Associate Director | Contact Centre | Customer Experience

Associate Director Contact Centre Operations

Location - Gurgaon, India

Reports To - Director Customer Experience/Head of Customer Operations

Role Purpose

The Associate Director Contact Centre Operations is responsible for leading end-to-end contact centre operations across voice, email, chat, social media and other customer support channels. The role is accountable for delivering exceptional customer experience, operational excellence, workforce optimization, service level achievement, vendor management, quality assurance, and continuous process improvement.

This position will lead large-scale customer service teams and external partners while driving customer satisfaction, productivity, compliance, digital transformation, and cost efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

Contact Centre Operations Management

• Lead day-to-day operations of customer support functions across multiple channels:
• Voice
• Email
• Chat
• Social Media
• Escalation Desk
• Back Office Operations
• Contact management SOW and digital initiatives
• Ensure achievement of all operational KPIs including:
• Service Levels
• Average Speed of Answer (ASA)
• Abandonment Rate
• Average Handle Time (AHT)
• First Contact Resolution (FCR)
• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
• Net Promoter Score (NPS)
• Monitor operational performance and implement corrective actions where required.
• Ensure adherence to customer service standards and regulatory requirements.

Customer Experience Leadership

• Drive customer-centric culture across all support functions.
• Lead initiatives focused on improving customer satisfaction and reducing customer effort.
• Review VOC (Voice of Customer) insights and customer feedback trends.
• Oversee resolution of high-value customer escalations, VIP cases, regulatory complaints and sensitive customer concerns.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to improve customer journeys and service recovery processes.

Vendor & Partner Management

• Manage BPO/contact centre partners and outsourced operations.
• Govern partner performance through regular reviews and SLA monitoring.
• Drive contractual compliance and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead business reviews and operational governance meetings with vendors.
• Partner with Workforce Management teams to ensure optimal staffing and capacity planning.
• Monitor productivity, occupancy and utilization metrics.
• Drive workforce optimization initiatives to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
• Ensure business readiness during seasonal or disruption-related volume surges.

Performance & Quality Management

• Establish performance management frameworks across operations.
• Drive Quality Assurance programs and coaching interventions.
• Review customer interactions and identify improvement opportunities.
• Ensure consistent service delivery across all locations and partners.

Digital Transformation & Automation

• Drive automation and self-service initiatives.
• Partner with Technology and Digital teams on:
• AI-powered customer support
• Chatbots
• Voice Bots
• CRM optimization
• Workflow automation
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency through technology adoption.

Crisis & Disruption Management

• Lead customer support response during operational disruptions and crisis situations.
• Ensure rapid deployment of contingency plans during irregular operations (IROPs).
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders to manage customer communication strategies.
• Maintain service continuity during high-volume events.

Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate with:
• Customer Experience
• Commercial
• Airport Operations
• Digital
• Revenue Management
• Technology
• Finance
• Regulatory Affairs
• Present operational performance, customer insights and improvement plans to senior leadership.
• Influence key decisions through data-driven recommendations.

Financial & Budget Management

• Manage contact centre budgets and operational costs.
• Drive cost optimization initiatives without compromising service quality.
• Track productivity and ROI of transformation initiatives.
• Support annual budgeting and forecasting exercises.

People Leadership

• Lead and mentor managers, team leaders and support functions.
• Drive employee engagement, retention and succession planning.
• Foster a high-performance and customer-focused culture.
• Develop future leadership talent within the organization.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
• Net Promoter Score (NPS)
• Service Level Achievement
• Average Speed of Answer (ASA)
• First Contact Resolution (FCR)
• Average Handle Time (AHT)
• Quality Scores
• Employee Engagement
• Attrition Rate
• Cost per Contact
• Productivity Metrics
• Self-Service Adoption
• Escalation Reduction
• Vendor SLA Compliance

Education - Bachelor's Degree/Postgraduate required

Experience

• 12 to 15 years of experience in customer service/contact Centre operations.
• Minimum 5 years in leadership roles managing large-scale operations.
• Experience managing multi-channel customer support environments.
• Proven exposure to vendor/BPO management.
• Experience in aviation, travel, hospitality, telecom, BFSI, e-commerce, or service industries preferred.

Required Competencies

Leadership

• Strategic Thinking
• Team Leadership
• Change Management
• Decision Making
• Stakeholder Management

Operational Excellence

• Contact Centre Operations
• Workforce Planning
• Vendor Governance
• Process Optimization
• Performance Management

Customer Experience

• Customer Journey Management
• Service Recovery
• VOC Analysis
• Escalation Management

Technical & Analytical

• Data Analytics Pro with excel, PowerPoint
• Dashboard Interpretation
• CRM Platforms (Salesforce preferred)
• Contact Centre Technologies
• AI & Automation Solutions

Behavioral Competencies

• Customer Obsessed
• Results Driven
• Highly Collaborative
• Strong Communicator
• Problem Solver
• Resilient Under Pressure