S&O Director, Customer Service Transformation (Consulting)

The Hackett Group is hiring a Director to lead customer service transformation engagements for large, complex commercial-sector clients. The role oversees multiple programs spanning service operating models, channel strategy, contact center operations, order-to-cash processes, and supporting technology, while also leading business development, client relationships, team management, and customer service practice development.

Responsibilities:

• Hold accountability for multiple concurrent customer service engagements, each typically six months or longer. Set the delivery approach and work plan on each, run the engagement cadence, and manage scope, timeline, and quality against commitments. Operate with minimal oversight from the Principal: surface delivery and commercial risk early, bring a recommended path forward rather than an escalation, and involve the Principal by exception rather than by default
• Lead deep-dive assessments of client customer service environments across contact center operations, service channels and channel mix, tiering and escalation models, workforce management, knowledge management, quality assurance, and self-service deflection. Baseline cost-to-serve, productivity, and service performance against benchmark data, and translate the gaps into a prioritized set of improvement opportunities with quantified value. Should come with experience in assessing order to cash environments and processes including order capture and management, pricing and quoting, billing and invoicing, dispute and deduction management, credit, collections, and cash application
• Serve as the firm’s subject matter expert on the customer service technology stack, including CCaaS platforms, CRM and case management, workforce engagement management, knowledge and self-service tooling, conversational AI and agent assist, and the integration layer connecting service to the ERP and order to cash systems. Advise clients on platform selection, architecture, and roadmap sequencing, and pressure test vendor claims and implementation estimates on the client’s behalf
• Direct the design of future-state service operating models spanning channel strategy, coverage and staffing models, organization structure and role design, sourcing and offshore mix, governance, and the performance management framework underneath them. Reconcile interview findings, systems analysis, benchmark data, and competing stakeholder input into a clearly laid out design
• Own the financial case behind the recommendation, including cost-to-serve modeling, headcount and technology investment, benefit realization, and the assumptions each rests on. Defend the economics to client finance and executive stakeholders. Manage engagement financials across the portfolio, including margin, staffing mix, utilization, and burn rate against plan
• Lead pursuits end to end. Qualify opportunities, shape the solution and delivery approach, develop proposals and pricing, draft statements of work, and lead the pitch to the client buying group. Run discovery and executive workshops that convert an ambiguous client problem into a scoped engagement. Identify and close expansion opportunities within active accounts, and build relationships that generate demand ahead of a formal procurement event
• Serve as the senior relationship owner with client VPs and SVPs. Manage expectations on scope, timeline, and cost, deliver difficult messages directly, and maintain client confidence in the pace and direction of the program. Navigate politically complex environments where the work changes account ownership, reporting lines, or headcount
• Lead and develop large teams spanning consulting, analytics, change management, and offshore support across multiple engagements. Set expectations, delegate with context, and review work before it reaches the client. Own staffing decisions and resource allocation across the portfolio, complete formal performance evaluations, and develop team members through coaching and client-facing exposure
• Drive internal practice development for the customer service offering, including methodology, assessment frameworks, benchmark assets, accelerators, and reusable intellectual capital. Lead hiring for the practice, including sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding. Build the firm’s external presence in the market through thought leadership and shape the offering roadmap as the technology landscape evolves
• Author and direct client-facing material for phase readouts, design reviews, and executive steering committees, including the storyline and the structure behind it. Hold all deliverables across the portfolio to an executive standard on content, structure, and formatting, and return work that is not yet defensible for a senior audience

Requirements:

• 1. 10+ years in consulting, professional services or internal transformation, much of it in customer service, CX or contact centers
• 1. Has led customer service transformations end to end — from diagnostic through design and rollout
• 1. Deep contact center operations knowledge (channels, workforce management, escalation, quality, self-service)
• 1. Strong knowledge of service technology — e.g. Genesys, NICE, Five9, Amazon Connect, Talkdesk; Salesforce Service Cloud, ServiceNow, Microsoft Dynamics
• 1. A real business development track record: proposals, pricing, SOWs, pitches to executive buyers
• 1. Has run multiple engagements at once and managed large teams, including hiring and offshore resources
• 1. Commercial-sector clients (not public sector); ideally across industries such as CPG, Industrial, Retail and Technology
• 1. Bachelor's degree
• • Order-to-cash experience: billing, disputes and deductions, credit, collections, cash application; SAP or Oracle
• • MBA or advanced degree
• • Published thought leadership or conference speaking