Support Operations Team Lead

About Stitch Stitch is a payments infrastructure company on a mission to make it easier for enterprise businesses to connect to the financial system and build better experiences for their customers. We are expanding the team to enable Stitch to broaden our product offering and extend our geographical footprint. About the role The Support Operations Team Lead is responsible for the day-to-day leadership of the support team, ensuring high performance, effective shift coverage, and excellent client support and incident management. The role combines people leadership with individual contributor responsibilities, balancing team management with direct involvement in operational processes, incidents, and reporting. The Team Lead is also responsible for developing team members, maintaining strong documentation, and ensuring that support operations run smoothly in alignment with Stitch’s high standards. Key Responsibilities Primary Responsibilities 1. Team Leadership and Performance Management Lead, coach, and support the Support Operations team, ensuring high performance, motivation, and engagement. Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and provide feedback, addressing performance issues proactively. Help to foster a positive, collaborative, and growth-focused team culture. Act as the first point of escalation along with the technical lead for incidents and complex queries within the team. Oversee incident management, ensuring timely and effective resolution while maintaining communication with clients and stakeholders. Conduct incident deep dives and analysis, ensure up to date with latest incident and Support trends Run fires refinement and other team wide meetings where required 2. Shift Management and Resourcing Assist with planing, scheduling, and overseeing resources to ensure 24/7 support coverage for all client needs. Ensure adequate staffing levels across all shifts, including after-hours support. Continuously assess shift patterns and coverage to optimise resources and maintain service levels. Occasionally and where required provide additional shift coverage 3. Training and Quality Management Ensure all team members are trained on the latest tools, systems, and processes. Monitor quality of support delivery and coach team members to improve. Lead knowledge-sharing sessions and refresher training as needed. Maintain a focus on continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance service delivery and implementing changes where necessary. Conduct regular audits of support processes, ensuring adherence to quality standards and making adjustments as needed. 4. Reporting and Communication Provide regular reports on team performance, incidents, and operational health to upper management Track and share key performance indicators (KPIs) such as SLA adherence, resolution times, and client satisfaction. Ensure timely communication of critical updates within the team and to management. Use data-driven insights to identify trends and areas for improvement, implementing action plans to address any gaps in performance. Secondary Responsibilities 5. Process Ownership and Individual Contribution Own and refine specific support processes (incident management, Zendesk, partner workflows). Maintain and update playbooks, SOPs, and other documentation to ensure accuracy and accessibility. Actively participate in shifts occasionally to stay close to day-to-day operations. Directly investigate complex incidents or client queries when required. 6. Development Framework and Career Progression Support the team’s career development framework by creating tailored growth plans with team members. Track progress on individual development plans, ensuring alignment with business needs and career goals. Provide mentorship and enable team members to progress to the next level in their careers. 7. Collaboration and Continuous Improvement Collaborate with Technical Support Engineers and other leads on tooling, automation, and process improvements. Share operational insights with peers and leadership to improve efficiency and service delivery. Ensure smooth handovers between shifts and across teams. Requirements Based in Cape Town (Desirable) SQL proficiency; comfortable writing queries and using data to understand trends and make decisions Experience in the payments space, including familiarity with KYC and client onboarding processes Proven team leadership experience, you've led or built a team and know how to get the best out of people A high sense of urgency; you understand that support is time-sensitive and operate accordingly Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to communicate clearly with clients, engineers and leadership alike Ability to interface confidently with technical teams and hold your own in conversations about architecture, incidents and product decisions Coding experience or strong AI tooling proficiency to support automation and process improvement work Process development or project management experience is advantageous Benefits & Perks 🏖️ Remote-friendly Work We recognise and value the importance of enabling remote work and maintaining a globally distributed workforce. We cater to equitable employee experiences for both in-office and remote team members. We remain conscientious about ensuring a level playing field, especially around team events, business meeting practices, and office-driven benefits. While we facilitate remote work, we also see the value in bringing the full team together in person from time to time. 🎨 Stock Ownership* We believe in the power of ownership. That's why every full-time team member becomes a part-owner of Stitch. Our employee stock ownership plan ensures that when the company thrives, you do too. ⏰ Time Off* Taking time off from work is critical to ensure that you can take necessary breaks and have time for important life events outside of work. It also helps you manage your energy better. In line with this, we provide a generous annual leave policy, along with supportive family responsibility, parental, study, and long-tenure sabbatical leave options, designed to accommodate the diverse needs of our team. 📚 Learning & Development Fund* We are committed to the professional growth of our team. Each year, we allocate $3,000 per full time team member for learning and development, supporting a culture of continuous improvement and skill enhancement. 🩺 Health Insurance Contribution* Recognising the importance of health and well-being, we contribute to health insurance for all team members and provide group health insurance schemes in certain jurisdictions. 💻 Equipment To ensure our team has the tools they need, new members receive a brand-new Mac laptop along with the necessary peripheral equipment upon joining Stitch. 💜 Employee Assistance Programmes We care about the well-being of our team. Our Employee Assistance Programmes provide you with the necessary resources and support to not only excel in your job but also to thrive in your personal life. Whether it's counselling, advice, or support services, we're here to help every step of the way. Other notable benefits and perks Celebrations for important life and work milestones Daily team lunches in the Cape Town office Bi-annual work retreats New starter dinners Frequent team and company events Compliance with POPIA Our processing of your Personal Information is subject to, and in compliance with, the provisions of POPIA. Privacy and security of your information We will process your information only on instructions from you, which we are deemed to have received when you submit information on our website. We will maintain the confidentiality and security of such information per the standards contained in the POPIA, which requires us to adopt reasonable safeguards to protect the integrity and confidentiality of such information from unauthorized access, loss or destruction. *these benefits are applicable for full-time staff members but may not apply for fixed-term and part-time staff