Zonal Manager - Service

Location: Across India (Specific Zone to be assigned)

Experience: 10 - 15+ Years

Employment Type: Full-time

Job Summary

We are seeking a dynamic and strategic Zonal Manager - Service to lead and optimize all service operations within a designated zone. This pivotal role involves driving customer satisfaction, enhancing service quality, managing a high-performing team, and ensuring the profitability of the service division. The ideal candidate will be an experienced leader with a proven track record in service management, operational excellence, and stakeholder collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Operational Leadership:

- Oversee and manage all service operations within the assigned geographical zone, ensuring the achievement of business targets and high levels of customer satisfaction.

- Develop and implement zonal service strategies, plans, and budgets, taking full ownership of the service division's P&L for the zone.

- Drive operational excellence, continuous process improvement, and standardization across all service centers and touchpoints in the zone.

Team Management & Development:

- Lead, mentor, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Area Service Managers, technical leads, and service personnel.

- Set clear performance targets for the team, conduct regular performance reviews, and implement effective training programs to enhance skill sets and capabilities.

- Foster a strong customer-centric culture, accountability, and continuous learning within the zonal service team.

Service Network Management:

- Manage, optimize, and strategically expand the service network within the zone, including authorized service centers, dealers, and third-party partners.

- Monitor key service center performance metrics such as turnaround time, first-time fix rate, inventory management, and technician productivity.

- Ensure strict compliance with company policies, quality standards, and all relevant regulatory requirements.

Customer Experience & Feedback:

- Act as a key escalation point for critical customer service issues, ensuring swift, effective, and satisfactory resolution.

- Actively gather customer feedback and conduct market intelligence to identify opportunities for service improvement and the introduction of new service offerings.

Inventory & Warranty Management:

- Oversee spare parts inventory management within the zone to ensure optimal availability, minimize stock holding costs, and prevent service disruptions.

- Efficiently manage warranty claims processing, ensuring adherence to company policies and customer expectations.

Cross-functional Collaboration:

- Collaborate closely with Sales, Marketing, Product Development, and other internal departments to align service strategies with overall business objectives and enhance customer lifetime value.

Required Skills & Qualifications

- Experience: 10-15+ years of progressive experience in service operations and management, with at least 3-5 years in a regional or zonal leadership role.

- Leadership: Proven track record of successfully leading, managing, mentoring, and motivating large service teams.

- Operational Excellence: Strong understanding of service delivery processes, quality management systems, and key operational metrics.

- Customer Focus: Demonstrated commitment to customer satisfaction and extensive experience in handling and resolving complex customer escalations.

- Business Acumen: Solid experience with P&L management, budgeting, forecasting, and driving revenue growth within a service environment.

- Technical Aptitude: Strong technical understanding of the products or services being supported (e.g., consumer durables, automotive, industrial machinery, IT services).

- Analytical & Problem-Solving: Excellent analytical skills to interpret data, identify trends, diagnose problems, and implement effective solutions.

- Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.

- Travel: Willingness to travel extensively within the assigned zone as required.

- Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Master's degree (e.g., MBA).

- Specific industry experience relevant to the company's products/services.

- Experience with modern CRM and Service Management software platforms.