Director of Operations, Sky

Salary not provided

React

Senior and Expert level

Dublin

Broadband and telecommunications company

Be an early applicant

Broadband and telecommunications company

1001+ employees

B2CB2BEntertainmentTelecommunicationsMedia

Be an early applicant

Salary not provided

React

Senior and Expert level

Dublin

1001+ employees

B2CB2BEntertainmentTelecommunicationsMedia

Company mission

To connect people with the very best entertainment, sports, news, arts and local, original content.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

The successful candidate will combine strategic thinking with exceptional operational execution, building an organisation that delivers outstanding customer outcomes while driving sustainable commercial growth, operational efficiency and regulatory compliance
Proven success leading complex, cross-functional teams in dynamic customer environments
Strong vision regarding world class customer service
Provide executive leadership for operational governance, ensuring robust control frameworks, effective risk management and compliance with all applicable regulatory and consumer protection requirements
Candidates should bring experience from a consumer-centric, regulated environment where customer experience, governance, risk management and regulatory compliance are critical to business success
Strong stakeholder management, highly developed communication skills – written, visual and verbal – with an ability to adapt tone and content for different audiences
Experience in managing third-party partners and ensuring compliance with corporate standards
A continuous improvement mindset and the ability to foster the same in others
A flexible leadership style with the ability to be visionary and planned, as well as tactical and focussed on the immediate term
Ability to work and react in pressurised situations, providing clear direction to teams and summaries to senior leadership team
Track record of successfully delivering against ambitious commercial metrics
Strong leadership experience and potential for growth
Influential and persuasive at the highest levels of the organisation
An independent thinker willing to challenge the status quo if it means better outcomes
Strategic - Able to shape long-term strategy while delivering short-term results
Customer Obsessed - Passionate about improving customer outcomes
Commercial - Balances customer, commercial and operational priorities
Transformational - Leads change through innovation, technology and simplification
Enterprise Leader - Thinks beyond Operations and contributes to the overall success of Sky Ireland/Group
Collaborative - Builds trusted relationships across functions, markets and partners
Courageous - Challenges constructively, makes difficult decisions and leads through ambiguity
Inclusive - Creates an environment where people perform at their best
Resilient - Leads confidently through change and complexity

What the job involves

The Director of Operations is a key member of the Sky Ireland Executive Leadership Team, responsible for shaping and delivering the operating model for Sky Ireland
This is a broad executive leadership role with accountability for customer operations, customer experience, operational strategy, commercial delivery, digital transformation, AI adoption, operational resilience and regulatory excellence
The role leads one of the largest operational functions in the business through a combination of direct leadership, strategic partnerships and outsourced service providers across Ireland, India and South Africa
Working closely with the CEO and Executive Leadership Team, the individual will define how Sky Ireland serves customers in an increasingly digital, AI-enabled and regulated environment
The role is responsible for designing, leading and continuously evolving Sky Ireland's operating model, ensuring exceptional customer experiences, sustainable commercial performance, operational excellence, regulatory compliance and AI-enabled transformation
As the executive leader for Operations, the role represents the function at Executive and regulatory level while contributing to enterprise-wide strategy and investment decisions
Accountable for the end-to-end delivery of customer operations across all contact centre channels, including Customer Service, Sales, Retention, Loyalty and specialist support functions, ensuring exceptional customer outcomes and commercial performance
Provide executive leadership and governance of outsourced customer operations delivered through strategic business partners across India and South Africa, ensuring operational excellence, regulatory compliance and continuous improvement
Lead the strategy and performance of Sky Retail in Ireland, driving commercial growth, operational excellence, customer experience and brand representation across the retail estate
Lead the strategic management of third-party retail partnerships, ensuring strong commercial performance, exceptional customer experience and delivery of all contractual and operational obligations
Own the end-to-end in-home customer experience, working in partnership with Home Service providers to deliver outstanding installation, service and repair experiences while improving customer satisfaction and operational efficiency
Lead Workforce Management and Planning, ensuring the organisation has the capability, capacity and forecasting accuracy required to deliver market-leading service levels across voice, messaging and digital channels
Oversee the operational infrastructure that enables customer delivery, including workforce capability, learning and development, operational facilities, business continuity, crisis management and contingency planning, ensuring a resilient and future-ready operating environment
Own the end-to-end customer operating model across all customer touchpoints ensuring the delivery of a seamless, differentiated and customer-centric experience
Define and lead the strategy for Customer Service, Sales, Retention, Loyalty, Retail and Home Services, championing the Voice of the Customer and embedding customer outcomes into every operational and commercial decision
Lead operational excellence across all customer channels and partner operations, delivering consistently high standards of performance, service and quality
Drive improvements in customer satisfaction, first contact resolution, complaints performance, productivity and operational efficiency through data-driven decision making, continuous improvement and technology-enabled solutions
Partner with Commercial, Product and Marketing teams to deliver profitable and sustainable growth
Drive improvements in customer lifetime value, retention, sales performance, ARPU and trading outcomes, balancing commercial objectives with customer experience, operational excellence and regulatory requirements
Lead the transformation of customer operations, creating a future-ready operating model that leverages digital technologies, AI, automation and process simplification
Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement that enhances customer experience, improves operational efficiency and delivers long-term business value
Champion the adoption of digital capabilities and artificial intelligence across customer operations, identifying opportunities to improve customer journeys, increase automation, enhance colleague productivity and deliver measurable improvements in operational performance and customer outcomes
Provide executive leadership and governance of strategic outsourcing partnerships across Ireland, India and South Africa
Build high-performing partnerships that deliver exceptional customer outcomes, commercial value, operational excellence and regulatory compliance, while driving continuous improvement and innovation across the extended operating model
Provide executive leadership for operational governance, ensuring robust control frameworks, effective risk management and compliance with all applicable regulatory and consumer protection requirements
Build strong relationships with internal governance functions and external regulators
Build and maintain strong, constructive relationships with regulators, ensuring Sky Ireland consistently meets regulatory requirements and delivers excellent customer and compliance outcomes
In the future this role may be required to undertake a regulated Pre-Approval Controlled Function (PCF) role in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements
Lead the development and continuous enhancement of a resilient operational environment, ensuring effective management of operational risk, business continuity, crisis management, outsourcing risk and operational resilience
Ensure appropriate governance, controls and contingency arrangements are in place to protect customers, support business continuity and maintain regulatory compliance
Lead and develop a high-performing, inclusive and customer-focused organisation, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement
Shape the culture of Sky Ireland through visible, inspirational leadership, creating an environment where colleagues are engaged, empowered and able to perform at their best
Own the People Strategy for Operations, ensuring a clear focus on organisational capability, leadership development, succession planning, talent, engagement, recognition and communication
Build the skills and capabilities required to deliver a future-ready organisation, embedding digital, AI and continuous improvement capabilities

Our take

Sky formed through the merger of Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting in 1990, making it the UK's largest pay-TV company. After the acquisition of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland in 2014, Sky Group was formed, transforming the UK company into Europe's leading entertainment and media group.

With the recent success of their original content, Sky doubled their investment into this space by 2024 with a brand new movie and TV studio being built. This is expected to create an additional £3 billion of production investment in UK creative sector in the first five years alone.

Sky's streaming service, Now TV, was launched in 2012 to compete with the rising tide of Netflix and, more recently, with Amazon's Prime Video. With pay-TV subscriptions dropping and the video streaming industry expected to grow by a further 20% by 2027, Sky has remained competitive by offering a range of deals, partnering with Netflix, and developing its own TV - Sky Glass, as it aims to keep up with consumer trends.