Manager, Critical Support

QAD is building a world-class SaaS company, and we are growing. We are looking for talented individuals who want to join us on our mission to help solve relevant real-world problems in manufacturing and the supply chain.

We are a virtual first company and your primary work experience will be virtual / working from your home.  Occasional travel to a physical office may be required to enhance working relationships, collaboration, design, strategy and alignment. 

The Manager, Critical Support Team is responsible for leading a team of support engineers to ensure the delivery of exceptional technical support for ERP systems. This role focuses on managing team performance, overseeing escalations, and ensuring the team provides efficient, high-quality solutions to complex customer challenges.

As a customer-centric leader, the Manager fosters a culture of accountability, responsiveness, and continuous improvement, ensuring that the support team consistently meets or exceeds customer expectations. By closely monitoring operational workflows, case handling, and escalations, the Manager ensures timely resolutions and adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

The Manager works collaboratively with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Engineering, and Customer Success, to resolve systemic issues, advocate for customer-driven product enhancements, and align on support objectives. Additionally, this role involves developing and implementing strategies to optimize support operations, improve team capabilities, and proactively address recurring customer issues.

This position requires strong leadership, problem-solving skills, and a customer-first mindset. The Manager, ERP Support Team, plays a vital role in shaping the team’s success while contributing to customer satisfaction and the overall effectiveness of ERP support operations.

Given that our support organization operates 24/7, this position demands a flexible approach to scheduling. You will be expected to participate in shift rotations, along with weekend shifts and potential on-call coverage as required. These elements are vital to providing continuous support to our global customer base. Your willingness to adapt to these scheduling requirements is crucial for the role.

Responsibilities:

Leadership and Team Management

• Guide and mentor the support team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.

• Set performance goals, provide constructive feedback, and develop individualized growth plans to enhance team capabilities.

• Lead daily stand-ups to align on case priorities, escalations, and team blockers.

Escalation Management

• Oversee escalated cases, ensuring adherence to escalation protocols and effective communication with stakeholders.

• Act as an escalation owner for high-severity issues, coordinating resolution strategies with cross-functional teams.

• Manage structured handling of escalations, escalating to Directors or senior leadership when required.

Process and Workflow Optimization

• Continuously evaluate and refine support workflows, triage, and escalation procedures to enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction.

• Lead initiatives for process improvements informed by performance data, feedback, and post-mortem reviews.

• Ensure adherence to SLAs and proactively address cases nearing SLA thresholds.

Performance Tracking and Reporting

• Monitor team performance metrics (KPIs), such as response times, backlog counts, and escalation summaries.

• Analyze trends and generate weekly/monthly performance reports to inform strategic decisions and share insights with leadership.

• Conduct quarterly strategic reviews to assess team performance, identify process gaps, and align on goals.

Resource and Capacity Management

• Develop staffing and scheduling plans to ensure adequate support coverage, including shift rotations and flexibility for changing demand.

• Optimize resource allocation to balance workload distribution and improve case handling efficiency.

• Adjust headcount or allocate additional resources based on workload and business priorities.

Collaboration and Cross-Functional Engagement

• Serve as the primary liaison between the support team and other departments, including Product, Engineering, and Sales.

• Participate in cross-functional meetings to discuss product updates, recurring issues, and areas requiring collaboration.

• Advocate for customer needs in cross-department discussions, ensuring alignment on issue resolution strategies.

Training and Knowledge Sharing

• Assess training needs and organize targeted technical sessions with R&D or Product teams to address skill gaps.

• Ensure the team contributes to and leverages the knowledge base, with regular compliance checks for accuracy and relevance.

• Facilitate post-mortem reviews for incidents and outages, documenting lessons learned and implementing preventive measures.

Customer-Centric Operations

• Foster a customer-first mindset within the team, ensuring all interactions prioritize responsiveness, clarity, and customer satisfaction.

• Communicate effectively with customers during escalations, providing clear updates and managing expectations.

• Maintain transparency and professionalism in all customer-facing communications to build trust and loyalty.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, or a related field; equivalent professional experience will also be considered.

• Certifications such as ITIL v3/v4, PMP, or APICS are a plus but not required.

• Familiarity with customer support methodologies, incident management, and service delivery frameworks (e.g., ITIL, SDLC) is advantageous.

Experience:

• 6+ years of experience in technical support, with at least 2+ years in a leadership or managerial role.

• Proven ability to handle high-severity escalations, optimize workflows, and improve team performance.

• Experience with ERP systems (e.g., QAD, SAP, Oracle ERP, Dynamics 365) is highly advantageous.

Technical Skills:

• Strong understanding of support workflows, escalation protocols, and SLA management.

• Familiarity with debugging tools, troubleshooting methodologies, and basic database management.

• Proficiency in analyzing performance data and identifying trends to drive informed decision-making.

Soft Skills:   

• Exceptional leadership and communication skills, with the ability to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Strong focus on customer satisfaction, with a deep understanding of customer needs and a commitment to exceeding expectations.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a focus on driving customer-centric solutions.

• Skilled in decision-making, balancing customer needs with organizational policies and resource constraints.

• Adaptable and proactive in addressing evolving technologies, customer needs, and organizational priorities.

• Experienced in mentoring and coaching team members to enhance their knowledge, performance, and growth.

• Your health and well being are important to us at QAD. We provide programs that help you strike a healthy work-life balance.
• Opportunity to join a growing business, launching into its next phase of expansion and transformation.
• Collaborative culture of smart and hard-working people who support one another to get the job done.
• An atmosphere of growth and opportunity, where idea-sharing is always prioritized over level or hierarchy.
• Compensation packages based on experience and desired skill set

About QAD:

QAD Inc. is a leading provider of adaptive, cloud-based enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies. Global manufacturers face ever-increasing disruption caused by technology-driven innovation and changing consumer preferences. In order to survive and thrive, manufacturers must be able to innovate and change business models at unprecedented rates of speed. QAD calls these companies Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises. QAD solutions help customers in the automotive, life sciences, packaging, consumer products, food and beverage, high tech and industrial manufacturing industries rapidly adapt to change and innovate for competitive advantage.

QAD is committed to ensuring that every employee feels they work in an environment that values their contributions, respects their unique perspectives and provides opportunities for growth regardless of background. QAD’s DEI program is driving higher levels of diversity, equity and inclusion so that employees can bring their whole self to work.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. 

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