Director of Customer Service Operations

Nebraska Furniture Mart•Omaha, NE

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

NFM’s Director of Customer Service Operations leads enterprise customer care operations across voice and digital channels, ensuring an exceptional, consistent customer experience while delivering operational efficiency and strong employee engagement. This role sets strategy and drives execution for contact center performance, workforce planning, quality, training, and customer resolution—while leading transformational change (technology modernization, AI enablement, and evolving work models) across a large, distributed team. Expands and optimizes digital channels (chat, email, social) and AI-enabled self-service to improve customer outcomes while lowering cost-to-serve. This is a strategic “build a durable contact center” role: the Director establishes the operating model, capabilities, and continuous-improvement engine that scale with business growth and change—not just day-to-day supervision. Strategically owns the customer care operating model, technology and AI roadmap, and change leadership required to build a durable, scalable model that increases capacity without adding headcount. Holds decision rights for customer care capabilities and vendor choices supporting the operation, in partnership with IT for delivery. Partners cross-functionally with Stores, Ecommerce, Supply Chain, IT, Product, and Finance to eliminate upstream drivers of contact volume and deliver measurable customer and cost-to-serve outcomes. This is position requires the candidate to reside in NE, IA, MO, KS, TX. The candidate must live in commuting distance to one of our locations. In addition, recurring travel is required to all locations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, Operations, Analytics, or related field (or equivalent experience)
5+ years leading leaders in a large-scale environment (150+ headcount; multi-shift and/or distributed workforce preferred)
Demonstrated success leading major operational change (technology implementations, org redesign, workflow transformation) with measurable adoption and outcomes
Strong knowledge of contact center performance management (service levels, FCR, AHT, QA/QM, staffing/WFM, cost metrics) and executive reporting
Experience managing budgets and influencing cross-functional stakeholders at senior levels
Strong analytical, communication, and executive storytelling skills
Work location: on-site/hybrid/remote eligibility depends on business need; travel between sites may be required
Valid driver’s license and ongoing acceptable driving record
Computer knowledge to include Microsoft Office Applications
Ability to work nights, weekends and/or early morning hours based on business needs
Pre-employment screening includes, but is not limited to, a criminal background check

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree
Certifications: PMP, Agile/Scrum, Lean/Six Sigma, COPC, ICMI/HDI, or similar.
Experience implementing AI-enabled customer service capabilities and establishing responsible AI governance (privacy, bias, monitoring)
Retail, omnichannel, or high-volume consumer operations background; seasonal/surge planning experience
Experience managing third-party partners and hybrid labor models

Responsibilities

Lead leaders (managers/supervisors) and influence frontline culture across a distributed workforce.
Create clarity and accountability through goal setting, performance standards, leader routines, and talent expectations
Define and execute a multi-year customer care strategy aligned to company goals, customer expectations, and brand
Design the contact center operating model (org structure, roles, channel strategy, decision rights, and routines) to be resilient through change
Own forecasting, staffing strategy, shrinkage management, scheduling, real-time performance, and capacity planning across channels
Partner with Finance/HR to align staffing plans with budget and long-range planning; ensure plans balance service level with financial stewardship
Own end-to-end quality programs (calibration, coaching, QA/QM design) and customer feedback systems (VOC, complaint themes)
Oversee escalations and formal complaints, ensuring fair, timely, and consistent resolution; partner with Legal/Compliance as needed
Own functional requirements, prioritization, and vendor management for the customer care tech stack (e.g., telephony/CCaaS, CRM/case management, knowledge, WFM, QA/QM, analytics), including direct partnerships with key providers (e.g., Cisco, Calabrio). Partner with IT/Product for implementation and technical delivery
Lead responsible adoption of AI and automation (agent assist, summarization, self-service, routing, analytics) with governance, training, and controls
Sponsor and/or lead complex, cross-functional programs using formal program management disciplines (scope, timeline, risks, dependencies, benefits realization)
Drive change management plans: stakeholder mapping, communications, leader enablement, training, adoption measurement, and reinforcement
Manage labor and non-labor budgets; optimize spend and productivity while protecting customer experience
Manage and negotiate vendor relationships and contracts including performance reviews, renewals, and SLAs
Ensure compliance with relevant policies, regulatory requirements, and data/privacy/security standards for customer interactions and recordings
Support audit readiness and incident response; ensure controls exist for customer data handling and AI/automation usage

Benefits

Same day pay - access to your earned pay on-demand, when you need it the most
Competitive pay - generous annual increases up to 7%
Inclusive culture – Because everyone who works or shops at NFM should feel right at home
Health, dental, vision, life Insurance, short and long term disability
Paid holidays (upon hire) and paid time off (after 90 days)
Staff discount on merchandise (Collectively, NFM staff have saved almost $2 million on purchases in the last 12 months)
Virtual and in-person career development opportunities at all levels
Paid community volunteer opportunities
Tuition Reimbursement
You’ll start saving for your retirement immediately in NFM’s 401(k) and you’re eligible for company match after one year. NFM’s 401(k) also offers Berkshire Stock as an investment option