Lead, Customer Advocacy

Affirm

11h•CA$89,000 - CA$139,000•Remote

About The Position

Affirm’s Customer Advocacy and Retention (CAR) team houses our customer advocacy experts. When customers share their most challenging experiences with Affirm, the CAR team provides critical insight into the breaking points of our products, processes, and policies. By championing these customers, we use their voices to improve the customer experience, deliver fair outcomes, and repair relationships. As a Customer Advocacy Lead, you will serve as the Voice of Affirm - leveraging deep service and product expertise to resolve highly complex complaints while leading a team of Customer Advocacy Associates. The team facilitates coordination across cross-functional partners to identify root causes, assess complaint validity, and determine appropriate, compliant resolutions. Beyond individual case resolution, this role owns key components of Affirm’s complaints and customer advocacy ecosystem, including quality assurance operations, escalation management, and vendor performance. You will act as a critical operational leader across internal and external partners - proactively identifying risks, removing bottlenecks, and driving scalable solutions that improve service levels, reduce complaint rates, and increase customer satisfaction. This role requires navigating complex, cross-functional challenges and leading initiatives that enhance both customer outcomes and operational effectiveness at scale.

Requirements

Experience as a people manager with a track record of building high-performing teams
Strong ownership mindset with the ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives
Deep commitment to customer-centric solutions and fair, empathetic outcomes
Data-driven decision maker with strong analytical and critical thinking skills
Process improvement mindset with strong operational rigor
Ability to influence and drive alignment across multiple stakeholders
Sound judgment and accountability when handling sensitive, high-risk issues
Experience managing external vendors, BPOs, or third-party partners (or similar)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex topics clearly and concisely
5+ years of people management experience in a customer operations or service delivery environment with a Bachelor’s degree; OR 3+ years with a Master’s degree; or no experience with a PhD; or equivalent experience
3+ years of experience in customer support, service delivery, or complaint resolution
Experience managing vendors, BPOs, or external partners
Experience owning multi-domain operational functions (e.g., QA, escalations, service delivery)
Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives and drive measurable outcomes
Strong operational mindset with experience managing SLAs, KPIs, and service performance
Ability to operate independently and drive execution with minimal oversight
Resilience and ability to navigate ambiguity, complexity, and high-pressure situations
Collaborative mindset with strong stakeholder management skills
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with attention to detail, tone, and clarity
Strong customer empathy and a passion for improving customer outcomes
Proactive thinker with a continuous improvement mindset

Responsibilities

Lead and develop a high-performing team
Manage, coach, and develop a team of Customer Advocacy Associates
Drive team performance using key metrics such as productivity, quality, customer outcomes, and service levels
Foster a high-performing, engaged team environment that operates effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment
Partner with recruiting to hire, onboard, and retain top talent
Deliver exceptional customer outcomes
Resolve complex and highly escalated customer complaints with efficiency, empathy, and sound judgment
Review and respond to sensitive, high-risk complaints, reinforcing and shaping the “Voice of Affirm”
Communicate with customers across channels, including email and phone, as appropriate
Represent and advocate for the complaints function in cross-functional forums to ensure consistent, high-quality customer experiences
Own operational excellence across internal and external partners
Own QA operations and processes, ensuring consistent, high-quality complaint handling across the team
Evolve QA frameworks to maintain depth, rigor, and scalability as the organization grows
Own vendor performance and accountability for third-party complaint handling, ensuring alignment with Affirm standards for quality, compliance, and customer experience
Establish and monitor service level expectations (SLAs/KPIs), proactively identifying risks and driving corrective actions
Oversee internal escalation workflows and act as a point of escalation for the most complex and sensitive issues
Establish scalable support models and coverage strategies to maintain service levels during periods of fluctuating volume or constrained bandwidth
Own capacity planning and resource allocation across internal teams, vendors, and contractors
Manage and oversee contractors supporting the CAR team to ensure consistent performance and coverage
Drive cross-functional impact
Lead complex, cross-functional initiatives across teams such as Vendor Partners, Compliance, Legal, Risk, Product, and Communications
Act as the primary operational interface with partner teams to improve intake quality, routing accuracy, and escalation effectiveness
Remove operational bottlenecks and drive alignment on processes, tooling, and customer experience standards
Influence product, policy, and process improvements based on customer insights and complaint trends
Drive continuous improvement at scale
Analyze complaint data to identify trends, root causes, and opportunities for systemic improvement
Deliver measurable impact by reducing complaint rates and improving customer satisfaction
Drive remediation of thematic issues through strong cross-functional collaboration
Continuously improve the internal complaints management program, tools, and workflows
Identify emerging risks, operational gaps, and service-level challenges, and drive end-to-end solutions with minimal direction
Improve customer-facing resources and education to streamline service and reduce friction
Grow your financial services expertise
Serve as a subject matter expert on Affirm’s products, servicing processes, and applicable regulatory requirements
Stay informed on evolving consumer finance policies and industry trends