VP- Global Services & Customer Care Full Time

INTRODUCTION:

University of the People (UoPeople) is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited, 100% online university. Today, UoPeople has over 170,000 students enrolled from more than 200 countries and territories, including 18,800 students who are refugees. UoPeople is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC).

We believe that higher education is a basic human right and that it can transform not only the lives of students, but also their families’ lives, their communities, their nations, and, by extension, the world. See President Reshef’s TED talk when he announced the founding of the University.[ TED talk ]

UoPeople is an innovative university, and we welcome team members who bring creativity and innovation to their roles. We’re a fast-paced organization with remote teams all around the globe. If you’re a self-starter who wants to succeed alongside a passionate team, we’d love to hear from you!

UoPeople is supported by the generosity of individuals and foundations, including the Gates, Hewlett, Ford Foundations, Fondation Hoffmann, and others. The University has been covered by the New York Times, BBC, NPR, Times Higher Education, US News and World Report, and more. President Reshef’s TED Talk and Nas Daily interview about the University have 30 million views combined.

Overview:

We are hiring a VP, Global Services & Customer Care to lead and scale our global student services organization, ensuring high quality, efficient, and student centric support across the entire student lifecycle. This role will lead a large scale global operations function focused on service excellence, operational efficiency, and continuous improvement. Technology and AI enabled solutions will be leveraged to strengthen customer care delivery, improve responsiveness, and enhance the overall student experience.

The leader will oversee:

· Admissions operations

· Student services

· Financial aid support

· Academic support operations

· Customer care and engagement platforms

The ideal candidate comes from large scale B2C customer operations environments, with experience leading global teams, driving service excellence, and improving customer experience outcomes. Exposure to technology and AI in customer care environments is important, with the ability to apply these as enablers of scale, efficiency, and quality.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

▪ Lead global service teams, oversee regional leaders, and ensure consistent, high quality service delivery across geographies while building scalable processes to support growth

▪ Drive improvements in the end to end student journey from admissions through graduation, enhancing response time, resolution quality, student satisfaction, and retention

▪ Establish performance frameworks and monitor key service metrics, using data insights to improve processes, efficiency, and service outcomes

▪ Build scalable operating models that balance service quality, efficiency, and growth across a global student base

▪ Drive organizational effectiveness through continuous improvement, adoption of modern operational practices, and alignment with institutional priorities

▪ Partner with senior leadership to shape service strategy, provide data driven insights, and support decision making across the organization

▪ Build and lead a high performing global organization, develop leadership capability, and foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and student centricity

▪ Leverage technology and AI tools such as conversational AI, workflow automation, intelligent routing, and knowledge systems to enhance customer care delivery

▪ Ensure automation improves efficiency while maintaining a strong human experience and service quality

▪ Partner with technology teams to optimize platforms and ensure responsible and effective use of AI within customer care operations

Key Competencies and Qualifications

▪ Fifteen to twenty years of leadership experience in global B2C operations or customer service organizations with strong experience managing large scale customer care environments

▪ Proven ability to scale operations in high growth environments, with strong operational leadership and experience managing large, complex, and geographically distributed teams

▪ Exposure to technology enabled customer service and AI driven tools, along with strong stakeholder management and executive communication skills

▪ Preferred experience in EdTech, higher education, or large scale service organizations

▪ A bachelor’s degree in business, operations, engineering, or a related field is required, with an MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred and demonstrated success in leading global service operations

Executive Role Scope and Leadership Impact

The VP, Global Services & Customer Care leads a critical global function delivering high quality, scalable student services supported by technology and AI enabled capabilities. The role oversees a global operations organization of approximately 300 employees across multiple regions and manages a significant budget covering staffing, platforms, AI tools, and vendors.

The position influences operational strategy, service delivery models, customer care technology and AI enablement, workforce planning, and vendor decisions, playing a key role in shaping global service delivery while enhancing efficiency and student experience through customer care excellence.