Senior Manager, Customer Operations

Role Overview The Senior Manager, Customer Operations owns Slate's end-to-end customer experience across physical retail/wholesale and e-commerce. This role combines day-to-day management of retail and distributor customer service — order accuracy, EDI, and account relationships — with oversight of e-commerce customer experience across Amazon and our direct-to-consumer Shopify site, and owns customer onboarding and lifecycle management across both channels. You will build and lead a small customer operations team, set consistent service standards and KPIs across channels, and be the primary point of accountability for how Slate shows up for customers before, during, and after the sale. This role reports to the VP of Operations and carries people-management responsibility for a team of 3–4 direct reports. Reporting & Location Reports to the VP of Operations. Location: remote, consistent with Slate's operations team. Direct reports: 3–4, spanning retail/wholesale Key Responsibilities Team Leadership & Development: Lead and manage a customer operations team of 3–4 direct reports across retail customer service, e-commerce customer experience, and customer service analytics; provide clear workload balance, coaching, and support to drive high performance and departmental goals. Retail & Wholesale Order Management: Oversee the accuracy and on‑time fulfillment of retail and distributor orders (EDI and manual entry), partner with freight partners on delivery performance, and maintain working knowledge of terms, portals, and requirements for key retail and distributor accounts. E-Commerce Customer Experience: Oversee the consumer experience across Slate's Amazon and Shopify DTC channels, ensuring inquiries are answered promptly and in Slate's brand voice, feedback is tracked and reported, and issues with Quality, R&D, 3PL or logistics partners are identified and resolved. Customer Onboarding & Lifecycle Management: Own the customer lifecycle from onboarding through ongoing account management, including new customer intake, credit checks, and master data setup, and coordination with cross‑functional teams to keep account and pricing information current. Policies, Procedures & KPIs: Develop and implement customer service policies, procedures, and KPIs across retail and e‑commerce channels to ensure consistent, high‑quality service; present monthly KPI reporting to leadership. Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Partner with Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Accounting to align customer service goals with business objectives, and to ensure end‑of‑month order strategy, forecasting, and reporting are accurate and on time. Continuous Improvement: Identify and drive improvements to order lead time, cost to serve, and order visibility; analyze customer ordering patterns and volume variability across channels to inform process and technology decisions. Issue Resolution & Escalation: Serve as the escalation point for customer concerns across retail and e‑commerce, working with Sales, Operations, and logistics partners to resolve issues quickly and in the best interest of the customer. Reporting & Documentation: Create, maintain, and evolve customer operations reporting, metrics, and standard operating procedures across both channels. Other: Other duties and special projects as assigned. What This Role Requires This role was scoped as a hands‑on people manager who can operate across both traditional retail/wholesale customer service and modern e‑commerce customer experience — equally comfortable with EDI order management and with Amazon/Shopify‑style support tooling. Candidates should bring: 5+ years of experience in customer service, customer experience, or customer operations, including experience leading or managing a team. Experience spanning both retail/wholesale customer service (EDI, retailer/distributor portals, order management) and e‑commerce customer experience (Amazon, Shopify, or similar DTC platforms) strongly preferred. Food and beverage or CPG industry experience preferred. Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, or a related field, or equivalent experience. Experience managing customer onboarding and lifecycle processes, including new customer intake, credit checks, and master data setup. Working knowledge of ERP/order management systems (e.g., NetSuite) and CRM/helpdesk platforms (e.g., Gorgias, Zendesk, Salesforce). Proficiency with Microsoft Office and/or Google Workspace, particularly Excel/Sheets, for reporting and analysis. Strong analytical skills, with the ability to develop and report on KPIs such as order cycle time and cost to serve. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to represent Slate's brand voice with consumers and manage relationships with retail and distributor partners. Ability to work in a fast‑paced, results‑oriented environment, prioritizing across competing, high‑urgency requests. Willingness to travel occasionally (10–20%) to meet with customers, retail/distribution partners, or support the team. Benefits & Perks Healthcare: medical, dental, and vision coverage, with the company covering approximately 50% of premiums. More detail is provided during onboarding. 401(k) retirement plan (no match yet). Cell phone / tech allowance: $30/month. Unlimited vacation. Lots of Slate Milk and swag. #J-18808-Ljbffr