Customer Service Operations Manager

Summary

• Execute an industry-leading service center for the healthcare teams at our qualified CAR-T treatment centers by providing prompt and courteous customer support (and patient services to patients and their caregivers, if applicable) to treat patients with Novartis Cell Therapy products in both, the commercial and clinical trial setting.
• The CGT Customer Service Operations Manager will work closely with local country and regional cross-functional teams, and external partners to support the end-to-end operational process from product request to finished product delivery with a constant focus on identifying opportunities for enhancing the healthcare teams/ customer (and patient, where applicable) experience.
• This role is very critical as it directly impacts patients’ lives (failure to deliver finished product may result in a direct impact to patient outcomes and even death), requires off-hours support to HCPs and patients in special circumstances, and can directly impact Novartis’ reputation.
• The CGT Customer Service Operations Manager is responsible for improving the customer experience in Novartis CGT by implementing a customer-centric approach to operations management for our treatment centers. The CGT Customer Service Operations Manager acts as a bridge between manufacturing, supply functions, commercial, clinical, and medical teams, facilitating the timely and safe delivery of modified patient cells for successful patient outcomes.
  
  

About The Role

Key Responsibilities:

The CGT Customer Service Operations Manager Is Accountable For Providing Comprehensive And Extensive Customer And Patient (where Applicable) Care And, As a Customer Experience Gatekeeper To Support The Internal Stakeholders With a Various Range Of Activities, Which May Include (but Are Not Limited To)

• Serve as the primary point of contact for product requests in coordination with internal stakeholders for timely responses.
• Manage the end-to-end process of product requests by ensuring timely delivery and resolving potential issues.
• Minimize delivery time while maintaining reliability through efficient coordination and proactive planning.
• Lead and contribute to process improvement projects (streamlining processes, improving accuracy, and enhancing efficiency).
• Conduct Cell Therapy platform (CellChain) training sessions for hospital centers, making sure that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively utilize the platform.
• Manage external user access to the Cell Therapy platform (CellChain), ensuring data security and compliance.
• Enhance team skills and operational excellence by promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Ensure subject matter expertise to maintain a high level of knowledge and expertise in their subject area, providing informed guidance and support to stakeholders.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, internal and external stakeholders, and management to leverage their expertise and contribute to decision-making processes.
• Resolve customer queries by focusing on efficient and effective communication to enhance the overall customer experience.
• Develop and implement innovative solutions to enhance the overall customer experience, identifying areas for improvement, and seeking ways to exceed customer expectations.
• Customer centric approach: Operational account management (non-promotional), including understanding the hospital’s set-up and knowing the operational KPIs (number of orders, manufacturing starts, etc.)
  
  

Commercial Setting

• Provide patient services such as travel assistance to patients and their care
• givers, as applicable.
• Coordinate local cryopreservation logistics and payment process, as applicable
• Oversight of the local release, logistics and system transactions process related to shipment via distribution depot, as applicable
• Coordinate and contribute to cross-functional commercial meetings, by collaborating with multiple stakeholders to address topics such as product requests, market trends, and customer needs and insights.
• Own the Product Request process for all sites’ onboarding and ensure accuracy of the master data set-up.
• Support with regulatory, RMP and outcomes-based reporting, as applicable based on local country requirements.
  
  

Clinical Trial Setting

• Create and execute the End-to-End operational treatment process to fit the trial design and protocol.
• Support pan-Therapeutic Area (TA) set up and roll out in close collaboration with the cross-functional clinical trial teams.
• Participate in Site Initiation Visits (SIV) in collaboration with internal stakeholders to support timely site readiness for First Patient First Visit (FPFV). This involves ensuring smooth onboarding processes, correct master data set-up and providing support to external users.
• Manage slot requests and communicate key milestone timelines to both external and internal stakeholders. This includes coordinating with various teams to ensure smooth and efficient scheduling.
• Key gatekeeper for critical KPIs: DtD/VtD. Work closely with cross-functional clinical trial teams in supporting clinical trial protocols and the respective vein-to-door and door-to-door metrics.
  
  

Essential Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree minimum (or equivalent business experience)
• Work Experience: Minimum of 5 years in customer support (service) or patient/healthcare professionals -facing experience is preferred.
• Laguage: Fluency in English & Korean is a must and Chinese will be highly preferred & Japanese language will be an added plus
• Understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare business service offerings and customer needs
• Supply chain / logistics experience is highly preferred.
• Strong track record of successful team collaboration and delivery of results
  
  

Skills

• Excellent communication skills (verbal, written) with natural ability to establish relationships and address customer issues. Ability to clearly articulate and easily convey a customer service sentiment.
• High level of emotional intelligence, agility, empathy while being strong in problem solving and logistics, able to manage complex and difficult stakeholder situations.
• Able to operate in ambiguity and easily adapt to change.
• Problem solving skills and new solutions mindset.
• Collaborative mindset to manage local and regional cross-functional interactions, both internal and external.
• Able to think strategically to anticipate and plan for critical needs to support centers, taking strategic decisions while staying focused and articulated.
• Proficient at uncovering customer-based insights/needs and leveraging this knowledge to drive satisfaction and continued process improvements.
• Ability to work well across a matrix organization with strong collaboration skills to internal and external stakeholders.
  
  

You’ll receive: You can find everything you need to know about our benefits and rewards in the Novartis Life Handbook. https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Commitment To Diversity And Inclusion

Novartis is an Equal Opportunity Employer and take pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to building diverse teams, representative of the patients and communities we serve, and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.

Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

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Benefits and Rewards: Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards