Customer Support Strategy and Operations Manager

Manager - Customer Support Strategy & Operations

About Lokal :

In 2018, we began with a WhatsApp group with a simple hypothesis: people in tier-2/3 towns weren’t really using the internet meaningfully yet. We believed that if we started with local content in their own language, they’d come back every day; once there was a habit and trust, that same space could naturally grow into classifieds and, eventually, something they used for almost everything online.                                                                                                 

This spark became Lokal. Our first instinct was to put everything in one place & one app - local updates, classifieds, jobs, matrimony and more. It worked, till it stopped working. Users gave us the insight - when one use case outweighs the others, everything else seems like noise. We listened. Like how Craigslist quietly seeded a generation of focused companies & marketplaces, we began unbundling and verticalising.

Today, Lokal is a house of focused apps, many products, one mission:
to connect Tier-2/3+ India to the Knowledge, opportunities, tools and experts they’ve always deserved.

We now operate dozens of live apps across categories like:

• Edutainment & Skill Learning – practical skills and learning in regional languages (GyanTV)
• Matrimonial Matchmaking – hyperlocal, compatibility-first partner search (Lokal Matrimony)
• Agri Consulting – farmer-first advisory in local languages (AgriLokal)
• Local Jobs – blue- and grey-collar opportunities close to home (Lokal Jobs)
• Social & Community – Place to find & post social updates (Lokal app)
• Emotional Well-being & Peer Support – safe spaces to talk and feel heard (Dostt & Eaze)
• Astrology & Guidance – instant access to trusted Astrologers via chat and voice (AstroLokal)
  Advisory Services – early bets in legal help, financial guidance, career counselling, and more

Under the hood, Lokal is a discovery and access platform: local-language internet + deep Bharat insight+ AI. When someone opens a product we’ve built, they don’t wade through clutter; they get a straight line to what they came for.

This is the story new teammates walk into:
a company that started as a whatsapp group, became a family of focused apps, and kept one belief at the centre — access changes lives.

We ship fast. We learn fast. We build for Bharat.                                                                                                                 

We are backed by leading global and domestic investors including Y Combinator, Sony, Global Brain, India Quotient, and 3one4 Capital

Overview :

We are looking for a highly execution-driven Customer Support Leader who has built and scaled support operations from scratch (0 → 1) and managed large teams (70–100+ members) in fast-paced B2C or subscription-led environments.

This role requires someone who combines first-principles thinking, strong people leadership, and deep operational expertise to build scalable support systems, drive automation, and deliver measurable impact on customer experience and business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Team Building & Leadership

• Build, hire, and scale customer support teams from scratch (70–100+ members)
• Lead, mentor, and manage teams across multi-language and multi-product environments
• Drive a strong performance culture with ownership, accountability, and execution excellence
• Own team productivity, quality, and retention

Support Strategy & Business Execution

• Define and execute customer support strategy aligned with business goals
• Own end-to-end business execution across hiring, process setup, retention, and performance management
• Ensure support contributes directly to customer retention, churn reduction, and revenue impact
• Maintain strong alignment with business priorities while ensuring TAT and service quality

Process Setup (0 → 1) & SOP Excellence

• Build and implement SOPs and SLA frameworks from scratch
• Design scalable support processes covering:
• Ticket lifecycle management
• Escalation handling
• Quality frameworks
• Continuously refine processes to improve efficiency, consistency, and scalability

Ticketing Operations & High-Volume Management

• Manage high-volume ticket environments (10K–100K+ tickets/month)
• Own key metrics:
• Turnaround Time (TAT)
• First Response Time (FRT)
• Resolution Rate
• Backlog & SLA adherence
• Ensure consistent, high-quality resolution at scale

Automation & Process Innovation

• Drive automation, self-serve, and ticket deflection strategies
• Actively experiment with new processes, workflows, and tools to improve efficiency
• Optimize platforms like Freshdesk, Zendesk, or similar systems
• Reduce manual effort while improving speed and accuracy

Data-Driven Decision Making

• Track and analyze support KPIs (CSAT, NPS, TAT, SLA, resolution rate, backlog)
• Use data, customer insights, and ticket trends to:
• Identify gaps
• Drive process improvements
• Influence business decisions

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Product, Engineering, Legal, and Marketing teams
• Share actionable insights to resolve systemic issues and improve product experience
• Close feedback loops to reduce recurring customer problems

Requirements

• 5 - 8+ years of experience in Customer Support / CX Strategy / Operations

• Proven experience in managing teams of 70–100+ members
• Strong track record of building support functions from scratch (0 → 1)
• Demonstrated expertise in SLA management, SOP creation, and process excellence
• Experience handling high ticket volumes at scale
• Strong inclination toward automation, experimentation, and process innovation
• Applies first-principles thinking to solve operational and customer experience challenges
• Excellent at execution, team management, and driving outcomes
• Strong understanding of business impact, retention, and customer lifecycle
• Experience owning hiring, team building, retention, and performance management
• Highly data-driven with strong analytical and problem-solving skills

What We’re Looking For (Non-Negotiables) :

• Has built teams and processes from scratch, not just managed existing setups
• Has consistently met or exceeded SLA & TAT metrics
• Comfortable handling high-pressure, high-volume environments
• Strong people manager + operator + executor
• Demonstrated impact on customer experience and business outcomes

Experience Level

Mid Level