Partner Performance Specialist

Job Description

At OVO, we are on a mission to solve one of humanity's biggest challenges, the climate crisis. And we know it takes all of us to change the world. That's why we need diverse people from all abilities, gender identities, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, life experiences and backgrounds to join us.

Teamworking for the planet

Everything we do here spins around Plan Zero. So, naturally, the team you'll be joining plays a gigantic role in making that happen. Here's how:

We're hiring world-changers. From Zero Carbon Living Advisors to Product Managers, every role we're hiring plays their own part in our mission; our role is to find those people and bring them on our Zero Carbon journey.

This role in a nutshell

As a Partner Performance Specialist, you'll be the pivotal link between our UK Quality operations and our third-party quality assurance (QA) partner based in India. Your primary mission will be to ensure this partner delivers exceptional 1st line QA services. This means meticulously managing their performance, driving continuous improvement through actionable insights, and ensuring their adherence to contractual agreements and our overarching QA strategy. You'll be the expert on their output, ensuring the quality and accuracy of their audits directly contribute to our operational excellence.

Reporting directly to the QA Operations Lead, you'll manage the entire 1st-line QA partner relationship. Your core focus will be to ensure their performance consistently excels, driving this through detailed reporting, robust action plans, and critical project management for both new business deployments and seamless phase-outs. You'll also be responsible for managing the operational budget, ensuring cost efficiency, and providing accurate FTE and resource forecasts.

A key aspect of your role involves meticulously checking adherence to contractual agreements, working closely with our Contracts team on any necessary changes or challenges. Furthermore, you'll collaborate with our UK-based 2nd line disputes and 'check the checker' teams, leveraging their insights to pinpoint 1st line opportunities and implement targeted improvement plans with the partner. On top of this, you'll also lead change management within the 1st line QA team, proactively identifying potential operational shifts (such as new initiatives or teams from Governance meetings) and working directly with the operation to seamlessly embed these changes into our QA processes.

While your focus remains squarely on the accuracy and efficiency of the 1st line partner's performance, you'll also serve as the primary point of contact for all partner related matters, ultimately ensuring that their vital assurance work is delivered precisely as per our quality strategy.

You'll undertake frequent travel to India to directly support our partner, driving key initiatives like training and accreditation, fostering strong relationships, and ensuring the successful delivery of strategic action plans.

Your key outputs will be

• Robust Partner Relationship Management: A crucial output is the cultivation and maintenance of a strong, collaborative, and professional relationship with key stakeholders within the 1st line partner organisation. This involves fostering open communication and building a partnership based on mutual trust.
• Comprehensive Partner Performance Reports: You'll be responsible for producing, analysing, and interrogating regular, analytical reports detailing the 1st line QA partner's performance across key metrics like accuracy, efficiency, and adherence to contractual SLAs and KPIs. You'll also ensure you have the comprehensive suite of reports needed for internal understanding and data-driven decision-making.
• Strategic Improvement Action Plans: You'll lead the development, implementation, and oversight of critical action plans for the 1st line QA team. This includes strategic initiatives such as deploying new lines of business or significant process changes, and also tactical action plans to address identified performance gaps and drive continuous improvement. All plans will be defined with clear objectives, steps, and timelines.
• Verified Contractual Adherence: You'll ensure and verify the 1st line partner's consistent adherence to all contractual obligations. You'll work closely with our Contracts Team to review and monitor contractual KPIs and performance, ensuring these KPIs remain aligned with changing business needs, and put appropriate corrective action in place as required.
• Driving 1st Line Quality & Service Optimisation: Your work will result in demonstrable improvements in the accuracy and efficiency of audits performed by the 1st-line partner. This includes identifying and driving enhancements based on insights from collaboration with the UK-based 2nd-line disputes and 'check-the-checker' teams. Beyond addressing gaps, you'll also proactively work with the outsourcer to identify opportunities to further enhance and optimise the service, even when performance is strong.
• Effective Cost Management & Budget Adherence: You'll actively contribute to the cost efficiency of the 1st-line partner's operations. This involves reviewing invoices, tracking spend against agreed forecasts, and providing insightful input into ongoing budget management. Your work ensures services are delivered within financial parameters, and you'll collaborate with the contracts team to inform commercial discussions related to service levels.
• Accurate FTE & Resource Forecasting: A key output will be providing accurate FTE, headcount, and resource forecasts for the 1st line partner to meet anticipated demand. You'll work closely with forecasting and planning teams on these requirements, ensuring the partner is adequately staffed to maintain service levels and quality.
• Successful Initiative Implementation: You'll oversee and ensure the effective execution and successful delivery of key initiatives with the 1st line partner.
• Agent Onboarding & Compliance Assurance: You'll be accountable for overseeing the seamless setup of new 1st line agents, ensuring they receive timely access to all necessary systems and tools. A key output will also be monitoring and reporting on the completion of mandatory learning and compliance training for all agents, ensuring they are fully equipped and compliant to perform their roles.

