At Bright Harbor, we help communities rebuild stronger after disaster strikes. Our platform is redefining disaster recovery by guiding people through the complex process of estimating loss, accessing funding, and coordinating repairs—with clarity and confidence at every step.

Our work begins when everything else falls apart. We’re building the navigation system for recovery and we’re looking for a Customer Operations Lead to help shape one of the most important parts of the journey: how we show up for people when they need us most. This director-level role is responsible for scaling our internal Recovery Specialists and managing our external Service Partner network to ensure every customer interaction is timely, empathetic, and effective, especially when it matters most.

About the Role

The Customer Operations Lead will build the systems, processes, and team that make world-class support feel personal and actionable. You’ll oversee customer delivery across both internal and external teams, and you’ll serve as a critical stakeholder for our internal product and engineering teams—translating operational needs into clear product requirements that improve the tools we use every day.

This is a rare opportunity to architect the full experience for a high-stakes, deeply human moment—and to help shape how our brand shows up for people in crisis. The ideal candidate has a background in customer success or operations at a high-growth startup or top-tier brand and is equal parts strategist and doer. You’re obsessed with customers, energized by complexity, and unafraid to roll up your sleeves and fix what’s broken.

What You’ll Do

• Build and Lead the Recovery Team: Hire, train, and manage a growing team of in-house Recovery Specialists who guide customers through the recovery process with clarity and care.

• Manage Service Partners: Own the performance and coordination of our third-party service network—including onboarding, SLAs, quality assurance, and escalation protocols.

• Design for Scale: Build systems, processes, and tools that enable efficient, high-quality support without losing the personal touch.

• Own Internal Enablement Tools: Act as the primary stakeholder for customer-facing operations tools within our custom-built platform. Gather feedback, define product requirements, and collaborate with product and engineering to improve internal workflows.

• Define and Track KPIs: Set and monitor success metrics across customer experience, operational efficiency, and partner performance.

• Drive Operational Excellence: Identify bottlenecks, close gaps, and continuously improve the end-to-end recovery journey.

• Be the Voice of the Customer: Surface insights and feedback that inform product, policy, and partnership decisions—ensuring our roadmap aligns with customer needs.

• Lead Through Empathy and Action: Set the tone for how we show up when people need us most, balancing speed with emotional intelligence and operational rigor.

What You Bring

• 7–10+ years of experience in customer success, operations, or service delivery roles, including 3+ years in a leadership or director-level position.

• Proven experience building and managing high-performing teams, especially in customer-facing roles.

• Track record of success in a fast-paced startup or high-growth environment.

• Experience working with both internal teams and external vendors or service partners.

• Strong operational mindset with the ability to build and improve complex systems and workflows.

• Experience writing business or operational requirements and collaborating directly with product and engineering teams on internal tools or platforms

• Hands-on leader who can shift between strategy and execution with ease.

• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills—able to influence across teams and disciplines.

• Deep customer empathy and a passion for helping people navigate uncertainty with confidence.

Bonus (But Not Required)

• Experience in disaster recovery, insurance, housing, civic tech, or social impact work.