General Manager, Customer Experience at SBM Bank

Job Purpose

The job holder will drive customer-centricity awareness and a "customer first" culture; manage the strategic delivery of Customer Experience through all customer touchpoints, channels, and business units; and implement collaborative action plans to enhance customer-centricity awareness. The role also provides executive leadership and advocacy for Customer Experience within SBM Bank Kenya.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Experience Strategy and Implementation (20%)

• Develop and implement Customer Experience business plans and strategies into relevant and productive day-to-day implementation plans and actions for service teams, ensuring execution of programs that provide outstanding customer experience and identifying improvement initiatives.
• Analyze and monitor service delivery across all customer touchpoints and develop strategies and recommendations to optimize service quality.
• Drive Net Promoter Score (NPS) initiatives to enhance Customer Experience and recommend service improvement areas.
• Identify opportunities for client-centric process improvements based on Root Cause Analysis (RCA), Voice of Customer (VoC), customer pain points (CPP), and drive improvements across the business.
• Analyze Voice of Customer (VoC) data and advise the business on potential risk areas while leveraging strengths for business development.
• Develop and monitor customer service performance indicators through qualitative, quantitative, and evaluation consistency reports within agreed timelines.
• Implement a customer-centric culture across cross-functional work processes to enable service excellence.
• Guide and support business process re-engineering and alignment with Customer Experience initiatives, including the Contact Centre.
• Develop a customer touchpoint strategy to ensure service consistency through Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and CRM deployment.
• Oversee service recovery by ensuring customer complaints are addressed and resolved within established standards.
• Analyze and identify process gaps affecting Customer Experience.
• Monitor Contact Centre operations to ensure optimal performance and recommend technology enhancements to maintain best-in-class service.
• Drive customer engagement initiatives to improve customer retention.
• Support root cause analysis and identify continuous improvement opportunities.
• Keep abreast of local and international Customer Experience best practices and recommend improvements across the Customer Experience function and the wider bank.

Feedback and Voice of Customer (VoC) Management (20%)

• Develop and implement robust customer feedback systems that capture the true voice of the customer across multiple touchpoints.
• Regularly analyze customer feedback to identify trends, pain points, and improvement opportunities.
• Utilize advanced analytics tools to gain deeper insights into customer sentiment and behavior.
• Cascade customer feedback insights to key stakeholders and develop actionable recommendations to drive continuous improvement.
• Close the customer feedback loop by ensuring timely responses and communicating actions taken to enhance transparency and trust.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate customer feedback into business decision-making.
• Serve as the customer advocate within the organization, ensuring customer needs and expectations remain a priority.
• Implement a continuous improvement framework to regularly review and enhance Voice of Customer initiatives.
• Stay informed on industry best practices and emerging trends in Customer Experience management.

Service Standards (20%)

• Develop, implement, and enforce comprehensive service standards across the organization to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery at every customer touchpoint.
• Design and implement service standards training programs in collaboration with HR to equip employees with the skills and knowledge required to exceed customer expectations.
• Monitor and evaluate adherence to service standards through performance metrics and regular assessments, identifying improvement opportunities and recognizing excellence.
• Incorporate customer feedback into service standards by continuously refining standards to align with customer expectations.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives by implementing industry best practices and emerging Customer Experience trends.

Compliance and Risk (10%)

• Prepare CBK regulatory reports, ensure compliance with Prudential Guidelines, and meet all other regulatory reporting requirements.
• Develop and monitor interdepartmental SLA frameworks and track adherence.
• Ensure effective controls covering complaints management, service quality, and key Customer Experience requirements, while identifying, tracking, and closing control gaps.
• Monitor Risk and Control Self-Assessments (RCSA) and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) to ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks and internal risk commitments.
• Conduct end-to-end process reviews, thematic assessments, deep dives, and control environment evaluations covering complaints management, service quality, and customer touchpoints.

Financial (20%)

• Implement profitable customer retention strategies while identifying opportunities for business growth throughout the customer lifecycle.
• Design a robust, data-driven customer engagement and insights framework to improve Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and increase product uptake.
• Utilize customer insights and churn analysis to develop customer win-back strategies.
• Partner with business units to deliver campaigns and initiatives that support business growth.
• Drive service-to-sales initiatives to increase cross-selling opportunities.

Staff Development (10%)

• Provide training and performance coaching for Customer Experience staff, including onboarding new employees, while ensuring effective succession planning and talent development.
• Ensure departmental objectives are achieved through a highly motivated and engaged team by providing regular feedback, coaching, and performance reviews that support employee engagement, talent retention, and business performance.
• Liaise with HR, Training, and Development to design and implement comprehensive Customer Experience training programs that build internal capability to deliver world-class customer experience.

Key Relationships

Direct Reports

• Contact Centre Manager
• Service Experience Manager
• Branch Quality Assurance Manager

Internal and External Customers

• External Clients
• All Departments within the Bank

Knowledge Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years' experience in a banking environment.
• At least 5 years' experience in a leadership or managerial Customer Experience role.
• Previous experience managing teams and service improvement projects.
• Bachelor's degree.
• Previous experience in Contact Centre Operations.

Competencies Required

• Deciding and Initiating Action
• Adhering to Principles and Values
• Delivering Results and Meeting Customer Expectations
• Achieving Personal Work Goals and Objectives
• Leading and Supervising
• Working with People
• Persuading and Influencing
• Planning and Organising