Sr. Manager - Customer Operations

Title: Sr. Manager - Customer Operations

Location: Chicago, IL (in-person)

Work Type: Full-Time

Compensation: $80K - $95K / yr equity 

Unicorn Auctions is building the modern platform for spirits and wine, making limited bottles accessible to buyers of all kinds - from seasoned collectors to new enthusiasts. We are committed to providing a seamless and exceptional experience for our customers through best-in-class storage, logistics operations, and unparalleled customer service. As a rapidly growing company, we are looking for a strategic people leader to help us scale our Customer Operations.

The Sr. Manager - Customer Operations will play a critical role in shaping the future of Unicorn. This individual will lead the entire Support function, driving efficiency as the company continues to grow.  The ideal candidate will be an empathetic, but data-driven people leader, with a strong vision for the future of customer support.

Responsibilities

People Management

• Lead the entire support function, scaling as the business does
• Manage and mentor a team of agents, fostering a culture of engagement and high performance
• Hire and train top talent for in-person agent, team lead, and enablement roles
• Leverage individual performance data to effectively manage the team’s performance
• Scale the support team efficiently, with a strategic mix of Unicorn employees and outsourced agents

Strategic Planning & Execution:

• Craft and execute on a strategic vision for Unicorn’s Support function
• Lead strategic projects from conception through implementation, ensuring alignment with company goals and getting buy-in from key stakeholders

Cross-functional Collaboration:

• Build and maintain strong cross-functional relationships
• Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to ensure the seamless execution of initiatives, consistently iterating and improving based on data and feedback from key stakeholders
• Systematically distill and share insights from support data to drive continuous improvement across the entire company

Operational Excellence:

• Establish and track KPIs to monitor performance and drive continuous improvement
• Drive efficiency by integrating AI and other forms of automation into Unicorn’s support experience without compromising on quality of responses
• Document and optimize support processes to eliminate defects and dramatically reduce Average Handle Time

Customer Support

• Get your hands dirty as often as is needed to ensure both buyers and sellers consistently receive high quality responses within SLA
• Manage escalations of high value customers and critical issues

Must-Have Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Business, Finance, Operations, Data Science, or a related field
• 4-7 years of experience in customer support management, strategy, operations, consulting, or startup environments
• Experience with and excitement for managing an in-person team
• Experience scaling a support function from an early stage in a tech organization
• Analytical Mindset: Deep understanding of support metrics and a data-driven approach to decision making. Able to effectively make decisions with limited information
• Entrepreneurial, Owner Spirit: Take full accountability for the function and its success, operating strategically and proactively
• Problem-Solving Skills: Proven ability to identify issues, develop solutions, and implement changes effectively
• Adaptability: Comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and able to adjust priorities accordingly
• Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills; able to convey complex ideas clearly and concisely
• Collaboration: Strong experience working cross-functionally, building relationships, and influencing without direct authority
• Customer-Centric Approach: Passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences for both sellers and buyers
• Technical Proficiency: Familiarity with CRM tools (ex - Hubspot or Salesforce), ability to create and iterate on dashboards to monitor performance, ability to run ad-hoc analysis to diagnose problems and implement solutions
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to understand overall business objectives and align CX accordingly, working backwards to design and implement a best-in-class customer experience

You’ll be an even stronger candidate if:

• You’ve played a part in building a Support operations team at a tech marketplace specifically
• You have managed outsourced agents and vendors
• Passion for whiskey, fine wine, or the auction industry