Manager, Customer Operations - Parts

Location: Onsite | Relocation Assistance Available

About the Opportunity

Our client is a leading industrial manufacturing organization with a long-standing reputation for delivering innovative equipment, aftermarket parts, and customer support solutions to customers across North America and international markets. Due to a planned leadership transition, the company is seeking a Manager, Customer Operations to oversee a critical customer-facing function within its Parts business.

This position represents an outstanding opportunity for a hands-on leader who thrives at the intersection of customer service, commercial operations, inside sales support, and team development. The successful candidate will lead a high-performing team while helping drive operational performance, customer satisfaction, and business growth.

The organization is looking for an individual who can quickly establish credibility, create accountability, improve processes, and support both customers and the field sales organization. This is a highly visible leadership role with direct impact on revenue generation, customer retention, operational execution, and overall business performance.

Position Overview

The Manager, Customer Operations will be responsible for leading the daily activities of a customer operations and inside sales support team serving a large customer base throughout North America and beyond. This leader will work closely with field sales representatives, dealers, customers, engineering teams, manufacturing operations, purchasing, supply chain, finance, and executive leadership to ensure exceptional service and operational excellence.

The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership with commercial acumen and operational discipline. They possess the ability to coach and develop employees while maintaining a relentless focus on customer satisfaction, responsiveness, process efficiency, and measurable business outcomes.

This individual will serve as a key liaison between customers, sales teams, and internal departments while ensuring all orders, quotations, customer requests, and operational activities are executed efficiently and professionally.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a team of customer operations professionals.
• Create a culture of accountability, urgency, collaboration, and customer focus.
• Conduct employee performance evaluations and development planning.
• Provide ongoing training and coaching to improve individual and team performance.
• Establish clear goals, expectations, and performance metrics.
• Foster a positive and collaborative work environment focused on continuous improvement.
• Manage staffing, scheduling, workload balancing, overtime, and employee development initiatives.

Customer Operations Management

• Oversee the day-to-day execution of customer operations activities.
• Ensure efficient processing of customer orders, inquiries, requests, and quotations.
• Monitor customer interactions to ensure a high level of responsiveness and professionalism.
• Drive customer satisfaction through exceptional service delivery and relationship management.
• Manage customer escalations and complex service-related matters.
• Ensure effective communication between customers and internal stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to improve the customer experience and streamline business processes.

Commercial & Sales Support

• Partner closely with a large field sales organization to support revenue growth and customer retention.
• Assist sales teams by ensuring timely quote generation, order management, and issue resolution.
• Support key customer relationships and strategic accounts.
• Work collaboratively with dealers, distributors, and channel partners.
• Help improve quote conversion rates and sales support effectiveness.
• Align customer operations activities with broader commercial objectives.
• Drive operational support initiatives that positively impact sales performance and profitability.

KPI & Performance Management

• Develop, monitor, and manage key operational and commercial metrics.
• Analyze data and reporting to identify trends, opportunities, and performance gaps.
• Drive improvements in operational efficiency and service delivery.
• Monitor business performance through dashboards and reporting tools.
• Ensure data accuracy and reporting consistency.
• Establish accountability around performance goals and service level expectations.
• Utilize data-driven decision making to improve customer outcomes and business performance.

Order Management & Logistics Coordination

• Oversee order entry, order fulfillment, and customer communication processes.
• Ensure accurate order tracking, tracing, and shipment coordination.
• Partner with logistics, warehouse, and shipping teams to ensure timely product delivery.
• Manage transportation coordination including parcel, LTL, air freight, and specialized shipments.
• Support warranty administration, returns processing, and customer issue resolution.
• Ensure compliance with internal procedures and quality standards.

Financial & Business Performance

• Contribute to departmental budgeting and profitability objectives.
• Monitor operational costs and support margin improvement initiatives.
• Ensure efficient utilization of resources while maintaining service excellence.
• Support business planning and operational strategy discussions.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity and drive sustainable growth.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Accounting, Inventory, Shipping, Logistics, and Executive Leadership teams.
• Act as a central point of communication across multiple departments.
• Ensure alignment between customer expectations and operational execution.
• Support strategic initiatives and process improvement efforts.
• Drive collaboration to resolve complex customer and operational challenges.

Industry & Customer Engagement

• Participate in customer visits, industry events, conferences, trade shows, and training programs.
• Build strong relationships with customers and channel partners.
• Represent the organization in a professional and customer-focused manner.
• Develop a thorough understanding of customer needs and market dynamics.

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of experience in customer service, customer operations, inside sales, sales support, account management, commercial operations, branch operations, or related leadership roles.
• Demonstrated people leadership experience with responsibility for coaching, mentoring, and developing employees.
• Proven success managing customer-facing teams and business operations.
• Experience supporting field sales organizations and commercial teams.
• Strong customer relationship management skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication abilities.
• Experience managing KPIs, performance metrics, reporting, and operational dashboards.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment while balancing multiple priorities.
• Strong organizational, planning, and time management skills.
• Ability to work effectively across multiple departments and levels of an organization.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and business reporting tools.

Preferred

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience within industrial manufacturing, industrial distribution, mechanical products, heavy equipment, aftermarket parts, construction equipment, engineered products, or related industries.
• Previous experience managing inside sales teams, customer support teams, parts operations teams, or commercial operations functions.
• Budget ownership and profitability management experience.
• Experience working with dealer or distributor networks.
• Exposure to technical products, machinery, equipment, components, or industrial systems.
• Ability to interpret technical specifications, schematics, or drawings.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a commercially minded leader who began their career in a customer-facing or sales-oriented role and successfully progressed into management. They understand how to lead teams, support customers, drive operational performance, and collaborate effectively with sales organizations.

Successful candidates may currently hold titles such as:

• Customer Operations Manager
• Customer Service Manager
• Inside Sales Manager
• Sales Support Manager
• Commercial Operations Manager
• Branch Manager
• Parts Manager
• Service Manager
• Distribution Manager
• Operations Manager
• Aftermarket Parts Manager
• Customer Experience Manager
• Regional Customer Service Manager

They are known for driving accountability, building strong teams, improving processes, and creating exceptional customer experiences.

Why Join?

• High-visibility leadership opportunity.
• Established and respected industrial manufacturing organization.
• Significant impact on customer experience and business performance.
• Opportunity to lead and develop an experienced team.
• Direct involvement with commercial, operational, and strategic initiatives.
• Collaborative leadership team and strong organizational culture.
• Long-term career growth potential within a stable and growing business.
• Relocation assistance available for qualified candidates.

If you are a customer-focused leader with a passion for team development, operational excellence, and commercial success, we encourage you to apply.