Manager of Customer Service

Company Description

Veolia in North America is the top-ranked environmental company in the United States for three consecutive years, and the country’s largest private water operator and technology provider as well as hazardous waste and pollution treatment leader. It offers a full spectrum of water, waste, and energy management services, including water and wastewater treatment, commercial and hazardous waste collection and disposal, energy consulting and resource recovery. Veolia helps commercial, industrial, healthcare, higher education and municipality customers throughout North America. Headquartered in Boston, Veolia has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across North America.

Job Description

Position Purpose: 

The Manager of Customer Service, New York is responsible for the overall environment of the customer service office and walk-in payment center and will provide direct supervision to the New York Customer Service Supervisors. This spans across the call center, collections, billing, revenue integrity, and backoffice work. The Manager oversees the daily assignments in New York, assuring that all activities are performed in an efficient and professional manner, in order to maintain set metrics and key performance indicators tracked by the Director of Customer Service and Metering.

The incumbent is responsible for providing an enhanced customer experience by meeting targeted call center, backoffice, revenue integrity and collections metrics for over 100,000 customers. Provides daily direction and communication to employees so customer inquiries, field orders, regulatory complaints, and INCOME controls are all handled in a timely, efficient and knowledgeable manner. Reports to the Director of Customer Service and Metering.

This position will provide the leadership in standardizing business processes across the New York business units (including NY, Heritage Hills Water & Sewer, Forest Park, South County Sewer and Westchester Districts 1 & 2 , may support Owego and Rhode Island) to enhance the customer experience. The position will be responsible for developing and executing long-term strategies in accordance with Veolia’s overall customer strategy.

This position will be expected to identify and implement revenue assurance strategies that enhance the quality, integrity, efficiency, accuracy and timeliness of billed and collected revenues for the New York business units. They will establish an effective management control and reporting system that focuses on target attainment, financial control, billing integrity, cash flow optimization, ongoing productivity improvements and/or consistency and customer feedback that presents tangible and actionable information to ensure that the company continues to respond and adapt to existing and evolving customer expectations.

To be effective in this role, at a minimum the incumbent will need strong leadership skills, mature interpersonal skills, an analytical mindset and proven experience in financial budgeting and general accounting principles.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Promote and maintain a culture of safety first and ensure compliance with established safe working practices.
• Execute long-term strategies to enhance the customer experience and drive business performance while promoting Veolia as the water company of choice.
• Manage effective communication channels with both employees and management to deliver timely, consistent and relevant updates regarding performance, service development and public opinion.
• Oversee customer response systems, ensuring that best practices are identified and communicated, and technologies are deployed and used consistently to maximize performance in relation to customer emergency response 24/7.
• Develop and manage effective communication channels with both employees and management to deliver timely, consistent and relevant updates regarding performance service development and public opinion.
• Manage collection procedures and processes to diligently, and fairly pursue outstanding arrears and minimize write-offs.
• Enforce policies, procedures and controls that ensure regulatory compliance; revenue integrity and support the consistent delivery of exemplary service to customers.
• Manage controls and reporting system that gathers and presents tangible and actionable data to support target attainment, financial control, billing integrity, cash flow optimization and exemplary customer experience.
• Manage effective performance measurement and feedback channels for all employees under purview demonstrating an understanding of development needs and acknowledging key strengths.
• Track progress on all audit recommendations and actions through to resolution.
• Participate in due diligence, acquisition integration and any special projects as necessary.
• Establish and monitor annual goals for direct reports including quality call management.
• Manages all aspects of collections, including ensuring sustained reduction of the accounts receivable, work scheduling in the field and handles all collections driven initiatives.
• Review accounts requesting leak adjustments to make determinations and discuss cases with customers, and areas for future improvements.
• Ensure that all regulatory complaints are responded to in an efficient manner with a resolution that follows NYS PSC guideline and satisfies the customer to the best of our ability.
• Review and monitor “pending bills” in the billing system to make sure bills are being generated timely.
• Process all backoffice work timely and avoid estimating bills due to field work (i.e. meter change outs, radio device change outs).
• Monthly review of Top 200 users to make sure billing on time.
• Work closely with metering on Strategic Meter initiative to update the billing system in a timely manner.
• Work closely with the Planning and Metering Department to ensure all new properties are receiving bills in a timely manner.
• Test new rates in the billing system and assist the rates department with monitoring surcharges.
• Ensure staff review and work with the metering department on the zero consumption, vacant properties with consumption and consecutive estimate reports.
• Managing bill segment “to do’s” in the billing system to make sure staff are working them timely.
• Comply with all INCOME, regulatory and tariff processes and procedures.
• Assist the Director of Customer Operations with ongoing projects for improving the customer experience (i.e. CC&B Upgrades, Web Upgrades, etc.).
• Work closely with Local Union Officials and unit bargaining employees for discipline and disputes.
• Work closely with the Director of Customer Operations on targeted acquisitions and getting data into the billing system.

Qualifications

Education/Experience/Background: 

• Bachelor’s Degree or 10 years of experience managing a team.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in Call Center Management and/or billing, collections and metering operations preferably in Regulated Utility.
• Project Management experience in relation to system development and implementation.
• Significant technical expertise and experience required as it relates to internal control structure, policies, procedures and compliance.
• In direct supervision of union workforce.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: 

• Demonstrated ability to deal with customers, clients and regulators in a courteous, professional and diplomatic manner.
• Knowledge of cash management operations.
• Leadership qualities needed to motivate and direct staff.
• Ability to multitask, handling multiple deadlines and projects.
• Strong oral, written, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to prepare written technical reports and interact effectively and diplomatically with management and / or bargaining unit employees as well as regulators, consultants, municipal officials, health officers, customers, contractors, and the general public.
• Familiarity with computer applications i.e. Excel, Word, CC&B, Clevest, Infor, PeopleSoft, and Google applications etc.
• Must be able to work under stressful conditions and must use sound business logic to make quick and concise decisions.

Required Certification/Licenses/Training: 

• Valid Driver’s License.

Additional Information

Pay Ratee: $90000 to $110000 per year.

Benefits: Veolia’s comprehensive benefits package includes paid time off policies, as well as health, dental, vision, life insurance, savings accounts, tuition reimbursement, paid volunteering and more. In addition, employees are also entitled to participate in an employer sponsored 401(k) plan, to save for retirement.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer! All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.