Senior Manager Customer Success

Overview

In this Senior Manager role, you will lead a large customer-facing operation within AQA, guiding around 50 permanent colleagues and seasonal teams during peaks. You’ll shape a high-performing culture, empower leaders, and partner with senior stakeholders to deliver exceptional support to schools, colleges and learners. Your work will influence customer outcomes, colleague experience and operational efficiency while contributing to future growth, including expanding in the vocational qualifications market. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on delivery in a fast-paced, regulated environment.

Pay / Benefits

• 35-hour working week with flexible, hybrid working
• 25 days’ annual leave, rising to 30 with service + Christmas closure days
• pension contributions
• BUPA healthcare support
• wellbeing programmes
• volunteering opportunities

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a large customer-facing operation through a team of leaders and managers.
• Create a high-performing, engaged, supportive culture where people can excel.
• Provide visible leadership during routine operations and peak periods.
• Manage operational performance, service standards, budgets and workforce plans.
• Support and develop managers to lead confidently and effectively.
• Build strong relationships with senior leaders and influence across boundaries.
• Lead change initiatives and help teams navigate ambiguity.
• Identify opportunities to improve customer outcomes, colleague experience and operational effectiveness.
• Contribute to the wider Customer Success strategy and future direction of the function.

Key requirements

• Experience leading sizeable customer service or customer-focused operational teams through layers of management.
• Leadership presence, credibility and people-centered approach at senior levels.
• Strong coaching and leadership development capability.
• Experience leading teams through change, ambiguity and transformation.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills with senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
• Experience in contact centre or customer services operations using data and metrics to improve outcomes.
• Strong commercial awareness and ability to balance customer, colleague and organisational priorities.
• Calm, resilient leadership style with sound decision-making under pressure.
• Excellent communication and engagement skills.

• strong communication
• stakeholder management
• coaching and development
• performance data and metrics
• budgeting and workforce planning
• customer service technologies including CRM platforms, workforce management tools, cloud telephony and AI-enabled solutions

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