Customer Support D2C Manager Role

Alex and Ani is an American jewelry brand rooted in purpose, positivity, and self-expression that designs expandable wire bangles, charm bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and rings that are intended to do more than adorn — they enlighten the mind and empower the spirit.

As we continue to grow and invest in our direct-to-consumer operations, we are building a best-in-class customer support function from the ground up and are looking for a Customer Support Operations Manager to be the architect of that effort — someone who will build a team of VAs afresh.

It is REQUIRED for this role that you have:
*A substantial history of working in a CPG / D2C setting
*A history at a company managing a large number of SKUs
*Experience building teams from the ground up and forming the key infrastructure for those teams
*Experience managing at least ten people for more than two years


RESPONSIBILITIES -

Team Building & Leadership:
*Build the customer support team from the ground up, including defining team structure, headcount planning, role design, and hiring.
*Recruit, onboard, coach, and develop support agents and team leads, fostering a high-performance culture grounded in accountability and growth.
*Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development conversations that genuinely invest in each tea ---------- mber's trajectory.
*Lead by example — model the communication standards, customer empathy, and operational rigor you expect from your team.

Operations, Infrastructure & Process Design:
*Design and implement all foundational support infrastructure: workflows, escalation paths, ticketing configurations, knowledge bases, SOPs, and communication templates.
*Build and maintain a Quality Assurance (QA) program, including calibration sessions, scoring rubrics, and feedback loops to continuously raise service standards.
*Develop, document, and iterate on policies and procedures that ensure consistency, compliance, and a seamless customer experience across all channels.
*Establish and maintain agent and team-level KPIs, dashboards, and reporting frameworks that provide real-time visibility into performance and emerging trends.
*Proactively identify operational gaps and implement scalable solutions before they become systemic issues.

Performance Management & Continuous Improvement:
*Own all team performance metrics including CSAT, first response time, resolution time, quality scores, and productivity benchmarks.
*Analyze performance data to surface patterns, identify root causes, and drive targeted coaching or process improvements.
*Lead regular team reviews, QA calibrations, and retrospectives to ensure the team is improving consistently and collaboratively.
*Serve as the primary escalation point for complex, sensitive, or high-priority customer issues, resolving them with professionalism and care.


REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS -

*Minimum 5 years of experience in customer support or customer experience roles, with at least 2–3 years in a management or team leadership capacity.
*Demonstrated experience building a support team from the ground up — not inheriting an existing operation, but genuinely starting from scratch.
*Proven track record of scaling support teams across different growth stages, adjusting processes, structures, and tooling as the team evolves.
*Strong expertise in KPI design, reporting dashboards, and the metrics that matter most for a high-performing support organization.
*Experience developing and owning QA programs, coaching frameworks, and structured performance management processes.
*Deep familiarity with customer support tooling (e.g., Zendesk, Gorgias, Freshdesk, or similar platforms).
*Exceptional written and verbal communication in English, with the ability to engage clearly and professionally across all levels.
*Experience supporting an e-commerce, retail, or direct-to-consumer brand is strongly preferred.


WHO YOU ARE -

*A builder: You are energized by creating structure where there is none, and you know how to prioritize ruthlessly when everything feels urgent.
*Autonomous and self-directed: You don’t need to be told what to do next. You identify the gaps, make a plan, and execute.
*A genuine people developer: You invest in your team not because it’s on the checklist, but because it’s the most important thing you do.
*Highly adaptable: You pick things up fast, adjust when the landscape changes, and never stop learning.
*A multitasker with range: You can wear many hats — strategist, coach, analyst, escalation handler — and make it look seamless.
*Data-informed but human-centered: You know your numbers and you also know that behind every ticket is a real person who deserves a real answer.


TO APPLY -

Please include your resume and the answers to these questions:

1. "Walk me through how you've managed customer support operations for a CPG brand selling direct-to-consumer — what platforms were you using, and how did you handle order-related issues like failed payments, shipping delays, or subscription problems specifically within Shopify or a similar storefront?"

2. "In a remote setup, how have you built and maintained quality and consistency across your support team when handling high-volume periods like product launches or promotional sales — and what tools or workflows did you rely on to stay aligned with the brand and fulfillment side of the business?"

3. "Tell me about a time a customer escalation exposed a gap in either the product, the fulfillment process, or the storefront experience — how did you document it, escalate it internally, and what changed as a result?"

4. "What tools and technologies have you used to manage orders in the D2C space?"