Senior Customer Service and Process Manager

Position Overview

Canvas Factory is seeking an experienced, commercially minded Senior Customer Experience & Process Manager to oversee customer service operations while continuously improving the systems, processes and workflows that support the wider business.

This is a hands-on, problem-solving role suited to someone who can move comfortably between customer experience, operational processes, systems, reporting and continuous improvement.

The role requires someone who can look beyond individual customer issues, identify patterns or process failures, and implement practical solutions that improve efficiency, customer outcomes and business performance.

The successful candidate will work closely with management, customer service, design, production, development and other operational teams.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Experience & Customer Service
1. Oversee the overall performance and effectiveness of the Customer Service function.
2. Support the Customer Service team with complex customer issues, escalations and unusual cases.
3. Review recurring customer complaints and identify underlying operational or process issues.
4. Develop practical solutions that improve both the customer experience and internal efficiency.
5. Maintain and improve customer service procedures and internal resources.
6. Ensure customer issues are handled consistently and in line with company expectations.
7. Monitor service quality and identify opportunities for coaching, training or process improvement.

Customer Service/ Design Team Leadership
1. Lead and support a team of approximately seven experienced Customer Service contractors based in the Philippines.
2. Manage recruitment, selection and onboarding of new Customer Service team members as required.
3. Provide leadership to a well-established, highly independent remote team, creating accountability without unnecessary micromanagement.
4. Monitor individual and team performance using Time Doctor, customer service metrics and quality auditing.
5. Conduct regular one-on-one meetings, coaching sessions and formal performance reviews.
6. Identify performance or behavioral concerns early and manage underperformance appropriately, including implementing performance improvement measures where required.
7. Maintain a strong focus on customer service quality through regular auditing of Zendesk tickets, live chat conversations and customer voice calls.
8. Provide constructive feedback and coaching based on quality audits, customer outcomes and observed performance.
9. Ensure training materials, procedures, knowledge resources and internal documentation remain accurate and up to date as processes change.
10. Maintain a hands-on understanding of day-to-day Customer Service operations and assist the team during periods of high workload or when complex issues arise.
11. Take ownership of escalated customer cases and communicate directly with difficult or dissatisfied customers where management-level intervention is required.
12. Exercise appropriate commercial judgement and authority regarding refunds, reprints, store credits and other customer resolutions, while ensuring decisions remain consistent with company policy and Australian Consumer Law.
13. Foster a positive, engaged and accountable remote-team culture, with an emphasis on collaboration, communication, motivation and individual ownership.
14. Report on Customer Service performance, quality trends, recurring issues and team matters to the Directors, highlighting areas requiring attention or improvement.

Leadership Style
This role requires a manager who is supportive, decisive and accountable without being a micromanager. The existing Customer Service team is experienced and accustomed to working independently, so the successful candidate should be comfortable setting clear expectations, monitoring outcomes and stepping in when needed while allowing capable team members autonomy in their day-to-day work.

You need to be comfortable working autonomously, managing upwards and driving positive change through the business. Initiative is a key skill this role requires.

Process Improvement
1. Review existing business processes and identify inefficiencies, gaps and unnecessary manual work.
2. Design and implement improved workflows across Customer Service and related operational areas.
3. Investigate recurring production, colour, delivery, artwork and order-processing issues.
4. Develop processes that make issues easier to identify, track and resolve.
5. Work with relevant teams to reduce repeated problems rather than simply resolving individual cases.
6. Document processes clearly so they can be understood and followed by the wider team.
7. Review new processes after implementation and refine them where required.

Systems & Workflow Management
1. Work extensively within systems such as Zendesk, CS-Cart and internal business platforms.
2. Design and maintain ticket workflows, triggers, tags, queues, groups and automations.
3. Identify opportunities to automate repetitive tasks and improve workflow efficiency.
4. Translate operational requirements into clear requests for developers and technical teams.
5. Test system changes and provide practical feedback before implementation.
6. Ensure system changes support both operational efficiency and a good customer experience.

