Sr. Director Call Center

Ariat•San Leandro, CA

22h•Hybrid

About The Position

Ariat is seeking a skilled Senior Director, Call Center who runs the team and the technology that turns customer questions into loyalty, builds a service culture that sounds unmistakably like the brand, and translates what customers say into sharper products, smoother journeys, and smarter operations. It’s a high-visibility seat with a direct line to the executive team and real influence on what the company makes and how it shows up. This role requires periodic travel between offices and third-party partner sites, with occasional availability outside standard hours during peak periods or escalations. It’s a highly cross-functional seat with regular access to senior leadership. You’ll Make a Difference By Strategy and team leadership Setting the vision for a multi-channel service organization and bringing it to life through the managers and supervisors they develop. Building a player-coach culture where leaders step into the queue during peak periods and where every rep can articulate the brand voice in their own words. Day-to-day operations Runing inbound and omnichannel support against clear service-level, response-time, and quality standards. Owning workforce planning, scheduling, and capacity forecasting. Choosing, deploying, and tuning the technology stack — CRM, telephony, WFM, knowledge base, AI assist — so the team has tools worth using. Performance and analytics Defining the KPIs that matter (CSAT, AHT, FCR, SLA, engagement, retention), building the dashboards that surface them, and presenting the story to executive leadership. Turning data into accountability frameworks that move numbers without burning out the team. Customer experience Setting the bar for every interaction, personally handling escalations and critical incidents, and partnering with Marketing, E-commerce, Product, and Operations to fix root causes — not just tickets. Financial stewardship Building and managing the operating budget. Making defensible calls on insourcing vs. outsourcing, headcount vs. automation, and which tools are earning their keep. Compliance and quality Keeping the organization square with regulatory requirements, data privacy, and internal policy. Running the QA program and call-monitoring process that keep quality consistent at scale. Assisting with other responsibilities based on business needs.

Requirements

8–12+ years in call center or customer service operations, including 5+ years leading teams in a multi-channel contact center
A bachelor’s degree in business, communications, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
Fluency with the modern contact-center stack: CRM, Salesforce, SAP, Five9, Zoom, and workforce management platforms
A track record of leading change — digital transformation, AI-assisted support, or a meaningful operational turnaround
Strong instincts for e-commerce customer behavior and the quirks of footwear, apparel, and accessories (fit, sizing variability across categories, returns)
Data-driven decision-making paired with the practicality to actually execute
Communication and stakeholder skills that work equally well with a frontline rep, a peer VP, or the CEO

Responsibilities

Setting the vision for a multi-channel service organization and bringing it to life through the managers and supervisors they develop.
Building a player-coach culture where leaders step into the queue during peak periods and where every rep can articulate the brand voice in their own words.
Running inbound and omnichannel support against clear service-level, response-time, and quality standards.
Owning workforce planning, scheduling, and capacity forecasting.
Choosing, deploying, and tuning the technology stack — CRM, telephony, WFM, knowledge base, AI assist — so the team has tools worth using.
Defining the KPIs that matter (CSAT, AHT, FCR, SLA, engagement, retention), building the dashboards that surface them, and presenting the story to executive leadership.
Turning data into accountability frameworks that move numbers without burning out the team.
Setting the bar for every interaction, personally handling escalations and critical incidents, and partnering with Marketing, E-commerce, Product, and Operations to fix root causes — not just tickets.
Building and managing the operating budget.
Making defensible calls on insourcing vs. outsourcing, headcount vs. automation, and which tools are earning their keep.
Keeping the organization square with regulatory requirements, data privacy, and internal policy.
Running the QA program and call-monitoring process that keep quality consistent at scale.
Assisting with other responsibilities based on business needs.