Technical Program Manager, Knowledge Base (Customer Support)

GitLab is an open core software company that develops the most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps Platform, used by more than 100,000 organizations. Our mission is to enable everyone to contribute to and co-create the software that powers our world. When everyone can contribute, consumers become contributors, significantly accelerating the rate of human progress. This mission is integral to our culture, influencing how we hire, build products, and lead our industry. We make this possible at GitLab by running our operations on our product and staying aligned with our values. Learn more about Life at GitLab.

An overview of this role

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Program Manager to lead, define, and develop our knowledge base (KB) for the customer support team, using Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) methodology. This leader will focus on creating a high-quality, user-centric knowledge base in Zendesk, enabling our support team to resolve issues efficiently and empowering customers with self-service solutions. This role requires expertise in knowledge base best practices, a customer-first mentality, and the ability to work cross-functionally with product, engineering, and support teams.

What you’ll do  

Knowledge Base Strategy and Vision:

• Define and drive the vision and strategy for the Knowledge Base, aligning with company goals to enhance customer satisfaction and streamline support processes.
•  Develop and maintain a content roadmap for the knowledge base, setting measurable goals for usage, relevance, and quality, leveraging KCS principles.

Content Development and Management (KCS-based):

•  Lead and manage the creation, organization, and optimization of knowledge articles following KCS methodology to ensure content accuracy, relevance, and accessibility.
•  Implement a KCS-driven workflow to capture, structure, and reuse knowledge effectively, empowering the team to document resolutions in real-time.
•  Develop standardized templates and guidelines based on KCS practices, promoting consistent knowledge base content creation and upkeep.

Team Leadership and KCS Coaching:

•  Manage and mentor a team of knowledge base contributors, writers, and support agents, fostering a collaborative and continuous improvement environment.
•  Provide coaching, training, and performance feedback on KCS methodologies to empower team members and improve knowledge management skills.
•  Encourage KCS-aligned content contributions from support agents, setting up processes and providing training to support efficient documentation.

Zendesk Knowledge Management:

•  Lead the design, implementation, and ongoing optimization of the Zendesk knowledge base, leveraging its tools and analytics to support KCS practices.
•  Ensure Zendesk is configured to support KCS workflows, facilitating knowledge capture, reuse, and customer self-service.
•  Stay current with Zendesk features, KCS practices, and industry trends to continuously improve the knowledge base experience.

User Experience and Content Optimization (KCS-Aligned):

•  Use KCS insights to analyze user feedback, search patterns, and content gaps to optimize the knowledge base structure and navigation.
•  Implement SEO best practices and adapt KCS practices to improve content discoverability and relevance.
•  Monitor KPIs, including article usage, deflection rates, and customer satisfaction, aligning improvements with KCS objectives.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

•  Partner with product and engineering teams to ensure new features and updates are well-documented and integrated into the knowledge base.
•  Work closely with support managers to align knowledge base and KCS initiatives with the broader support strategy.
•  Act as the voice of the customer, advocating for improvements based on knowledge base and KCS insights and usage data.

About the team

The Technical Program Manager will sit within the Support Readiness team. The Support Readiness team is a team-within-a-team that makes sure that Customer Support is able to delight GitLab’s customers. We’re composed of a variety of specialists who focus on our operati