Senior Customer Service Manager

About the Company

The company is  a leading global garment manufacturer renowned for commitment to innovation, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. With a rich heritage spanning over seven decades, they  have evolved from a local company to a trusted partner for fashion brands worldwide. Their  emphasis on long-term partnerships, passionate innovation, and sustainable practices positions them at the forefront of the apparel industry.

2. ROLE PURPOSE

… within the context of Merchandising operating plan, to provide managerial leadership to the Customer Service (CS), logistics and Procurement team to engage, service, and build up the relationship with customers, to create a customer driven mindset throughout the Factory, to engage internal customers, and to ensure proper control of materials in support of the Factory’s overall performance and financial targets. ... adhering to relevant customs law and import/export regulations, provide managerial leadership to the logistics team to ensure on-time import, export, and warehousing of raw materials, finished goods, machines, and spare parts through arrangement of on-time customs clearance, accurate preparation of required documents and arrangement of cost-effective transportation methods. ... provide managerial leadership to the Purchasing team to source, purchase, assess, and negotiate with suppliers to ensure the availability of cost-effective consumables, spare parts, and all other materials assigned (except fabric) required by the Factory in support of the relevant Factory KPIs.

3. KEY ACCOUNTABILITY AREAS

1. Customer Order Servicing and Engagement

• Customer Relationship Building: communicate the Factory’s operations, capabilities and commitment to existing and potential customers and foster a deep understanding of the customers’ own business environments and requirements, as a basis for building a sense of partnership and mutual commitment to each others’ success.

• Direct Deal: clarify Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and performance standards with Sales, Merchandising & Marketing (SMM) for dealing directly with customers. Proactively seek SMM’s help to develop the CS team’s capability with the goal of obtaining full authority from SMM to “direct deal” with customers.

• Customer Service: represent the customer by conducting random audits to monitor style and quality of fabric, sub-materials, samples and bulk garments and report problems identified to relevant departments.

• Early Customer Problem Resolution: work with Operations and Wet Processing Departments to ensure that production problems, which may not be possible to solve internally, are quickly identified and reported to the CSP for early communication and resolution with the customer.

• New Customer Requirements: assemble cross-functional teams to ensure requirements from new customers are properly understood and can be handled by the Factory.

• Customer Engagement: work with SMM to monitor customer satisfaction and engagement, review with CS staff and implement continuous improvement programs

2.Fabric and Trims Control

• Materials Control: regularly review leftover materials (fabric and trims) inventory, investigate reasons for leftover, and initiates appropriate action
• Fabric Problems: be personally involved to communicate with suppliers / Fabric Sourcing to resolve late delivery or fabric quality problems as needed.

3. Customer-Driven Mindset

• Understanding Customers: within the CS team, create a deep understanding of customers and their requirements through studying their end consumer requirements. Communicating with customers in-person, by phone and by email. Visiting their shops. Monitoring their websites, catalogues and business news. And through regular updates from SMM.

• Total Service Concept: within the CS team, create a “total service” mindset, i.e. develop a deep knowledge of customers’ requirements - enabling the ability to make proactive product and services recommendations to them. Being continuously in touch with customers during order, production and delivery. And proactively following up to check status and solve problems if necessary. To determine the customers’ satisfaction levels and continuously seek new ways to serve them better.

• Customer Connection: create and implement programs to develop a committed customer-service mindset and foster employee pride in producing for the Factory’s customers. • Continuous Improvement: establish measures and systems to track and continuously improve customer understanding, employee pride in producing for the Factory’s customers and a committed customer service mindset throughout the Factory.

4. Internal and External Customer Engagement

• Cross-functional Work Processes: establish the cross-functional work process flows and interactions between CS and other Factory departments necessary to support garments being produced and delivered on time, within customers’ quality and quantity standards and within the budgeted cost.

• Cross-functional Problem-solving: monitor the effectiveness of cross-functional work and interaction between CS and other Factory departments. Be personally involved to resolve problems and make improvements as needed.

• M3 Effectiveness: monitor CS team against established M3 effectiveness performance measures and targets, and takes appropriate action for improvement where needed.

• Internal Relationships: personally build relationships with managers and staff from other departments to support effective teamwork.

• Internal Customer Engagement: monitor internal customer satisfaction and engagement with CS interaction and service/support to them, review with the CS team and implement continuous improvement programs.

• Relationships with Key Stakeholders: actively build relationships with stakeholders at the Customs and relevant Government departments to strengthen co-operation, and to obtain updated information to support decision-making by senior management.

• Knowledge Updates: proactively maintain and communicate up-to-date information on any and all aspects of import/export regulations that have an impact on the Factory’s business.

5. Managerial Leadership of Immediate Team

• Business Context: communicate the ‘bigger picture’ context in which IEs need to plan and execute work (e.g. world, country, industry, Division, customer and inter-departmental considerations).

• Collaborative Teamwork: establish process for meeting regularly and holding IEs accountable for effective and collaborative teamwork at their level.

• IE Performance Management: agree on SMART goals and assignments with each IE and provide continuous managerial guidance and feedback. Provide support for enhancing performance in the current role, conduct mid-year progress reviews and determine year-end performance appraisal ratings.

• IE Development: assess the strengths and development needs of each IE and coach him/her in developing their FSKs and MLCs in line with the Role Profile of his/her current job.

• Recognition and Reward: provide differential recognition and recommendations for reward incentives for IEs (pay, promotion, development opportunities).

• De-selection: recommend re-assignment or termination of IEs where appropriate, supported by a fair ‘due process’ and structured performance improvement program.

• Appeals Process: provide an appeals process for employees one level down (EoDs) who have a grievance with his/her Immediate Manager (IM)

Note: manager accountable for: 1) coaching IEs to improve their performance and their abilities in their current job, 2) assessing future potential of employees one-level down(EoDs reporting to the manager’s IEs) and mentoring EoDs in terms of their career development for future roles, 3) identifying and developing successors for his/her IEs where relevant.

6. Future Talent Pool

• Talent Pool Analysis: assess the future potential of Employees-one-Down (EoDs) in terms of future manpower requirements.

• Mentoring and Career Development: establish mentoring relationship and career development programs with individual EoDs based on future manpower requirements, assessment of individual potential and individual interests.

• IE Successor Development: identify and have ready for promotion minimum two potential successors for each IE where relevant and within agreed timeframe.

Note: manager accountable for: 1) coaching IEs to improve their performance and their abilities in their current job, 2) assessing future potential of employees one-level down(EoDs reporting to the manager’s IEs) and mentoring EoDs in terms of their career development for future roles, 3) identifying and developing successors for his/her IEs where relevant.

Note 1: incumbent is also accountable for other tasks assigned by Immediate Manager, for specific purposes (e.g. employee development). Immediate Manager accountable for explaining outcomes and target durations for such assignments. Note 2: incumbent may not be assigned all Accountability Areas or tasks in the Role Profile. It is at the discretion of the Immediate Manager to provide specific direction and priorities for each IE (e.g. ramp up new employees), supported by clear explanations and timeframes.

• Expertise in building and maintaining strong customer relationships.
•  Proven ability to lead customer service, logistics, and procurement teams.
•  Skilled in managing on-time import/export and sourcing cost-effective materials.
• Strong understanding of customer needs and proactive service improvements.
• Effective in establishing and monitoring work processes across departments.

How To Apply

If you would like to be considered for the above position, please reach out with a short resume to hermela@ethiojobs.net or may@ethiojobs.net subject: “Senior Customer Service Manager”.