Escalation Manager - Customer Care Centers

Bank OZK•Little Rock, AR

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Leads day-to-day management of the escalation queue, providing real-time decision support on complex and high-risk interactions. The role ensures escalations are handled consistently, properly documented, and aligned with financial crimes standards, including identification and reporting of suspicious activity. Partners with Customer Care leadership and Financial Crimes Risk Management to support sound risk management practices and reinforces fraud-aware call handling.

Requirements

Ability to utilize discretion and sound judgment in decision-making.
Strong decision-making ability in escalated customer interactions.
Ability to demonstrate excellent and customer service skills, balancing customer experience with risk controls.
Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with the ability to provide calm, clear, direction during live escalations.
Strong documentation discipline and ability to reinforce procedural adherence.
Ability to maintain confidentiality
Ability to demonstrate accuracy, thoroughness, and attention to detail.
Ability to demonstrate effective interpersonal skills to build collaborative work relationships and create a team environment
High school diploma or equivalent required; Bachelor’s degree in business or relevant field preferred.
5+ years of work experience in a call center, customer service, banking operations, and/or retail banking environment required.
2+ years of work experience in contact center risk support, fraud servicing, or escalations required.
1+ year experience leading or influencing frontline teams through coaching, real-time guidance, and process reinforcement required.
Operate customary equipment and technology used in a business environment, with or without accommodation.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in business or relevant field preferred.

Responsibilities

Responsible for the Customer Care Escalation Queue, providing guidance and decision support to ensure responses align with established standards, with a focus on consistent decisioning, clear accountability, and disciplined follow-through.
Support improved escalation outcomes by coaching on-the-spot during live escalations and ensuring the escalation pathway is used appropriately.
Reinforce Customer Care standards for identifying and responding to unusual activity, including the requirement to submit an Unusual Incident Report (UIR) when appropriate.
Ensure escalated cases are handled with appropriate documentation expectations and handoffs, including escalation to leadership and/or Financial Crimes Risk Management resources when required by procedure.
Partners with stakeholders to continuously improve processes and refine procedures in response to evolving risk.
Prepares and delivers reporting on escalation activity, trends, and outcomes to support leadership visibility and decision-making.
Coordinates with cross-functional partners to resolve complex escalations and ensure alignment with operational, compliance, and risk requirements.
Responsible for hiring, developing, coaching, leading, and retaining top talent capable of high-level performance in their respective positions.
Performs other duties as assigned.