Ashton Recruitment is recruiting on behalf of our client for an experienced Contact Centre Manager to lead a busy, FCA-regulated customer operations function in Romford.
Contact Centre Manager - Financial Services
Location: Romford, Essex
Job Type: Full-time, Permanent
This is a senior operational leadership role with responsibility for the performance, people, commercial delivery and regulatory standards of a large contact centre operation.
The successful candidate will lead Team Leaders and wider operational teams, ensuring excellent customer outcomes, achievement of client SLAs and KPIs, effective resource management and full compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements.
Key Responsibilities
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Lead the day-to-day operation of a large BPO contact centre
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Ensure client SLAs, service standards and quality requirements are consistently achieved
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Drive a strong focus on customer service, first-time resolution and positive customer outcomes
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Lead, coach and develop Contact Centre Team Leaders
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Manage a wider team of approximately 40-100 direct and indirect employees
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Ensure appropriate staffing levels while managing attrition, absence and resource requirements
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Oversee training and development to ensure employees meet operational and regulatory standards
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Build and maintain strong relationships with clients and internal stakeholders
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Attend client meetings and provide updates on operational performance
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Support and lead new business bids where required
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Manage the onboarding of new clients and customer operations
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Lead change projects impacting Contact Centre operations
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Monitor operational performance, call quality and productivity
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Manage the Contact Centre within agreed annual budgets
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Identify efficiencies and opportunities to improve utilisation and reduce costs
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Support wider business transformation programmes
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Ensure contractual obligations are consistently met
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Maintain strong commercial awareness across costs, revenue and service delivery
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Monitor developments in Contact Centre technology and best practice
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Support business cases for operational and technology improvements
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Maintain appropriate telephony and disaster recovery arrangements
Regulatory & Compliance Responsibilities
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Operate within relevant FCA regulatory requirements
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Embed Consumer Duty and Treating Customers Fairly principles across the operation
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Ensure teams consistently deliver fair customer outcomes
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Ensure vulnerable customers are appropriately identified and supported
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Identify and escalate operational, conduct and compliance risks
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Maintain adherence to client, regulatory and internal control requirements
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Support audit, risk and compliance reviews
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Ensure corrective actions are implemented following audit or compliance findings
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Promote a strong culture of risk awareness, accountability and compliance throughout the Contact Centre
Essential Criteria
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Minimum 5 years' experience managing a UK-based Contact Centre
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Previous responsibility for a Contact Centre of at least 50 seats
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Experience managing approximately 40-100 employees, directly and indirectly
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Strong people management and leadership experience
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Experience managing and developing Team Leaders
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Strong understanding of Contact Centre best practice, including resource planning, knowledge management and technology
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Experience working to SLAs, KPIs and quality targets
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Strong commercial and financial awareness
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Experience managing operational budgets
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Ability to manage costs while maintaining service quality
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Strong client and stakeholder management skills
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Excellent communication, influencing and negotiation skills
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Ability to lead teams through change and transformation
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Strong understanding of operational risk and controls
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Confident working in a regulated environment
Desirable
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Previous experience within Life & Pensions, Insurance or wider Financial Services
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Experience operating within an FCA-regulated environment
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Experience within a BPO or outsourced Contact Centre operation
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Experience managing client contracts and commercial relationships
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Experience supporting new business bids and client onboarding
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Degree or relevant professional qualification
The Ideal Candidate
You will be an experienced Contact Centre leader who is comfortable managing a large operation while balancing customer outcomes, people performance, regulatory requirements and commercial objectives.
You will be confident managing Team Leaders, working directly with clients and driving improvements across service, quality, productivity and employee performance.
Previous experience as a Contact Centre Manager, Call Centre Manager, Customer Operations Manager, Customer Service Manager or Operations Manager within financial services, insurance or another regulated environment would be particularly relevant.
If you have experience managing a UK Contact Centre of 50+ seats and are looking for a senior operational leadership opportunity, we would be keen to hear from you.
Ashton Recruitment is acting as a Recruitment Agency.
