Western Client Service Operations, Senior Manager
Client Service Operations • Full-Time Leadership Role • Southfield, Michigan
**Schedule to align with PT / west coast business hours
ABOUT PROOF
Launched in 2018, Proof is a national platform for service of process supporting thousands of law firms across the United States. We connect law firms with process servers and enable electronic court filing through a modern, technology-driven platform — automating document ingestion, compliance, real-time job matching, and integrations with leading legal software. Today, Proof delivers over 60,000 documents per month through a network of ~2,000 contracted process servers.
ROLE OVERVIEW
The Senior Operations Manager runs the Operations function, not a team within it. You manage 3–5 Operations Managers and own the operating model itself: how Operations is structured, what it measures, how it makes decisions, and how it scales. Your job is to make your Managers successful — not to do their jobs. Operations runs predictably through growth, change, and pressure because the system you've built holds it together.
COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK
Execution & Quality
- Function-Level Outcomes: Own SLA, quality, productivity, cost, and retention across all teams. When the function misses, you own the diagnosis and the fix.
- Service Model Design: Design the service model (tiering, response standards, escalation) and deliver against it at scale. Serve as operations executive sponsor for enterprise clients; participate in QBRs.
- Problem Prioritization: Identify and prioritize the highest-leverage operational problems; kill work that doesn't move the needle. Diagnose systemic issues — capacity, structure, incentives, tooling — and drive multi-quarter solutions.
- Anticipation & Prevention: Anticipate second- and third-order effects of change. Drive initiatives that prevent next year's problems, not just fix this quarter's.
- Capacity Building: Build capacity without proportional investment. Make deliberate choices about what to build internally vs. source from Product or vendors.
- QA Framework Ownership: Own the QA framework across teams: escape rate, audit posture, defect rate, billing accuracy. Set and enforce the standard for what 'good' looks like.
- Organizational Resilience: Build an operations function that absorbs growth, M&A, regulatory change, and strategic pivots without breaking SLAs. Model composure under sustained pressure.
Technical Expertise
- Metrics Framework: Own the Operations metrics framework: what we measure, what 'good' looks like, and what triggers action. Build executive reporting where numbers are right, narrative is honest, and recommendations are specific.
- Tool Standards: Set tool fluency standards across teams. Partner with Product on the tool roadmap. Don't tolerate manual workarounds that should be automated.
- Compliance Interpretation: Own the compliance interpretation framework; partner with Legal Operations on a defensible standard. Ensure operational adherence to legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements across service of process and court filing.
- Server Partnership Model: Own the server partnership model: selection, development, escalation, and retirement. Own the pricing and assignment model at the function level. The function's reputation in the server network is a strategic asset.
Communication & Collaboration
- Manager Development: Manage 3–5 Operations Managers. Own leadership development, succession planning, manager training, and performance calibration. Make the call on hiring, promotions, PIPs, and terminations. The strength of the Manager bench is the primary measure of this role.
- Management Standards: Set the management standard — 1:1s, performance conversations, coaching, team rhythms — and audit adherence. Create an environment where Managers make decisions, take risks, and learn from mistakes without thrashing.
- Communications Operating Model: Set the communication operating model across Operations: cadences, escalation paths, written standards, executive reporting. Own the narrative on operational performance — what's working, what isn't, what you're doing about it.
- Cross-Functional Leadership: Own the cross-functional operating model for how Ops works with CS, Sales, Product, Marketplace, and Legal. Bring problems with proposed solutions. Be credible in front of senior leadership, enterprise clients, and the operations floor.
- Culture & Visibility: Build a culture where people raise issues without fear. Be available to skip-level reports without undermining Managers. Be visible enough that Specialists know who you are and what you stand for.
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE (FIRST 12 MONTHS)
- Operations meets or exceeds SLA, quality, and cost targets across all teams, with measurable improvement on at least two
- A documented operating rhythm, metrics framework, and escalation model are in place and followed without your active enforcement
- At least one Operations Manager is developed to credibly backfill your role on an interim basis
- Executive leadership describes Operations as a strategic partner — not a function to be managed
- You've identified the next 2–3 structural changes required for the next year of growth and built the plan to get there
QUALIFICATIONS
- 7+ years of operations experience, including 2+ years managing managers; high-growth, service-delivery, or regulated-industry experience strongly preferred
- Demonstrated track record owning function-level KPIs at scale and materially improving them — you can show what you changed, why, and what moved
- Proven people leader: can speak in detail about Managers developed, hard calls made, and bench strength built
- Strong analytical and structured-thinking skills; comfortable building and defending an operations roadmap tied to company strategy
- Excellent executive communication; credible across senior leadership, enterprise clients, and the operations floor
- Experience in legal services, service of process, regulated operations, or complex service-delivery environments strongly preferred
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, or related field; advanced degree or Lean/Six Sigma certification a plus
ROLE DETAILS
- Full-time, in-person, Southfield office
- Must be available during normal business hours, with flexibility for escalations and coverage needs outside of them
- Two work-from-home days per month
- Health benefits including vision and dental; flexible time off
- Salary Range $120,000-$140,000 depending on experience. Eligible to participate in company bonus plan.
E-Verify
This company participates in E-Verify, for more information view the Participation and Right to Work Posters.