Director Customer Contact Centers

FirstEnergy at a Glance     

     

We are a forward-thinking electric utility powered by a diverse team of employees committed to making customers’ lives brighter, the environment better and our communities stronger.      

     

FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, FirstEnergy includes one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, and a regulated generating fleet with a total capacity of more than 3,500 megawatts.      

     

About the Opportunity      

     

This is an open position with FirstEnergy Service Co., a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. [FEU] 

This position is on-site and will be located in the Akron office.

The Director, Customer Contact Centers provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for delivering premier customer experience support for 6 million FirstEnergy customers.  Oversees all contact center operations across multiple states and outsourced operations, including, but not limited to contact center operations in OH, PA and WV. This role is accountable for delivering exceptional customer experiences, employee development, critical metrics that matter, ensuring regulatory compliance, optimizing workforce staffing, delivering critical service levels and driving technology and operations transformation. The Director partners closely with business leaders across the enterprise to align customer service operations with the utility’s mission, values, and strategic objectives. This position is responsible for building and leading forward-thinking customer centric teams who are focused on enabling employees to maximize the customer experience.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute strategic vision for the customer contact centers to improve service quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
• Drive transformative change on a continual basis.
• Lead, inspire, and mentor employees to foster a high-performing culture.
• Drives results through a culture of coaching and performance root cause analysis.
• Drive employee engagement, retention, and performance improvement initiatives.
• Develop high performing teams, build succession plans and implement strategies to drive career development opportunities.
• Partner with senior leadership to align contact center operations with companywide customer experience initiatives.
• Oversee day-to-day operations across inbound/outbound customer contact channels including (but not limited to) voice, chat, email, text messaging, self-service, and digital customer channels.
• Establish performance goals, service level agreements (SLAs), and key performance indicators (KPIs) that meet or exceed regulatory, reliability, and customer expectations.
• Drive operational improvements through process optimization, technology adoption (IVR, chatbots, CRM tools), and workforce management best practices.
• Monitor customer feedback, complaints, and satisfaction metrics, translating insights into service enhancements.
• Leverage analytics and business intelligence to inform decision-making, forecast demand, and improve efficiency.
• Stay informed of industry best practices, emerging technologies, and customer service innovations in the utility sector.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Communications, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• Minimum 10 years of progressive leadership experience in contact center/customer operations, preferably within utilities, telecommunications, or other regulated industries.
• Demonstrated success in managing large-scale, multi-channel contact centers.
• Strong knowledge of workforce management, quality assurance, and performance metrics.
• Experience with customer service technologies (IVR, CRM, ACD, AI/automation).
• Proven ability to lead large teams and drive cultural and operational transformation.
• Experience building positive relationships and working with peers cross-functionally, demonstrating teamwork and collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Motivational and inspirational leadership, communicating a compelling vision, measuring performance, and fostering a culture of inclusion and accountability; a me