Vice President, Customer Experience

Join our Growing Team and see why Summit Utilities, Inc was named as one of the Fastest Growing Denver Area Private Companies 2019 and 2020; Best Places to Work in Maine 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022; and Best Places to Work in Arkansas 2020 and Oklahoma 2022.

Summit is a growing natural gas utility company providing safe, reliable and clean burning natural gas service to homes and businesses in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri and Oklahoma. Being part of the Summit team means embracing excellence, diversity and innovation, committing to safety each and every day, and doing all that we can to serve each other, our customers and the communities where we live. We aim to bring warmth and energy to everything we do.

We have an exciting opportunity open for a Vice President, Customer Experience based in Fort Smith, AR.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Chief Customer Officer, the VP, Customer Experience (VP-CX) will direct and oversee strategy, planning and execution of the organization’s customer experience goals and objectives, direct and optimize the customer experience organization, and drive innovation across the enterprise. The VP-CX will lead all efforts to support overall customer experience activities including delivering a seamless, world-class customer experience across various stages and touchpoints in the customer lifecycle, driving continuous improvement, elevating customer satisfaction, increasing efficiencies and financial performance, and executing on Summit’s growth strategies. This key position will also support other critical business functions as it relates to the overall customer experience activities.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide leadership and evolve multiple functions and teams to build, operate, and execute a world-class customer experience program for attracting, engaging, and retaining customers 
• Influence and oversee the strategy, planning and execution of Summit’s overall Customer Experience goals and objectives
• Define the scope and direction of the Customer Experience department, to include providing day-to-day direction for a team of direct reports, developing leaders, fostering collaboration, and encouraging continuous learning
• Develop and implement metrics and strategies for current and future operations. Measure effectiveness of Customer Experience by establishing, tracking, and evolving metrics translating data and information from multiple sources into critical insights, and presenting recommendations to executive team regarding emerging opportunities and other significant business decisions
• Work with leadership across Summit to identify opportunities for process improvement and leverage data to prioritize identified opportunities. Integrate other department heads to ensure other teams contribute to delivering a world-class customer experience
• Oversee multiple projects, programs and complex business processes representing the voice of customer including process optimization in a contact center environment ensuring robust monitoring programs are in place to build capabilities and enhance processes strengthening and streamlining operations
• Drive business process transformation and continuous improvement Augment internal processes, identifying and implementing process automation solutions
• Create infrastructure for addressing and managing compliance and complex regulatory issues
• Coach and develop talent, focusing on ongoing professional development and inspiring team members while cultivating an inclusive and innovative culture where individuals are valued 

EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline, such as business, or combination of education and commensurate experience
• 10 years of cx/customer support leadership experience, ideally in a customer success, operations, process improvement or strategy role, directing and managing high performing teams
• Prior experience creating and implementing customer experience programs based on data-driven insights at a natural gas or energy company is desired
• Deep experience developing and leading successful customer experience/operations/success projects, programs, and teams
• Proven ability to develop and provide executive level reporting and presentations regarding overall department performance, KPI metrics, forecasting, and budgeting, etc.
• Understanding of contact center software tools, integrated customer engagement solutions, and working knowledge of CSM technologies to automate and scale Customer Experience orchestration
• Strong interpersonal skills, and excellent written and verbal communication skills in terms of being clear, concise, and professional with the ability to work effectively across teams
• Billing and credit management oversight experience 
• Proficient skills in Microsoft Office Suite, specifically in: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES

• Ability to leverage data, and utilize for decision making, establishing world-class customer experience practices to the company. Provide thought leadership inside and outside of Summit, and influence strategy and execution across diverse functions as a matrixed leader in the Customer Service organization
• Data analysis and research to glean customer insights and trends, socializing these findings with recommended actions to executive leadership 
• Successful implementation of innovative customer strategies (technology, process, people)
• Prior experience developing and rolling out customer programs
• High attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and meticulous analytical capability
• Demonstrated success in consulting effectively with all levels of management including executives
• Must possess the ability to influence others without direct position power to earn credibility and trust
• Strong ability to take initiative and manage multiple projects successfully while maintaining an even-keel approach and commitment to deadlines
• Proven success orchestrating customer experience engagements, and deploying actionable Customer Experience programs to the field
• Ability to gain and apply understanding of regulatory requirements specific to individual State guidelines
• Ability to travel, as needed

Summit offers competitive pay and medical/dental/vision and other benefits that provide flexibility, choice and support to our employees when they need it most. We understand that home and family are essential pieces of your life, and our benefits are designed to support you both at work and at home. 

Summit Utilities, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.