Customer Service Manager ANZ
AkzoNobelJobsCloseBy Editorial Insights
AkzoNobel is seeking a Customer Service Manager to lead ANZ operations across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, managing a 12-person team and delivering an order-to-cash process. You will partner with Sales, Supply Chain, Logistics and Finance to improve OTIF, backorder and delivery reliability while driving escalation and continuous improvement through digitalisation. The role requires leadership, influence across regions, and a data-driven mindset. SAP SD and KPI accountability are essential. Essential: five years in customer service or order-to-cash and a relevant degree; ANZ experience preferred. In your application, show measurable outcomes, cross-functional impact, coaching success and digital transformation examples, with a concise cover letter addressing customer experience in ANZ.
About AkzoNobel
Since 1792, we’ve been supplying the innovative paints and coatings that help to color people’s lives and protect what matters most. Our world class portfolio of brands – including International, Sikkens and Interpon – is trusted by customers around the globe. We’re active in more than 150 countries and use our expertise to sustain and enhance the fabric of everyday life. Because we believe every surface is an opportunity. It’s what you’d expect from a pioneering and long-established paints company that’s dedicated to providing sustainable solutions and preserving the best of what we have today – while creating an even better tomorrow. Let’s paint the future together.
For more information please visit www.akzonobel.com
© 2024 Akzo Nobel N.V. All rights reserved.
Location: Sunshine, VIC
Employment type: permanent full-time
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced and customer-focused Customer Service Manager to lead our Customer Service operations across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Reporting to the Regional Customer Service Manager – South Asia, this role provides strategic and operational leadership to ensure a consistent, high-quality customer experience across the ANZ region.
Leading a team of approximately 12 Customer Service employees, you will be responsible for building a high-performing, customer-focused function while driving excellence across the end-to-end order-to-cash process. This includes ensuring accurate order management, reliable delivery execution, effective escalation management, and continuous improvement of customer service operations.
Working closely with Sales, Supply Chain, Logistics, Warehousing, Finance, and regional stakeholders, you will play a critical role in strengthening service performance, improving customer satisfaction, and supporting the growth of our Marine, Protective Coatings, and Yacht businesses.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & ANZ Service Operations
- Lead and manage Customer Service operations across Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.
- Lead, coach and develop a team of approximately 12 Customer Service employees, fostering a high-performance, customer-focused culture.
- Provide strong people leadership, including workload management, coaching, performance development, capability building, and succession planning.
- Ensure effective resource planning, cross-training, and business continuity across the region.
- Act as the primary escalation point for complex customer service and operational matters.
Order Management & Service Delivery
- Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant execution of the end-to-end order-to-cash process.
- Partner with Sales, Supply Chain, Logistics, Warehousing, and Finance teams to optimise order fulfilment and delivery outcomes.
- Monitor and improve key service metrics including:
- On-Time In-Full (OTIF) performance
- Backorder management
- Order accuracy
- Delivery reliability
- Identify potential supply, credit, or execution risks and coordinate effective recovery actions.
Customer Experience & Escalation Management
- Drive consistent customer service standards across ANZ.
- Ensure professional and timely responses through customer communication channels, including shared mailboxes, phone queues, and digital platforms.
- Manage complex customer complaints and escalations while maintaining strong customer relationships.
- Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions to prevent recurring issues.
Performance Management & Continuous Improvement
- Establish a regular operational performance rhythm through data-driven reviews of:
- Customer service KPIs
- Order performance
- Delivery reliability
- Customer complaints and escalations
- Billing and dispute resolution
- Standardise customer service processes across ANZ by implementing global and regional procedures.
- Drive process improvements through effective problem-solving, process optimisation, and change management.
- Strengthen controls, documentation, and capability through training and standardised work practices.
Stakeholder & Business Partnership
- Build strong partnerships with Sales, Commercial, Key Account teams, Supply Chain, Logistics, Warehousing, Finance, and Invoice-to-Cash teams.
- Represent Customer Service in operational and commercial forums.
- Provide clear reporting and visibility of service performance, risks, resource requirements, and improvement initiatives to regional leadership.
Digitalisation & Transformation
- Drive adoption of digital customer service solutions, including B2B portals, API ordering, automation, and customer communication tools.
- Improve customer accessibility through effective management of shared mailboxes, telephone queues, and service channels.
- Support transformation initiatives including track-and-trace, electronic proof of delivery (ePOD), CRM/case management, and process automation.
About You
You are an experienced customer service leader with a strong background in order management and operational excellence. You enjoy building high-performing teams, solving complex customer challenges, and driving continuous improvement in a fast-paced environment.
You will bring:
- Proven experience leading customer service, order management, or order-to-cash operations.
- Strong people leadership capability, including coaching, performance management, and team development.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence across functions and regions.
- Strong analytical capability with experience managing KPIs and operational performance data.
- A customer-first mindset with strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate across different countries and time zones.
Skills & Experience
Essential
- Diploma or Bachelor's degree in Business, Commerce, Supply Chain, Logistics, or a related discipline.
- Minimum five years' experience in customer service, order management, or order-to-cash operations, including demonstrated people-management responsibility with experience leading and developing teams.
- Strong understanding of SAP SD/order management processes and customer service operations.
- Experience in process improvement, root-cause analysis, and performance management.
Desirable
- Experience within multinational manufacturing, coatings, chemicals, marine, or industrial environments.
- ANZ regional experience.
- Experience using Power BI, Celonis, or similar reporting and analytics tools.
- Experience leading digitalisation or customer service transformation initiatives.
Why Join Us?
In return, Akzo Nobel will offer, other than job stability with a permanent role and good remuneration:
- Career Pathway and Training:
As a Global company, we can offer career pathway and training to you to gain your next step in your career goals.
- Don’t settle for base salary increase:
potential to earn more, on top each year!
- Let Akzo Nobel, help you meet your health goals:
with free utilization of onsite physio every Wednesday, free annual flu vaccination, and monetary assistance to cover your choice of health and wellbeing programs every year!
- Want to stretch your dollar further?
Enjoy our employee benefits on discounted private health insurance with Bupa and free access for you and your family on our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), that include discount on retail goods and services.
- Looking for more perks?
Join us to find out more…
At AkzoNobel we are highly committed to ensuring an inclusive and respectful workplace where all employees can be their best self. We strive to embrace diversity in a context of tolerance. Our talent acquisition process plays an integral part in this journey, as setting the foundations for a diverse environment. For this reason we train and educate on the implications of our Unconscious Bias in order for our TA and hiring managers to be mindful of them and take corrective actions when applicable. In our organization, all qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age or disability.
Requisition ID: 54998