Data, Reporting & Analysis
1. Use operational and customer service data to identify trends, recurring problems and improvement opportunities.
2. Develop and review reports relating to customer issues, service performance and operational outcomes.
3. Analyse customer behaviour, order history and account activity where required.
4. Use data to support decisions rather than relying solely on individual cases or short-term trends.
5. Present findings and recommendations clearly to management.

Projects & Business Improvement
1. Lead or support projects designed to improve customer experience, operational efficiency or revenue.
2. Research and develop new customer service initiatives and value-added services.
3. Assist with the development and implementation of new products, services and operational programs.
4. Coordinate projects across departments and ensure actions are followed through to completion.
5. Evaluate whether new initiatives are commercially practical and operationally sustainable.

Wholesale & Key Customer Processes
1. Support the development and ongoing improvement of wholesale and key-account customer processes.
2. Assist with customer segmentation and account prioritisation.
3. Review customer value using factors such as spend, frequency, tenure and account activity.
4. Develop processes that allow higher-value customers to receive appropriate service without creating unnecessary complexity for the wider team.

Cross-Functional Support
1. Work closely with management to investigate operational problems and implement solutions.
2. Liaise with Customer Service, Design, Production, IT/development and other teams as required.
3. Act as a link between operational staff and technical teams by translating business problems into workable system or process solutions.
4. Challenge existing processes constructively where a better approach can be identified.

Australian Consumer Law & Compliance
1. Develop and maintain a strong working knowledge of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) as it applies to online retail and customer service.
2. Understand consumer guarantees, including acceptable quality, fitness for purpose and products matching their description.
3. Understand when customers may be entitled to a repair, replacement or refund, including the distinction between major and minor failures.
4. Understand that company policies, warranty periods and terms and conditions cannot remove customers' statutory consumer rights.
5. Ensure customer service processes, refund decisions, responses and escalation procedures remain consistent with Australian consumer protection requirements.
6. Recognise situations that may present a consumer-law or compliance risk and escalate these appropriately to management.
7. Keep knowledge of relevant Australian consumer protection requirements current and incorporate changes into customer service processes and team training.

Skills & Experience
The ideal candidate will have:
1. 10+ years’ relevant experience in customer service, customer experience, operations or process management.
2. 10+ years in team leadership
3. Experience in an online business environment is highly desirable
4. Demonstrated experience improving business processes and workflows.
5. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
6. An ability to identify the root cause of problems rather than treating symptoms.
7. Experience working with customer service or ticketing platforms such as Zendesk.
8. Confidence working with e-commerce, CRM, order-management or similar business systems.
9. Strong written communication and documentation skills.
10.The ability to interpret data and turn findings into practical recommendations.
11.Experience working across multiple departments and managing competing priorities.
12.Strong attention to detail without losing sight of the wider business objective.
13.The ability to work independently and take ownership of projects from investigation through to implementation.
14.Have a business owner mentality

Experience within e-commerce, printing, manufacturing, online retail or a similar operational environment would be highly regarded.

Personal Attributes
• Curious and naturally inclined to ask why a problem is occurring.
• Practical and solution-focused.
• Comfortable questioning established processes when they no longer make sense.
• Highly organised and able to manage multiple projects at once.
• Commercially aware and able to balance customer experience with business requirements.
• Comfortable working independently without requiring constant direction.
• Able to communicate effectively with both operational and technical teams.
• Proactive rather than reactive.
• Adaptable and comfortable working in a business where priorities can change quickly.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 6-12 months, the successful candidate should be able to:
• Develop a strong understanding of Canvas Factory's customer journey and operational processes.
• Build effective working relationships across Customer Service, Design, Production, management and development teams.
• Take ownership of customer service processes and escalations.
• Identify recurring operational issues and implement improvements.
• Reduce unnecessary manual work through better systems, processes and automation.
• Improve visibility and reporting around customer and operational issues.
• Successfully manage improvement projects from concept through to implementation.
• Become a trusted internal resource for solving operational and customer-experience problems.

Role Focus
This is not simply a traditional Customer Service Manager position.
The role combines customer experience, operational problem-solving, systems thinking, process improvement and project work.
The successful candidate should enjoy understanding how a business works behind the scenes, identifying what could work better, and then making those improvements happen