Sr Support Operations Manager
Somewhere
🇿🇦 Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants
This fully remote full time position at Somewhere is open to applicants from South Africa. The estimated monthly salary is R37,000 – R46,250 ZAR. This role is suited for senior-level professionals. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.
Job Description
Senior Support Operations Manager
Location:Remote (LATAM or South Africa strongly preferred)Schedule:Flexible; overlap with U.S. Eastern Time requiredEngagement:Full-time, Independent ContractorCompensation:Competitive; pegged to experience (monthly USD)
About the Role
We’re hiring a hands-onSenior support operations managerto own our global support function end to end. You’ll lead a growing team, design processes, implement self-serve and AI-assisted support, and partner cross-functionally (Product, Engineering, Success, RevOps) to deliverfast, accurate, effortlessresolutions at scale.
Core Outcomes (KPIs)
* Reduce ticket backlogand maintain healthy work-in-progress limits (WIP).
Reduce ticket backlogand maintain healthy work-in-progress limits (WIP).
* Improve speed: Avg. First Response Time (FRT) and Avg. Time to Resolution (TTR) trending down month-over-month.
Improve speed: Avg. First Response Time (FRT) and Avg. Time to Resolution (TTR) trending down month-over-month.
* Increase quality: CSAT ≥ 90%, QA pass rate ≥ target, First Contact Resolution (FCR) ↑.
Increase quality: CSAT ≥ 90%, QA pass rate ≥ target, First Contact Resolution (FCR) ↑.
* Deflection & efficiency: % self-service resolution (help center, in-app guides, chatbots) ↑; cost per ticket ↓.
Deflection & efficiency: % self-service resolution (help center, in-app guides, chatbots) ↑; cost per ticket ↓.
* Operational maturity: Robust playbooks, clear SLAs, accurate forecasting, and staffing models in place within 90 days.
Operational maturity: Robust playbooks, clear SLAs, accurate forecasting, and staffing models in place within 90 days.
Responsibilities
* Lead, coach, and scale a distributed support team (tiering, queues, scheduling, QA, coaching).
Lead, coach, and scale a distributed support team (tiering, queues, scheduling, QA, coaching).
* Establish SLAs/SLOs, escalation paths, incident communications, and problem management loops.
Establish SLAs/SLOs, escalation paths, incident communications, and problem management loops.
* Own support tooling and automation strategy (help desk, live chat, IVR/call, RPA, AI copilot/chatbot, knowledge base).
Own support tooling and automation strategy (help desk, live chat, IVR/call, RPA, AI copilot/chatbot, knowledge base).
* Build a modernself-servicemotion (structured KB, release notes, how-to videos, in-app guides, status page).
Build a modernself-servicemotion (structured KB, release notes, how-to videos, in-app guides, status page).
* Partner with Product/Eng to triage bugs, track known issues, and close the loop with customers.
Partner with Product/Eng to triage bugs, track known issues, and close the loop with customers.
* Instrument reporting (executive dashboards) covering volume, backlog, aging, FRT/TTR, CSAT, FCR, deflection, QA.
Instrument reporting (executive dashboards) covering volume, backlog, aging, FRT/TTR, CSAT, FCR, deflection, QA.
* DriveAI integration: triage routing, agent assist, macro generation, knowledge search/RAG, and summarization.
DriveAI integration: triage routing, agent assist, macro generation, knowledge search/RAG, and summarization.
* Collaborate with Customer Success on handoffs (expansion risks, health scores, VOC insights).
Collaborate with Customer Success on handoffs (expansion risks, health scores, VOC insights).
* Workforce Management: shift planning for 24×5 (or 24×7 as needed), on-call rotation for incidents.
Workforce Management: shift planning for 24×5 (or 24×7 as needed), on-call rotation for incidents.
Ideal Experience
* 5–8+ years in B2B SaaS support; 2–3+ years managing multi-time-zone teams.
5–8+ years in B2B SaaS support; 2–3+ years managing multi-time-zone teams.
* Built/owned support operations at scale (chat + email; phone a plus).
Built/owned support operations at scale (chat + email; phone a plus).
* Strong command of metrics, queue design, and process standardization.
Strong command of metrics, queue design, and process standardization.
* Proven record standing upself-serviceandAI/automationthat measurably reduce handle time.
Proven record standing upself-serviceandAI/automationthat measurably reduce handle time.
* Excellent communication; crisp incident comms and executive-ready reporting.
Excellent communication; crisp incident comms and executive-ready reporting.
Tools (examples)
Zendesk/Freshdesk/Intercom/Help Scout; Dialpad/Aircall; Guru/Confluence; Asana/Jira; Looker/Mode/Power BI; statuspage.io; QA tools (MaestroQA, Klaus); AI/LLM copilots, RAG search.
30/60/90 Plan
30 days:Audit team, queues, macros, and KB; baseline KPIs; publish interim SLA.60 days:Ship revamped KB and chatbot intents; implement QA rubric; staff model; weekly exec dashboard.90 days:Achieve targeted reductions in FRT/TTR/backlog; launch agent-assist copilot; finalize FY headcount & budget.
Tips for South African Applicants
Timezone Advantage
South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.
Salary in Context
At R37,000/month, this role is competitive with the average South African remote salary. The USD equivalent ($2,000/mo) benefits from the favourable exchange rate.
Application Tips
Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.
Load Shedding Preparedness
If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.
About Somewhere
Somewhere is a company in the Recruitment & Staffing industry that hires remote workers from South Africa. They currently have 614 open positions on Hirezar. View all Somewhere jobs →