Customer Support Manager

Lead a sharp, dedicated team and reimagine how customer support works in an AI-native company.

Jem is searching for a Customer Support Manager who can rethink what great support looks like and make it happen fast. You'll lead a high-performing team, build automation into the way we work, and ensure every interaction (across calls, WhatsApp, and email) leaves customers feeling heard, valued, and supported.

Jem is one of South Africa's fastest-growing startups, redefining HR, payroll, and benefits for deskless teams. Backed by top investors, we're on a mission to give frontline workers access, dignity, and control over their working lives. We're proudly AI-first, building smarter processes and automations to work faster, scale better, and have a bigger impact.

Roles and Responsibilities

You'll lead a team of eight brilliant Jems across two functions. The Customer Support team includes a Customer Support Lead, two Customer Support Coordinators, two Jem Mobile Customer Support Coordinators and a Technical Solutions Manager. The Customer Data team includes a Customer Data Lead and one Customer Support Coordinator. You'll report to our Head of Customer, Nonsuku, and collaborate with team members in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Leadership & Culture

You'll lead, coach, and grow a high-performing support team while building a culture that reflects Jem's core principles: people matter, take ownership, and find solutions through AI and customer obsession. You'll run daily stand-ups, regular check-ins, and performance reviews to keep the team aligned, motivated, and delivering at a high standard.

Operations & Quality

You'll oversee daily operations across calls, WhatsApp, and email, managing SLAs for response and resolution times, staffing, and shift coverage. Every interaction should be professional, empathetic, and accurate, and you'll monitor tone and sentiment through Freshworks to ensure quality stays high.

AI, Automation & Innovation

You'll identify high-volume or repeat queries and design automation to reduce manual work. Working closely with Product and Engineering, you'll improve self-service, implement smart routing, and test, refine, and optimise bot flows and automation rules to make support faster and more efficient.

Customer Advocacy & Insights

You'll act as the voice of the customer, capturing and routing feedback to the right teams. You'll escalate edge cases with clear documentation, follow up after resolution, and track CSAT and NPS trends — turning insights into actions that improve satisfaction.

Processes & Reporting

You'll keep documentation clear and current, including escalation paths, shift handovers, and contact handling guides. Monthly reports on ticket volumes, channel mix, resolution times, and satisfaction trends will help you refine support strategy and plan resources effectively.

Onboarding & Training

You'll create training materials, lead onboarding for new hires, and keep the team updated on new features, tools, and workflows. Regular knowledge-sharing sessions will help continuously upskill the team and maintain a high standard of service.

Key Skills & Qualifications

3 to 5 years in customer support, including at least 1–2 years leading a team.

Experience with calls, WhatsApp, and email support, ideally via Freshworks or similar.

Skilled in SLA management, performance tracking, and escalations.

Strong automation mindset: templates, workflows, and contact deflection.Excellent coaching, communication, and feedback skills.

Confident using data to make operational decisions.

AI & automation-First Mindset

What We Offer

Continuous Learning: You'll help shape how we build AI into our processes and automations, solving real problems for real people. We move fast, try new things, and share what we learn along the way.

Career Growth: Big ownership, visible impact, and the chance to grow with one of SA's fastest-scaling startups.

Hybrid Work Culture: We have offices in Cape Town & Johannesburg, but we'd like someone based in our Johannesburg office (Glenadrienne, Sandton) at least three days a week.

Competitive Package: Competitive salary, benefits, and 22 days of annual leave.

What You Can Expect From Us

We aim to move candidates through our interview process in no more than 10 working days. For this role, there are five steps:

CV Application & Video: Submit your CV, answer some questions, and record a short video answering a specific question so we can get to know you beyond your CV.

Technical Assessment: A 48-hour take-home task to understand how you think through problems and get a high-level view of your AI, automation, and leadership skills in the support space. (It won't take you more than 1–2 hours to complete.)

Technical Interview: A 30-minute conversation with Nonsuku, your potential manager. She'll explore your background in customer support, ask some technical questions, and give you the chance to ask your own.

In-Person Workshop: A collaborative session in our Johannesburg office with some of our team members. You'll see our space, meet the team, and work through real scenarios so we can understand your teamwork, problem-solving, and collaboration style.

Founder Interview: A 45-minute session with Caroline van der Merwe, our co-founder and COO, to explore team fit and culture alignment.

Quick note on our process: We use AI alongside human reviewers to help us review applications quickly and fairly, but every decision to move forward is made by a real person. We'll always communicate with you, even if the outcome is regret at any stage. "People matter" is one of our core principles, and we work hard to make sure that's reflected in your hiring experience.

If you're excited to shape the future of work, build smarter processes, and help support and develop the special team we have serving our customers at Jem, please apply below.