Escalations and Communications Manager at Dark Fibre Africa (2024-01 – Present)
- Lead the comprehensive escalation lifecycle across Engineering and Cloud Delivery, consistently restoring high-impact services within SLA and minimizing downtime for enterprise clients.
- Drive rapid service restoration by mobilizing cross-functional engineering and field operations teams (including specialized fibre splicing and repair units), while maintaining strict executive-level visibility.
- Partner directly with VP-level stakeholders during high-pressure major incidents, serving as the central point of accountability and delivering clear, strategic communication.
- Analyse comprehensive problem reports to isolate root causes, implement preventative corrective actions, and systematically reduce repeat incidents through continuous service improvement.
- Oversee end-to-end wayleave management, successfully securing critical approvals and ensuring strict regulatory compliance to eliminate project delays.
- Strengthen operational governance by integrating incident, problem, and escalation data to maximize reporting accuracy, boost efficiency, and elevate the customer experience.
Independent Professional Development & Market Alignment at Independent (2023-06 – 2023-12)
Dedicated transition period focused on advanced technical upskilling, completing industry-aligned professional development certifications, and evaluating long-term senior leadership opportunities within the SA telecoms sector.
Global Project Manager at DSG (2023-01 – 2023-05)
- Lead the end-to-end planning and implementation of enterprise telecommunications projects, facilitating the definition of scope, goals, and deliverables in alignment with stakeholder requirements.
- Define clear project tasks, develop full-scale project plans, establish resource requirements, manage cross-functional staff allocation, and strictly oversee project budgets.
- Plan, schedule, and track project milestones using structured tools while providing clear direction, quality assurance, and ongoing support to the project team.
- Constantly monitor and report on progress, systemic problems, and strategic solutions to internal and external stakeholders, managing project interventions to successfully achieve outputs.
Activity Based Service Manager at Vodacom (2020-06 – 2022-05)
- Led product development on a reverse-billed APN solution which was successfully implemented across the entire Vodacom network base.
- Delivered efficient service delivery by managing, tracking, and resolving complex customer escalations routed through to the enterprise mailbox.
- Formulated and executed Service Improvement Plans (SIP) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to drive the systematic identification and long-term solution of recurring customer issues.
- Partnered with internal teams to transition manual legacy operations into digital workflows, utilizing AI, self-service converged portals, and advanced billing portals to maximize cost efficiencies and improve the customer experience index.
- Managed external vendors to align device delivery, distribution scheduling, and labeling plans with customer deployment goals; synchronized operations across internal Sales, Delivery, Forecasting, and Device Management business units.
- Netcare Account (10/10 NPS Review): 'Thank you for the exceptional way you have been assisting to find the relevant people at the network and setting up all the meetings to discuss the reports. You went over and above expectations to find answers. It is a pleasure to work with you.' – Madre Smith, Vodafone Account Manager
- Nampak Account (10/10 NPS Review): 'Alan Murphy always went above & beyond for us as a team. He would even call us after hours to try and resolve any queries we had. His presence made a positive impact on us & he was always professional in his approach.' – Carol Smit & Sharon Thomas, Nampak Administrators
- Cellusave Account Success: 'Whenever the chips were down, and most of the time they were down really bad, I knew I could always count on Alan to come through for us with a speedy resolution!' – Anel Rabe, Head of Business Intelligence at Cellusave.
Customer Onboarding Manager at Vodafone Global Enterprises (2015-01 – 2020-06)
- Owned and led high-value enterprise client relationships during the deployment lifecycle, delivering transition management services to Vodafone's highest-valued corporate accounts.
- Formulated clear project management frameworks that provided a shared understanding of planning, delivery activities, and strict risk/issue mitigation workflows.
- Created comprehensive project governance documentation, including Scope of Work (SOW) agreements, Lessons Learned repositories, Minutes of Meetings, and active Risk Registers.
- Developed tailored communication plans and utilized structured reporting methodologies to present clear project milestone success indicators directly to customer C-level executives.
On-Site Account Manager & Facilitator at Vodafone UK (2007-11 – 2014-11)
- Managed on-site daily telecommunications activity and proactive service delivery for two high-profile, high-volume accounts: Citi Group (Banking) and DMG World Media (Newspapers), with a specific focus on C-level executives and Managing Directors.
- Identified and implemented targeted service enhancements and procedures mapped directly to the clients' unique business requirements and corporate mobility policies.
- Served as the central liaison desk for day-to-day escalations, managing the comprehensive fault-raising process, tracking resolutions, and resolving intricate billing/invoice queries.
- Supported the central Vodafone project team in executing high-impact equipment rollouts, onboarding programs, and technology updates while maintaining up-to-date client hardware inventories.
- Generated monthly PDF expenditure and operational reports for corporate Accounts Payable teams to ensure prompt processing; prepared and participated in monthly formal customer service reviews.
Call Centre Supervisor & Team Leader, Training Facilitator, and Call Centre Data Technician at WDS (2003-05 – 2007-05)
Onsite Reporting, Support, and Training Team Member at Vodacom (2006-05 – 2007-09)
Junior System Admin & Headset Administrator, Internal Trainer/Skills Facilitator, NICE Universe Trainer, C.A.M (Coach, Assessor, Material Developer), Advanced Products Network Support, Service Provider Helpdesk, and Customer Services Executive (Pre-paid) at MTN (1998-02 – 2003-08)
Progression of roles included: Junior System Admin & Headset Administrator, Internal Trainer/Skills Facilitator, NICE Universe Trainer, C.A.M (Coach, Assessor, Material Developer), Advanced Products Network Support, Service Provider Helpdesk, and Customer Services Executive (Pre-paid).
