Senior Manager / Associate Director – Service Excellence Full Time NEW

Role: Senior Manager / Associate Director Service Excellence

About Emeritus:

Emeritus is committed to teaching the skills of the future by making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies, and governments around the world. It does this by collaborating with more than 50 top-tier universities across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and China. Emeritus’ short courses, degree programs, professional certificates, and senior executive programs help individuals learn new skills and transform their lives, companies and organizations. Its unique model of state-of-the-art technology, curriculum innovation, and hands-on instruction from senior faculty, mentors and coaches has educated more than 250,000 individuals across 80+ countries.

Founded in 2015, Emeritus, part of Eruditus Group, has more than 2,000 employees globally and offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore, Palo Alto, Mexico City, New York, Boston, London, and Dubai. Following its $650 million Series E funding round in August 2021, the Company is valued at $3.2 billion, and is backed by Accel, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Leeds Illuminate, Prosus Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, and Bertelsmann.

Role Summary:

The service delivery & admission function is directly responsible for managing customer experience (B2C) across four key processes LMS Management, Webinar Management, Program Support and Admissions. There is a constant need to innovate and automate processes and touchpoints for enhancing learner experience, process efficiency, and data security.

We are looking for a Service Excellence leader responsible for leading Quality Assurance, Quality Control team, Continuous Improvement (Lean Management) and Training/Knowledge Management – while primary focus will remain on Quality Assurance. We have 4 verticals in services delivery for which quality management (LMS Management, Webinar Management, Admission and Program Support). The candidate is expected to have hands on experience in leading a team responsible for process design & re-engineering, driving change, process automations & audits. The candidate must have exhibit passion for creative problem solving, collaboration, persuasion abilities and business acumen.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Planning & Execution:

• To decide vertical priorities based on multiple factors such organization strategy, functional goals, current challenges etc.
• Own end-to-end execution of strategic initiatives from problem identification through requirements definition and solution implementation. It includes both long-term projects as well as daily ad hoc items that arise and require oversight and problem solving.
• Expected to work on tactical and strategic projects that align and advance the vision driving best-in-class learner experience and optimized cost to serve.
• Partner with business teams to understand their unique needs and processes and to streamline them in a way that enhances controls, create efficiencies, and drives business growth
• Conduct risk assessment for all processes, work towards minimizing risks/ mitigation.
• Follow DMAIC or any other proven approach for project(s) execution.
• Align teams for ascertaining business cases, business requirements, use cases and looking for policy and automation possibilities
• Spearhead change proposals (process, policy, scope, automations) discussion with business teams and obtain stakeholders’. Develop compelling justifications and data facts for stakeholder consideration.
• Design and implement communication strategy and control structure to ensure all stakeholders are involved in and aware of key business change activities (system, process, policy, oversight, training)
• Create key management presentations for various audiences that articulate our strategic initiatives and accomplishments
• Ensure end to end deployment of improvement projects including but not limited to root cause analysis, process documentation, process & policy approval, business case development and approval, project deployment, testing, training on new SOP, MIS & reporting, project efficacy report publish.

Process Design & Re-engineering

• Collaborate to develop various policies relates to function/ process
• Support ISO team with process & SOP documentation ISO project; and facilitiation of ISO Audits
• Define SOP, CTQs and Definitions for against core process.
• Identify opportunities basis top escalations, and business annual plans
• Map inter-process dependency.
• Develop SOP and obtain stakeholder sign-off for new / change process.
• Identify process risk pre and post process redesign.
• Identify efficiency, optimization opportunities and non value adding steps in all process.
• Maintain version control for all process & SOPs
• Conduct Half yearly/ Annual analysis like SWOT, PESTEL etc.

Governance & Compliance Audit

• Define CTQs of all critical processes
• Maintain repository of relevant compliance process & SOPS
• Liaison with Data Protection Officer, Legal Dept, Finance, etc for interpretation, deployment and training on compliance obligations.
• Maintain repository of all compliance articles and legal references
• Design audit format for governance and compliance audits
• Conduct mystery audit of competition and cross-industries, to identify best practices and benchmark experiences

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Steer idea generation through various activities like R&R, brainstorming
• Maintain Knowledge bank for all best practices
• Conduct periodic training on quality standards for TLs/ QAs/ manager etc.
• Steer kaizan projects within SD & Admission, support various members in building resp. business case, root cause, project scope and benefits

Escalation Management

• Be responsible for round clock availability of a rapid response team for CEO escalation
• Expected to ensure learners are reached in time, and offered most optimal solutions
• Conduct swift root cause analysis in close coordination with cross functions
• Consult services deliver head, legal, finance, revenue head, data privacy or university partnership team on response to learners on sensitive matters.
• Draft response / summary for CEO and Schools on a said escalation.
• Maintain a corrective action register and drive changes to ensure no repetition of identified errors.

Quality & Training

• Establish Quality & Training framework
• Manpower planning for quality & training
• Plan and execute efficiency in quality through automation, smart sampling etc
• Periodically review quality check points based on escalations, changes in process & tech, business strategy
• Drive change management in the function
• Support & mentor kaizen projects from idea generation/ business case till project outcome report.

Core Competencies:

1. Persuasive leader: Ability to understand varies perspectives and interpersonal needs, builds self-awareness and works through conflicts constructively and appropriately.

2. Excellent Communicator: Ability to effectively communicate vision & strategy, create compelling statement.

3. Collaboration & Teamwork: Ability to seamlessly work with different teams. Should be a go getter and willing to proactive lead the teams through challenges & opportunities.

4. Pragmatic Quality Approach: Subject matter expert in effective use of quality tools and statisctis, with fine ability to balance between quality execution and function’s agility.

5. Problem Solving & Problem Prevention: Learns and uses strong problem-solving methodologies and tools, focuses on root cause analysis, and shows orientation towards problem prevention

6. Accountability: Focuses on results, takes initiative without direction, takes ownership for all work within scope, builds relationships and works across departments, functions, or areas of responsibility

Key Skills and Experience

• Must be Six Sigma Green belt/Black Belt with experience of running atleast 2 six sigma projects
• BPM/ COPC/ Project Management Certification are added advantage
• Min. 5 years of direct experience in leading excellence vertical in process re-engineering, audits and risk mitigation.
• Experience in B2C delivery (Customer facing) process preferred.
• Knowledge of contact center operations and touch point metrics
• Knowledge of MS Visio, MS Excel Lucid charts necessary
• Excellent written & verbal communication
• Proven analytical and problem solving ability
• Ability to deal with senior stakeholders
• Experience in ISO or process audits is added advantage

Other Requirements:

• Minimum Graduate
• Experience of working with a global company, a preference.

Emeritus provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

In press:

• https://inc42.com/buzz/edtech-startup-eruditus-fy23-revenue-crosses-inr-3000-cr-mark
• https://www.outlookbusiness.com/start-up/news/eruditus-secures-150-million-funding-for-ai-expansion-business-growth