Support Manager

SUMMARY:

The client is seeking a hands-on Support Manager to lead a software support team, ensuring efficient customer service, managing escalations, and coordinating with internal teams. The role operates in a high-pressure environment supporting critical export, logistics, and financial systems across multiple regions in South Africa.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and manage the support team.
• Drive accountability, professionalism, and customer service excellence.
• Conduct performance reviews, coaching, and team scheduling, including after-hours support coverage.

Customer Support Operations

• Oversee daily Helpdesk operations and ensure calls are resolved within service levels.
• Monitor escalations, ageing calls, and communication quality.
• Coordinate with Development and QA teams on defects, incidents, and releases.
• Manage high-priority customer issues and escalations.

Operational Management

• Improve support processes, escalation procedures, and operational standards.
• Analyse support trends and implement continuous improvement initiatives.
• Maintain accurate support documentation and operational procedures.
• Collaborate with Operations Management to enhance service delivery and visibility.

Customer & Product Engagement

• Build strong customer relationships and represent customer needs internally.
• Identify recurring operational risks and customer pain points.
• Work with Product, Development, and QA teams to improve system stability and customer experience.
• Support deployments, operational readiness, and customer communications.

Required Experience & Skills:

• 5+ years experience in customer support or software operations.
• Minimum 3 years' experience managing support or operational teams.
• Experience working within a software company environment.
• Strong understanding of operational software support and customer escalation management.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
• Comfortable working with technical teams, software releases, and operational troubleshooting.

Preferred Experience:

• Industry experience in fresh produce, exports, logistics, warehousing, or packhouse operations.
• Supported ERP, logistics, operational, or workflow-based software systems.
• Strong technical background with exposure to software development environments.
• Managed remote or distributed support teams effectively.
• Knowledge of software deployments, integrations, APIs, and operational data flows.

Key Competencies:

• Operational leader with strong execution and process improvement skills.
• Expert in customer relationship, escalation, and crisis management.
• Effective team coach and communicator in high-pressure environments.