Within your first month you'll

• Immerse yourself in our 1st line QA operations and strategy: You'll gain a deep understanding of our current quality assurance processes, focusing on the workflows, standards, and objectives for the 1st line partner
• Begin building key relationships: You'll start establishing rapport with the 1st line partner's leadership and operational teams in India, as well as key internal stakeholders including the Operations Lead and the 2nd Line disputes and assurance teams in the UK
• Review existing performance data and contractual agreements: You'll dive into historical performance reports, current KPIs, and the contractual terms with our 1st Line partner, identifying immediate areas for focus.
• Understand ongoing initiatives and challenges: You'll get up to speed on any current improvement plans, live projects, or pressing challenges related to the 1st line partner's performance.
• Take ownership of current performance improvement plans: You'll get up to speed on any existing improvement plans, actively taking over their management and ensuring continued momentum.
• Plan your initial visit to India: You'll begin outlining the objectives and logistics for your essential first trip to the partner site, focusing on relationship building and initial assessments.

You'll be a successful Partner Performance Specialist at OVO if you...

• Bring extensive, proven partner experience: You have a demonstrated history of actively navigating the complexities of external partnerships, showcasing a strong ability to build rapport, influence outcomes, and consistently drive success.
• Excel at driving performance through others: You're not just managing a partner; you're truly empowering them to hit and exceed their targets, constantly pushing for higher standards of accuracy and efficiency
• Are adept at having difficult, action-oriented conversations: You're comfortable addressing underperformance or challenging situations directly, constructively, and with a clear focus on achieving positive outcomes and accountability
• Are a master communicator and relationship builder: You can effortlessly navigate complex stakeholder relationships, fostering trust and collaboration with both our international partners and internal UK teams
• Are relentlessly data-driven and action-oriented: You love diving into numbers to uncover insights, and more importantly, you know how to translate those insights into concrete, measurable action plans that deliver real results
• Thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment: You're comfortable juggling multiple priorities, adapting quickly to change, and proactively identifying and solving problems before they escalate
• Have a keen eye for detail and a passion for quality: You understand that the smallest inaccuracies can have a big impact, and you're committed to upholding the highest quality assurance standards
• Are comfortable with international travel: You recognise the value of in-person collaboration and are ready to travel frequently to India to strengthen relationships and drive initiatives directly

Let's talk about what's in it for you

We'll pay you between ??33,330 and ??48,000, depending on your specific skills and experience.

We keep our pay ranges broad on purpose to give us, and you, flexibility to match your experience to our zero carbon mission.

You'll be eligible for an on-target bonus of 15%. We have one OVO bonus plan that focuses on the collective performance of our people to deliver our Plan Zero goal.

We also offer plenty of green benefits and progressive policies to help you feel like you belong at OVO...and there's flex pay. We'll give you 9% Flex Pay on top of your salary - 4% of this is auto enrolled into your pension, and the remaining 5% is yours to do what you like with. You can use this to buy from our extensive range of flexible benefits, including our green benefits which we've put at the heart of our offering, add to your pension or even take it as cash.

Here's a taster of what's on offer:

For starters, you'll get 34 days of holiday (including bank holidays).

For your health With benefits like a healthcare cash plan or private medical insurance depending on your career level, critical illness cover, life assurance, health assessments, and more

For your wellbeing With gym membership, travel insurance, workplace ISA, will writing services, dental insurance, and more

For your lifestyle With extra holiday buying, discount dining, home & tech loans, and supporting your favourite charities with give-as-you-earn donations

For your home Get up to ??400 towards any OVO Energy plan, plus great discounts on solar, smart thermostats and EV chargers

For your commute Nab a great deal on ultra-low emission car leasing, plus our cycle to work scheme and public transport season ticket loans

Want to hear about our full range of flexible benefits and progressive people policies? Our People Team can tell you everything you need to know.

For your Belonging

To find better ways to support our people, we need to listen to each other's experiences and find ways to build a truly inclusive and diverse workplace. As part of this, we have 8 Belonging Networks at OVO. Led by our people, for our people - so when you join OVO, you can play a part - big or small - with any of the Networks. It's up to you.

Oh, and one last thing...

We'd be thrilled if you tick off all our boxes, yet we also believe it's just as important we tick off all of yours. And if you think you have most of what we're looking for but not every single thing, go ahead and hit apply. We'd still love to hear from you!

If you have any additional requirements, there's a space to let us know on the application form; we want to make the process as easy and comfortable for you as possible.