Description
Our client is in the airline business, and their call center (servicing key European airline clients) has been in operation in the Philippines for 25yrs.
European and North American airline back-office support is handled during Manila daytime operations, while call center operations follow the work hours of its Asia Pacific and Europe establishments.
The Manila operation now totals around 600 employees, is a PEZA registered company and a member of Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP).
They are now seeking suitably qualified candidates for the above stated opening, namely the Managing Director, a role with responsibility for the aforementioned headcount of approx. 600 staff all based in their Manila operation, based in Makati, Metro Manila.
This is a replacement role, given the fact the long-standing General Manager (who has been with the organization since the very beginning of IASA more than 25yrs ago), will be retiring (though intends taking a place on the Board).
The intention is for the current General Manager to spend at least 1 month handing over the role to the new Managing Director to help the incumbent settle in. (Note the role has for many years been titled General Manager, but it is felt this is an outdated title for the role, hence they are now calling the role Managing Director).
The position would report into the CEO of the European based client.
Given the fact the organization is PEZA registered they currently work 100% on site, but they are of the opinion this restrictive working set up will soon be changed (by PEZA), and are very much open to a flexible/hybrid set up in the future, but for the time being applicants/candidates need to be very much at ease working on site 5 days a week for the time being.
They operate on a 24/7 basis, though the majority of staff work a mid-shift (from 3pm onwards). The current General Manager works a day shift, but attends to calls/meetings on a business needs basis, and given the 24/7 operation, not to mention the fact key stakeholders are based in Europe the incoming Managing Director will need to have a flexible mindset/approach to the hours they work.
(FYI there will be a monthly 1on1 meeting with the CEO, though occasional ad-hoc calls and meetings are likely, though not believed to be that regular).
The center provide a variety of services, the vast majority in English (they have a small team providing services for Spanish speaking clients in the marine sector) and primarily on an incoming basis, across customer service and customer care (complaints, ticketing support, refunds etc), back office support, the loyalty management program of a european airline, social media support (an account which is also handled by another vendor in the Philippines).
Of the 600 staff, approximately 500 work across 2 key clusters, those being APAC (approx. 100 FTEs) and Europe/North America (approx. 400 FTEs).
The role will have approximately 10 direct reports, including 2 Operations Managers (who are in charge of the 2 aforementioned clusters), and Managers across a variety of internal functions including Training, Finance and Admin, HR, IT and Work force planning.
There is also Global Support Manager who has been seconded from Holland who has a dotted line into this role. Noted this role will be replaced by a local manager in 2024.
Key performance indicators will be across the following areas:
- Strategy
- Organization and personnel
- Year plan and budget
- Business relationships
- Risk mitigation and compliance
- Leadership
The CEO (to whom the role reports) believes this appointment provides a unique opportunity for him to work alongside the incoming Manager Director to review all elements of the role as they currently stand (e.g. current set up, organizational structure etc) and decide on the best way to take the organization forward, with growth a key motivator (they are keen to grow the business beyond servicing their current clients).
The ideal candidate will be a confident, polished, metrics driven operational leader, passionate about their work, and the provision first class customer service. He/she will have a roll the sleeves up/get the hands dirty attitude/mindset. You will be a hands-on operational technician, driving the performance of your team, constantly looking to improve and innovate, always willing to go the extra mile for your client, whilst being an aspiring leader to your team.
Candidates need meet the following criteria:
- Bachelor’s degree and/or MBA is preferred
- Minimum of 15yrs of experience in the BPO and/or call center industry in the Philippines
- Minimum of 5yrs in a senior leadership capacity in the BPO and/or call center industry, responsible for at least 400 FTE’s
- Experience managing call center/customer service metrics in a similar environment
- Experience managing the P&L of an operation in the BPO/call center industry
- Previous experience working with/for European based clients/customers/stakeholders is a strong preference
- Excellent people leadership ability with passion for growing/driving teams towards high performance, someone who leads by example and inspires their team to follow suit
- Proven track record collaborating effectively with both internal and external teams and all key stakeholders (from the very bottom to the very top, ‘c-level executives’)
- Experience working in (of knowledge of) the airline industry and/or managing airline related accounts/verticals in the BPO/call center industry would be beneficial
- A hands on, roll the sleeves up mindset, a flexible, adaptable, high energy, dynamic character, with a ‘can do’ mindset to make it happen whatever the situation, no matter what it takes
- Excellent communication skills (written, verbal and presentation) in English
- Willing to work flexible schedules to meet the global scope/demands of the role (including weekends and holidays if when necessary).
Additional Role information:
- Day/Mid shift (flexibility will be necessary to meet the global demands of the company) *
- Based in Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City, Metro Manila
- This is a 100% on-site role **
- This is a replacement role
- This reports into the CEO based in Europe
- Responsible for approx. 600 FTE’s incl 10 direct reports
- There will be a maximum of 4 interviews in the recruitment process.
* Given the fact the operation is 24/7 the successful candidate is expected to be flexible so they can spend time with staff who work across various shifts, and given the fact the key stakeholders, including the CEO to whom this role reports, are based in Europe thus there will be occasional calls/meetings with these stakeholders outside of the standard Philippine day shift.
** The role will be 100% on-site. Whilst it is deemed likely the PEZA restrictions in this respect will soon change thus allowing some flexibility (and a hybrid working set up for PEZA companies) for the time being and until changes to the PEZA on-site enforcement situation changes, all staff including the incumbent Managing Director are expected to work on site 5 days a week.
The company are very keen to embrace the hybrid set up moving forward, but their hands are tied until the PEZA restrictions changed, therefore any candidates seeking an immediate hybrid type set up (and/or looking for a role that allows them to work from home a notable number of days each week/month) need not apply for this position.
If this opportunity is of interest, and you believe you meet the criteria outlined herein, please let me know after which I will come back to you to outline the next steps.
