Associate Program Manager - Operations

About the Role

We seek a seasoned Associate Program Manager to oversee BPM operations, emphasizing client delivery, operational metrics, cost control, people leadership, SLA enforcement, and processes for continual enhancement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage large-scale international BPO or creative operations involving over 200 personnel.
• Ensure operational excellence through oversight of service delivery, productivity, quality standards, turnaround times, and client satisfaction levels.
• Meet and surpass defined SLAs, KPIs, productivity benchmarks, and quality goals.
• Conduct regular operational reviews daily, weekly, and monthly with both internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Handle client communications and governance forums, lead business reviews, and address escalations promptly.
• Serve as the main escalation contact for critical operational or client-related challenges.
• Utilize advanced metrics, MIS, operational reports, and dashboards for accurate business analytics.
• Monitor key performance indicators such as productivity, utilization, SLA adherence, quality, capacity, attrition, absenteeism, cost per transaction, revenue, margins, resource deployment, and forecast accuracy.
• Convert operational data into actionable insights to support business decisions and prepare comprehensive business review presentations.
• Drive cost management, optimize manpower use, manage capacity planning and resource allocation.
• Collaborate with finance and business units on budgeting, forecasting, and cost control efforts while aiming to enhance profit margins without sacrificing service quality.
• Provide strong leadership to a large team of over 200 employees, mentoring managers and team leaders while fostering a pipeline of capable leaders.
• Promote employee engagement, oversee performance evaluations, capability enhancements, succession planning, and implement retention strategies.
• Advocate a culture centered on accountability, ownership, customer focus, and ongoing improvement.
• Manage or assist operations in creative domains such as graphic design, digital content, marketing materials, and multimedia content production.
• Understand creative workflows, capacity needs, quality benchmarks, and delivery schedules.
• Collaborate closely with creative teams, project managers, and clients to ensure timely, quality output aligned with SLAs and cost objectives.
• Identify inefficiencies and champion initiatives that improve process efficiency including Lean or Six Sigma methodologies and automation.
• Standardize operational processes, workflows, and reporting practices to ensure uniform performance across teams.
• Emphasize a data-driven operational culture that prioritizes measurable business results.

Professional Experience & Skills

• Minimum 12 years of overall experience, ideally in International BPO/ITES operations.
• At least 5 years in senior leadership roles demanding strategic thinking and people management.
• Proven track record managing more than 200 staff members in large-scale operations.
• Strong experience managing client delivery and handling international clients.
• Thorough knowledge of SLA, KPI, productivity, quality control, and operational governance.
• Excellent numerical and analytical abilities with hands-on expertise in MIS, dashboard creation, reporting, and performance tracking.
• Experienced in cost oversight, capacity planning, and optimizing resource use.
• Skilled in managing client escalations and resolving complex operational problems efficiently.
• Strong communication proficiencies alongside stakeholder and team leadership capabilities.
• Ability to translate data analytics into strategic business decisions.
• Advantageous to have exposure to creative or digital content operations.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint, and various reporting/dashboard tools.
• Experience coordinating with global clients and leading geographically dispersed teams.

Core Competencies

Operational Leadership, Client Relationship Management, People Management, Cost Control, SLA & KPI Compliance, MIS & Reporting, Data Analytics, Capacity & Productivity Management, Escalation Handling, Continuous Improvement, Creative Operations Oversight, Strategic Planning, Stakeholder Engagement.

Success Metrics

• Consistent SLA and turnaround time adherence.
• High productivity and effective utilization rates.
• Exemplary quality standards.
• Improving cost efficiency and profit margins.
• Enhanced client satisfaction and retention.
• Low attrition rates with strong employee engagement.
• Effective capacity utilization aligned with business goals.
• Revenue growth and streamlined operational efficiency.
• Measurable outcomes from continuous improvement efforts.

Work Environment

This is an office-based position located in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. On-site leadership with active stakeholder engagement is mandatory.