The posting
The Sr. Manager, Partner Support Services leads the day-to-day operations, performance, and continuous improvement of the Partner Support Services (Level 1) team, serving as the primary intake point for partner and customer support requests. This role is responsible for ensuring service delivery excellence, managing team performance, optimizing support processes, and collaborating cross-functionally to drive efficient issue resolution and a positive partner experience.
The Sr. Manager leads a team of supervisors, team leads, and/or frontline support professionals, partnering closely with Technical Operations & Integrations, Engineering/Production Support, Account Management, and Relationship Management teams to ensure effective triage, escalation management, and service delivery. This position contributes to operational planning, workforce management, and continuous improvement initiatives while supporting broader organizational goals established by Operations leadership.
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Lead the Level 1 function, including staffing structure, shift/coverage design, and the technology/tooling roadmap (ticketing platform, knowledge base, routing).
- Build and manage the L1 budget, including headcount planning, vendor/BPO cost management where applicable, and staffing forecasts tied to volume and demand trends.
- Monitor L1 performance against enterprise SLA commitments (First Response Time, Ticket Quality Score, L1 Resolution Rate, Customer/Partner Satisfaction, Ticket Backlog Aging, SLA Compliance), reporting results to Operations leadership.
- Set and continuously refine triage, escalation, and incident-activation criteria in partnership with the Level 2 Technical Operations & Integrations leader and Engineering/Production Support leadership.
- Manage and support the L1 side of the incident management framework across SEV1–SEV4, ensuring the ticketing system and incident process stay synchronized and that closure/communication standards are consistently met.
- Serve as the escalation point for high-visibility client/partner issues, engaging Account Management and Relationship Management leadership as needed.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives – automation, self-service deflection, and knowledge base strategy to reduce ticket volume and improve first-contact resolution.
- Partner with Account Management, Relationship Management, and Operations leadership on cross-functional process design and governance.
- Ensure support documentation, standard operating procedures, knowledge articles, and escalation guidelines remain current, accurate, and consistently followed.
- Contribute to workforce planning, budget management, and resource forecasting activities in partnership with Operations leadership.
- Establish and maintain governance documentation: SOPs, escalation playbooks, severity definitions, and quality standards for the L1 function.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
People Leader Responsibilities:
- Manages a team of 3-9 directs and indirect.
- Hire, develop, and manage a team of high performing leaders and individual contributors, and the broader L1 staff, building bench strength and succession plans for key roles.
- Provides regular and timely feedback, sets performance goals, and supports professional growth.
- Oversee the daily workflow of the team.
Education & Experience:
- 7+ years of experience in client/partner support, contact center, or service operations leadership, including 4+ years managing managers or supervisors within a multi-tiered support organization.
- Experience in financial services, healthcare, or benefits administration strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience owning budget, headcount planning, and vendor/BPO relationships within a support or operations function.
- Experience with enterprise ticketing/service management platforms (e.g., Jira Service Management, ServiceNow, Zendesk, NICE CXone) and workforce management tools required.
- Track record of presenting performance results and strategic recommendations to senior/executive leadership.
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations Management, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
Skills & Abilities:
- Proven people-leadership skills at a multi-layer organizational level; able to develop managers and supervisors, not just individual contributors.
- Strong strategic and financial acumen; able to build and defend a budget, staffing model, and technology investment case.
- Sound executive judgment in triage, escalation, and incident governance decisions across the full severity spectrum.
- Polished executive communication skills; able to represent the function's performance, risks, and needs to senior leadership and the Operating Committee.
- Skilled at cross-functional influence — building alignment with Level 2, Engineering, Account Management, and Compliance leadership without direct authority over those functions.
- Data-driven decision-making; able to translate ticket, SLA, and staffing data into a clear operating and investment narrative.
- Demonstrates the highest degree of honesty, integrity, and ethical conduct in all professional activities.
