Director of Customer Services

At Smart, our mission is to transform retirement, savings and financial wellbeing, across all generations, around the world.

We are seeking a dynamic, results-driven Director to lead the execution of our operational growth strategy and oversee day-to-day customer operations. This role is pivotal in transforming the operating model, leveraging technology to enhance service experience and drive operational efficiency. Demand management, streamlined workflows, ensuring customers are supported through the most effective and appropriate channels. You will develop customer solutions aligned with business strategy, market opportunities and regulatory change. A key focus will be delivering effective customer segmentation, enabling differentiated solutions across client and member groups to increase engagement, retention, and revenue. You will be accountable for customer centric leadership, driving operational performance, and delivering change to the service proposition and standards. The role plays a critical part in creating and delivering commercial value through service innovation, ensuring strong customer outcomes.

Responsibilities:

• Lead execution of the operational growth strategy, translating business objectives into scalable customer operations.
• Drive revenue growth through improved customer engagement, cross-sell/upsell strategies, and service innovation.
• Shape and evolve the operating model to support rapid growth, innovation, and regulatory compliance.
• Embed a continuous improvement cycle that systematically monitors outcomes, correlates performance data, and translates those insights into iterative enhancements.
• Driving ongoing user learning and continuously improving the customer experience of newly implemented processes.
• Oversee end to end customer operations, ensuring seamless, high-quality service delivery across all channels.
• Drive digital and process transformation initiatives, leveraging technology (e.g. automation, AI, self-service) to enhance efficiency and experience.
• Develop and implement customer segmentation strategies to deliver differentiation across client/member groups.
• Design scalable service propositions tailored to varying customer needs, value tiers, and risk profiles.
• Partner with Proposition and Keystone Technology teams to design and deliver customer-centric solutions.
• Align service offerings with market opportunities, competitive positioning, and emerging customer expectations.
• Establish robust MI (management information) and reporting frameworks.
• Build, lead, and develop high-performing teams across customer operations and service functions.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to align on priorities and deliver strategic initiatives.

Who We Are Looking For:

The skills, experience, and aptitudes we are looking for are listed below but please don’t be discouraged from applying if you don’t meet every single one of these criteria – having a ‘can do’ attitude is sometimes more important than being able to tick every box:

• Proven experience in a senior leadership role within fintech, financial services, or a high-growth digital operation.
• Track record of leading and scaling customer operations.
• Proven success in transforming operating models, driving efficiency, and improving customer experience through technology and process optimisation (application of automation, AI).
• Deep understanding of customer operations, demand management, service design, and customer journey optimisation.
• Strong commercial mindset with evidence of driving revenue, improving retention, and reducing cost to serve.
• Ability to balance customer outcomes with business performance.
• Experience working in agile environments and managing product roadmap.
• Solid understanding of DC pensions, familiarity with the competitive landscape, and emerging technologies.

Who We Are:

We work in partnerships with governments and financial institutions in the UK and internationally. Our cloud-native digital platform is revolutionising how people around the world think about, and save for, their retirement. At heart, we’re a financial technology business. What we do is all about innovation, and using the power of digital change to put the customer first. Our Engineers will tell you that working at Smart gives you the opportunity to play your part in developing world-class technological solutions, working with – and learning from – like-minded people. You’ll also find that, across our business, our colleagues love Smart’s culture, and how what we do means better financial outcomes for savers. That feels worthwhile, and it means that what we do, collectively, goes way beyond the nine to five of a typical working day.

Benefits:

• 25 days’ holiday per year, increasing with length of service.
• £500 annual training budget to spend on your professional development.
• Extensive private healthcare, including dental, eyecare and EAP.
• Enhanced sick leave (three months’ pay per year).
• Enhanced maternity and paternity (maternity – 6 months fully paid/paternity – 3 weeks fully paid).
• Death in service insurance cover.
• Fully-paid five-week sabbatical after five years of employment.
• In office wellbeing, such as manicures, massages and barbers.
• Smart employees also enjoy a 50% discount on orders from our sister company Arena Flowers, Britain's most ethical florist.

At Smart, we are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to do their best work. We believe that diverse perspectives help us lead the way in transforming retirement, savings and financial wellbeing. We welcome differences in background, experience, thinking, and identity, and we recognise that innovation is strongest when it is built on inclusion and fairness. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences and do not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the workplace, we encourage you to let us know - we are committed to supporting you. We think Smart is an awesome place to work. If it sounds like somewhere you’d like to work, too, and if you’re ready to play your part in our continued success in the future, then naturally we’d love to meet you.