Associate Director, Customer Centres

FIND YOUR 'BETTER' AT AIA

We don’t simply believe in being ‘The Best’. We believe in better - because there’s no limit to how far ‘better’ can take us.

We believe in empowering every one of our people to find their 'better' - in the work they do, the career they build, the life they live and the difference they make. So that together we can support even more people - including our own - to live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.

If you believe in better, we’d love to hear from you.

About the Role

Lead a next-generation Customer Centre in partnership with Distribution to deliver seamless end-to-end service, driving high CSAT for customers and Life Planners. Champion digital adoption, agile practices, and shift from transactional to advisory engagements with personalized solutions. Operate as a unified frontline, ensuring compliance and enhancing healthcare steerage. Upskill branch staff into advisory roles such as New Business Ambassadors and Healthcare Steerage, measured via a joint scorecard. Expanded scope includes managing vendor outsourcing for efficiency, overseeing virtual branch, shaping branch strategy, and leveraging data analytics for performance optimization and proactive decision-making.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with headquarters and regional projects or initiatives to ensure the effective delivery of outcomes. This role involves leading initiatives, advocating for critical changes at both regional and virtual branch/branch levels, and ensuring that the goals of the projects or initiatives are achieved. Additionally, the position requires gathering and analyzing feedback from customers and agents to guide pertinent change management efforts, thus promoting continuous improvements in implementation strategies.
• Provide critical support to the sales team in driving new business by accelerating case capture through business analytics, robust tracking, and proactive follow-up. This includes consistent engagement with agency partners to deepen their understanding of new business and underwriting processes, enabling faster and more efficient case closures.
• Collaborate with the agency team to drive digital adoption and self-service options, thereby enhancing overall quality, productivity and operational efficiency, including managing effectively communication and escalation channels for servicing.
• Collaborate with the sales head in tracking and managing persistency through both pro-active management through business analytics and supporting retention solutioning and execution for a sustainable long-term business.
• Lead branch people transformation and uplifting their capability to support new advisory role and capabilities (e.g. underwriting support & healthcare steerage) 2 from a pure service transaction-focused role. This involves a strategic commitment to personnel development, equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge to transition into providing expert, personalized advice, thereby fostering deeper and more meaningful customer relationship.
• Drive healthcare steerage initiatives by partnering with agency leaders and Life Planners to advocate for customers on the SMART journey. This includes educating and guiding customers & agents toward appropriate healthcare solutions, promoting cost-effective and quality care options, and leveraging data insights to improve healthcare steerage and overall customer experience.
• Work closely with the Head of Department and Group partners to align on branch strategy, translate objectives into actionable initiatives, and ensure timely, successful delivery of all planned outcomes. Maintain strong stakeholder coordination, monitor progress, and resolve risks to achieve strategic goals.
• Oversee the complete insourcing arrangement lifecycle from AIA’s companies, including risk and compliance assessments, data privacy, business continuity, risk management. Responsibilities also include contract management, renewals, tracking & reporting of service level agreement.
• Oversee the complete third-party management lifecycle, including vendor engagement, TPM system administration, and risk and compliance assessments for outsourcing materiality, data privacy, third-party security, business continuity, risk management, cloud assessments, and due diligence. Responsibilities also include contract management, renewals, vendor offboarding and tracking.
• Own and manage all data analytics for management and business information related to Customer Centre, providing insights that support KPI/OKR tracking and enable intelligent decision-making and strategic planning.
• Proactively engage in cost management initiatives to identify savings opportunities through the strategic use of technology and automation to meet departmental and organizational cost reduction goals.
• Persistently enhance the skill set of branch personnel to deliver comprehensive omni-channel support, encompassing in-person, virtual, email, and other digital or support platforms to expedite service delivery and achieve first-contact resolution for customers and agents.
• Continuously assess customer and agent service processes to identify enhancements in efficiency and productivity, leveraging technology, automation, and business analytics. Simultaneously, cultivate an agile work environment that adapts swiftly to changing business, customer, and agency needs.
• Actively drive initiatives that elevate the Customer Net Promoter Score (NPS), fostering a culture of performance orientation within the team that prioritizes superior results and continuous improvement.
• Ensure that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations are central to all initiatives, reflecting our commitment to sustainability and ethical practices by championing the adoption of digital solutions through AIA+, paperless and enhance customer financial literacy and wellness, ensuring a commitment to our brand purpose.
• Serve as the first line of defense in ensuring compliance with internal and regulatory requirements, with a continuous focus on staff proficiency in all areas, especially Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols.

Minimum Job Requirements:

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in a managerial role within the financial or service industry, backed by tertiary education.
• Proven track record of leading teams to deliver exceptional customer service.
• Strong problem-solving abilities in both operational and strategic contexts.
• Demonstrated motivational leadership through effective management of people and resources.
• A results-focused and goal-driven approach.
• Analytical mindset with the capacity to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
• High proficiency in written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.

Build a career with us as we help our customers and the community live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.

You must provide all requested information, including Personal Data, to be considered for this career opportunity. Failure to provide such information may influence the processing and outcome of your application. You are responsible for ensuring that the information you submit is accurate and up-to-date.