description

Job responsibilities

In this role, you are accountable for1. Developing and executing a customer contact strategy that improves customer experience and success across all communication platforms, driving innovation in routing and optimising customer journeys to enhance satisfaction and operational efficiency. 2. Leading the integration and optimisation of all contact channels (including telephony, email, and emerging platforms), ensuring that technology and processes evolve in line with business needs, customer feedback, and technological advancements. This includes regular review of systems and processes to maintain alignment with customer expectations and industry best practices. 3. Managing the implementation and ongoing management of all customer contact solutions, including the identification and rollout of new technologies and processes. You will oversee service requests and changes across the contact centre and back-office functions, ensuring consistency and optimal performance across all channels 4. Building strong relationships with internal and external suppliers to ensure the effective delivery of service-level agreements (SLAs). Regular contract reviews and performance meetings with third-party vendors will ensure all contact services meet agreed standards and improve over time. 5. Overseeing the management of the Customer Contact budget, working closely with the Resource, Planning, and MI teams to monitor costs, identify discrepancies, and manage highly complex communication with internal teams and stakeholders. Ensuring financial oversight while maintaining service levels will be a key priority. 6. Leading and managing contact-related projects, including the introduction of new technologies or process improvements. You will be the lead for all customer contact projects, working with NHSBSAs project teams to set up delivery teams, manage internal user acceptance testing (UAT), and ensure successful project delivery. 7. Overseeing incident investigation and resolution across all customer contact channels, ensuring timely and effective resolution of any issues while maintaining strong communication with the business during incidents. 8. Ensuring the effective implementation of customer satisfaction surveys across all contact channels, including the development of change management processes for feedback collection and analysis, to measure and improve customer service quality. 9. Driving performance maximisation through detailed analysis of highly complex data, balancing traffic across all channels, and presenting complex performance metrics to senior management. You will ensure that KPIs are consistently met and communicate achievements clearly. 10. Ownership of contact centre KPIs and operational standards, ensuring alignment with organisational goals. You will be responsible for weekly and monthly reporting on call response times, service request completion, and overall operational performance across all customer contact channels. 11. Providing strategic recommendations to senior management on improvements to customer contact processes, ensuring targets are met and services are delivered effectively across all channels. 12. Demonstrating exceptional stakeholder management, collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure all aspects of customer contact services are delivered within defined time, quality, and cost criteria. You will work closely with leadership teams across the organisation to support operational goals. 13. Supporting the overall contact centre vision, ensuring alignment between all communication channels and supporting non-telephony related services, when required, to meet broader organisational objectives.14. Setting clear, achievable individual and team objectives, conducting regular performance reviews, and leading the development of your team. You will ensure that all staff are supported to meet business objectives while also developing their skills and experience. 15. Developing and managing a customer contact team strategy to ensure that operational goals and objectives are met, driving continuous improvement and operational excellence across all contact channels. 16. Exemplifying leadership and management skills, influencing contact strategy and leading the delivery of business objectives, ensuring your team is motivated, engaged, and aligned with organisational goals. 17. Providing support and guidance for all customer contact teams through effective use of HR planning, absence management, health and safety policies, and other relevant procedures, fostering a supportive and compliant work environment. 18. Identifying personal development needs within your team and ensuring that all staff possess the necessary skills and competencies for success in their roles, providing ongoing coaching and development opportunities. 19. Managing and promoting the Career Pathways programme for customer contact teams, helping individuals develop their skills and progress through different roles to build a strong and capable workforce for the future.20. Supporting the personal development of your teams, providing coaching and guidance on managerial issues while ensuring a supportive environment that empowers staff to reach their full potential.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• 1. Educated to Master's Degree Level or significant equivalent experience.

Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• 1. Significant demonstrable experience in Contact Centre management and across multiple customer contact channels (telephony, email, web chat, social media, etc.).
• 2. Proven ability to manage staff through periods of change, leading teams in a dynamic, evolving environment.
• 3. Extensive experience in staff performance management, setting clear team objectives, and driving performance across all customer contact channels.
• 4. In-depth knowledge of contact centre operations, technologies, and customer service strategies.
• 5. Experience in strategic planning and execution, with the ability to manage and deliver cross-channel improvements aligned with broader business goals.
• 6. Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and trends across customer contact channels to inform decision-making and drive improvements.
• 7. Strong drafting and reporting skills, with the ability to communicate complex information to senior management, stakeholders, and non-technical staff
• 8. Excellent communication and relationship management skills, with a proven ability to build strong relationships with internal teams, external suppliers, and key stakeholders.
• 9. Solid understanding of customer contact management systems, including system use, development, and integration across multiple channels.
• 10. Ability to manage multiple priorities and demonstrate flexibility and resilience in a fast-paced, complex environment.
• 11. Capable of and experienced in working outside normal professional and comfort boundaries to drive change and deliver customer-focused results
• 12. Advanced technical knowledge of a range of customer contact systems (e.g., telephony, email, chat platforms), with experience managing these systems across multiple service channels.

Desirable

• 1. Experience in leading multichannel customer experience strategies, integrating diverse customer touchpoints into a cohesive service strategy.
• 2. Expertise in project planning and management, with the ability to lead large-scale initiatives and collaborate across teams to drive customer contact solutions.
• 3. Experience with Voice Automation, AI-driven contact solutions, and understanding emerging customer service technologies in the contact centre space.
• 4. Knowledge of advanced customer contact technologies.
• 5. Ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships, influencing decision-making and securing buy-in for strategic initiatives.
• 6. Demonstrated success in driving innovation and improving operational efficiency within the customer contact function.

Experience

Essential

• 1. Significant experience in managing customer contact operations across multiple channels, with a focus on developing and delivering strategies that improve customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
• 2. Proven experience in managing large, complex teams across various service channels (telephony, email, chat, etc.), delivering performance improvements and leading change.
• 3. Experience in leading change management initiatives, including the development and implementation of new systems and processes to enhance customer service.
• 4. Experience with Voice Automation, IVR systems, and an understanding of the technical landscape of customer contact platforms and telecoms networks.
• 5. In-depth understanding of customer contact technologies, including telephony systems, multichannel platforms, and cloud-based solutions.
• 6. Experience in delivering strategic goals, working with senior management to shape customer contact strategies and improving cross-functional collaboration.

Desirable

• 1. Capable of and experience of working outside normal professional and own comfort boundaries
• 2. Knowledge of AWS, MSD, Verint
• 3. Project planning and management techniques

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

NHS Business Services Authority

Address

Bridge House

152 Pilgrim Street

Newcastle Upon Tyne

NE1 6SN

Employer's website

https://careers.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)