General Manager (GM) - Manila

Role Overview

The General Manager (GM) - Manila is the senior-most leader for the Manila site, responsible for positioning the location as a high-performing, strategic hub that delivers measurable business impact, exceptional customer outcomes, and a strong employee experience. This role serves as the primary bridge between Manila and U.S.-based leadership, operating in a highly matrixed environment where all employees (~120) report into U.S. functional leaders. The GM provides site-level leadership, alignment, and influence to ensure Manila operates with consistency, accountability, and strategic clarity.

The organization operates in a highly matrixed environment, where most team members report into global functional leaders. The GM will succeed through influence, strong stakeholder management, and executive presence rather than direct authority.

Key Responsibilities

1. Site Leadership & Strategic Impact

• Serve as the senior representative and face of the company in Manila, reinforcing company culture, values, and connection to the broader organization.
• Act as the local subject matter expert on the Manila market, including labor laws, talent landscape, and employment practices; advise U.S.-based leaders to enable informed hiring, management, and organizational decisions.
• Translate global company goals into clear, executable site-level priorities, ensuring alignment while maximizing local impact.
• Drive Manila’s evolution from a delivery center to a strategic capability hub, identifying opportunities to expand scope, complexity, and ownership of work.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with local partners, universities, government entities, and vendors to support compliance, brand presence, and long-term talent pipelines.
• Lead site-wide engagement efforts, including quarterly all-hands meetings, recognition programs, and initiatives that reinforce culture and celebrate Manila’s contributions.
• Facilitate regular leadership forums (e.g., monthly roundtables) to align Manila team leads with U.S. leadership, track priorities, and surface risks and opportunities.
• Represent Manila in executive forums (ELT/SLT), ensuring visibility, advocacy, and alignment with broader company strategy.

2. Cross-Functional Leadership & Alignment

• Operate as a high-influence leader in a dotted-line environment, ensuring alignment across U.S.-based functional leaders and Manila-based teams.
• Partner with global leaders (Sales, Customer Success, Operations, HR) to drive consistent execution and shared accountability for outcomes.
• Lead site-level forums (e.g., leadership roundtables) to align priorities, track performance, and surface risks and opportunities.
• Act as a cultural and operational bridge, ensuring effective communication and collaboration across geographies.

3. Operational Excellence & Customer Outcomes

• Drive performance against key operational and customer metrics (e.g., CSAT, NPS, SLA adherence, productivity).
• Identify and resolve systemic issues impacting delivery, partnering cross-functionally to implement scalable solutions.
• Support revenue and customer success leaders in improving adoption, retention, and expansion across customer segments.
• Partner with executive and senior leaders to ensure Manila operations consistently deliver high-quality, reliable outcomes aligned to business expectations.

4. People, Culture & Engagement

• Foster a high-performing, engaged, and inclusive site culture aligned with values.
• Provide guidance and coaching to local team leads to strengthen leadership capability and consistency.
• Partner with HR and U.S. leaders to support talent development, career pathing, and internal mobility.
• Serve as a trusted escalation point, balancing local context with global standards and policies.
• Drive initiatives that improve engagement, retention, and overall employee experience.

5. Governance, Compliance & Site Operations

• Ensure full compliance with local labor laws, regulatory requirements, and company policies.
• Oversee site operations, including vendor relationships, facilities, and risk management.
• Partner with Finance on budget oversight and cost optimization efforts.
• Represent the organization in external matters within the Philippines market.

Success in this role is defined by site-level performance and influence, including:

• Customer Outcomes: CSAT, retention, adoption, SLA performance
• Operational Performance: Productivity, efficiency, and delivery consistency
• People Metrics: Engagement (≥80%), retention, leadership effectiveness
• Strategic Impact: Expansion of Manila’s capabilities and contribution to global priorities

Requirements

• 10+ years of leadership experience in site leadership, operations, or country / general management within SaaS, tech-enabled services, or BPO/shared services environments.
• Open to Director/VP-level leaders who are comfortable stepping into a General Manager capacity.
• Proven ability to lead in matrixed, global organizations and influence without direct authority.
• Strong business acumen with experience driving operational performance and customer outcomes.
• Strong understanding of operational metrics (SLAs, CSAT, retention, delivery performance).
• Demonstrated success scaling teams, capabilities, and organizational impact.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and cross-cultural leadership skills.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence senior leaders.
• High ownership mindset with the ability to operate autonomously and drive results.

Additional Role Context

• This role operates within a lean, US-based SME structure with approximately 100–120 employees in Manila and has no plans of scaling up for now.
• No direct reports under this role (matrix leadership). Success in this role is driven through influence, stakeholder management, and cross-functional leadership, rather than traditional line management.

Working Setup

• Hybrid Work: Minimum 3 days per week in Ortigas office.
• Remote Flexibility: Up to 2 days remote weekly; can work fully remote for short periods if needed upon approval of the management.
• Executive Visits: Required to be on-site full-time during visits from C-suite (including CEO).
• Working Hours: Flexible; must accommodate US stakeholders (PH night shift or mid-shift coverage as needed).