Customer Service Manager

Employment Type: Contract to Hire - W2

Duration: Minimum 11 months; this contract may be extended based on business needs, with potential opportunities for conversion to a full-time position

Work Model: Hybrid: mostly remote, with onsite work at the Phoenix office about 25% as needed.

Job Responsibilities:

• Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the company's core values, agency policies, applicable standard work, and applicable laws.
• Actively participates in the interviewing and hiring processes and ensures successful functional onboarding of new employees.
• Plans, assigns, coordinates, and oversees the daily work of direct reports in alignment with strategic, operational, and tactical priorities of the organization.
• Conducts regular one-on-one meetings, providing constructive, balanced performance feedback, coaching, and mentoring.
• Sets reasonable stretch performance goals and conducts mid-year and annual performance appraisals.
• Recognizes and rewards performance excellence, culture championship, and continuous improvement efforts.
• Communicates and enforces agency policies and programs.
• Applies corrective action, addresses complaints, and resolves problems in a timely fashion, involving and collaborating with leadership and Human Resources as appropriate.

Skills Required:

• Strong verbal, written, and listening communication skills.
• Excellent customer service acumen and skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demeanor.
• Effective organization and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and work in high-pressure situations.
• Effective project management skills with the ability to lead and direct the work of teams without formal supervisory authority.
• Proficient in the use of a PC in a Windows environment; in the use of the Internet; in the use of MS Office Applications such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint; and in the use of Google Suite applications such as Gmail, Sheets, Docs, and Drive.
• Proficient in the use of various Agency databases and applications such as the Customer Service Center (Ticketing System), CUIC Reports (call routing and call flow), Engage (call recording system), and Finesse (agent logged time).
• Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy and also participate collaboratively as part of a team.
• Ability to establish and maintain an inclusive and innovative environment that collaborates and empowers others to be engaged in a mutually beneficial outcome.
• Ability to understand and solve problems by applying intermediate analytical skills to include collecting all the relevant information and data needed to address the problem; organizing, classifying and synthesizing the data into fundamental issues; from the information, identifying the most probable causes of the problem; reducing the information down into manageable components; identifying the logical outcomes from the analyses of the data collected; and identifying the options and solutions for addressing the problems analyzed.
• Willingness and ability to embody agency's core values of Do the Right Thing, Commit to Excellence, and Care About One Another.

Education Required:

• High School Diploma.

Education Preferred:

• A Bachelor's degree in business or a related field.

Experience Required:

• Minimum of 2 years leading/managing a frontline phone team in a fast-paced call center environment, not a team lead.
• Minimum of four (4) years' related experience in customer service, legal, financial, tax, banking, or similar field of work.

Experience Preferred:

• Experience with Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma, and/or LEAN.

Additional Information:

• Ability to clear a comprehensive background and clearance process that includes an Arizona tax compliance verification and a criminal background check through the FBI via level one fingerprint clearance through the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

• Upskill Opportunities: Learn agency and division policies and procedures; master division and team goals and objectives; develop an understanding of License & Registration and Collections processes for all tax types; gain knowledge of customer service theories and best practices, including professional phone etiquette; acquire an understanding of basic accounting principles and mathematical functions; and become familiar with key leading and lagging production indicators in customer experience solutions.
• Hybrid Schedule (25% Onsite): As business needs dictate, it is mandatory to come into the Phoenix office for the following reasons: Day 1 of New Employee Orientation; mandatory meetings; IT issues; based on performance; return of equipment if there is a voluntary/involuntary separation, as it is State property; and other Leadership-specified times.
• Call Center hours are 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Closing shifts may work as late as 6:15 PM. The 8:30 AM 5:00 PM schedule is only for the 4-week training period.
• Individuals hired into this Manager/Leader role must also serve as the dedicated Manager for all Saturday 4-hour shifts. Currently, service is provided on two Saturdays a month from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, but this will increase to every Saturday as call volumes grow.