Customer Service Team Leader (12 Month Fixed Term Contract)

We are looking for a Customer Service Team Leader to join Team OB in our Support Office on a 12 month fixed term contract.

This role will be full time role on a Tuesday - Saturday shift pattern.

As a Customer Service Team Leader at OB, you will support the Customer Service Manager with the day-to-day running of the department and play a key role in delivering an efficient, customer-focused operation.

You will help the team achieve performance targets while delivering a seamless customer journey. Working closely with other Team Leaders, Senior Advisors and the management team, you will support workload distribution, team development and operational tasks to ensure the Customer Service department runs smoothly. You will be confident and experienced within team or people management, helping to lead the team and the department to deliver consistently high standards of excellent service and performance.

You will lead by example while supporting the team through coaching, training and day-to-day guidance. You will help create an environment where team members feel empowered to take ownership, challenge ways of working constructively, and contribute ideas that improve both performance and customer experience.

An interest and understanding of AI within customer service is important, including how it can improve efficiency, enhance the customer journey, and identify trends and opportunities. The Team Leader should be confident exploring new technologies, supporting adoption within the team, and using insight and data to drive continuous improvement.

Our Support Office is based in Tolworth, near Chessington, only a 30-minute journey from London Waterloo. We offer hybrid working with a split of 3 days in the office and 2 days home working per week, and are open to having conversations about working flexibly.

A bit about us

At Oliver Bonas (OB), our values of Work Hard, Play Hard & Be Kind are integral to everything we do. Collaboration, imagination, curiosity, and teamwork are key to our success, and everyone has their part to play in making OB a special place to work.

Having fun is key, and a playful and positive approach creates an optimistic environment. We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we are serious about what we do.

Our team knows their stuff. They're confident and creative and unafraid to challenge convention to find solutions, taking accountability for their actions, but always with kindness and humility.

More about the role

• Provide structure to the day through effective customer contact management, streamlining the volume we receive and identifying urgent messages, trends and issues.
• Review the daily team rota, provide flexible solutions where needed, and reallocate tasks to ensure customer needs are met.
• Work with the Senior Advisors to support the team throughout the day, ensuring customers receive timely and effective responses. This includes talking to our customers through all channels.
• Ensure we work within our SLAs across all channels and identify issues early on and problem-solve to make sure we do not breach our targets.
• Be a lead within customer complaints and an expert within GDPR and Consumer Rights.
• Have a strong understanding of Customer Service technology including CRM systems, order management systems, finance platforms, social media, courier dashboards and AI solutions. All systems are monitored daily by the Team Leader.
• Carry out weekly one-to-ones with team members or group meetings. Regular progress chats and appraisals should confidently take place and an ability to make your line reports feel supported and heard.
• Manage time sheets, team rotas, annual leave booking and sickness processes.
• Explore and analyse data and have the desire to want to know more, using information to support in your meetings or further your conversations with team members.
• During peak and busy periods, support the team by assisting with emails, live chats and phone calls, responding to customers in line with our excellent high standards.
• Lead external and internal meetings independently, using data and customer trends to support your agenda points.
• Lead the quality control programme for our advisor team, reviewing performance and providing regular feedback to team members.
• Support and lead the training of new Customer Service Advisors, providing ongoing coaching and aftercare.
• Contribute to planning and strategy meetings for relevant CS projects and peak reviews.
• Lead on AI compliance with the customer service team to ensure we stay on brand and secure.
• Assist with preparing and sharing regular system and customer trend reports across Oliver Bonas.
• Use existing reports to identify improvement areas and escal