We’re recruiting a Customer Service Team Leader on behalf of a well-established, globally operating advanced materials business headquartered in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. This is a full-time, permanent position with hybrid working available — and a genuine opportunity to step into a leadership role with real scope to grow as the customer service function expands.
This role sits at the heart of a busy, technically diverse customer service operation, combining people leadership, escalation ownership, process discipline and a proportion of hands-on operational work (around 20–30%) to keep you close to the day-to-day realities of the team. You’ll be building a capable, motivated team that delivers responsiveness, accuracy and strong customer outcomes across a global client base spanning aerospace, research, engineering, medical science and emerging technology. If you’re an experienced people leader with a customer-first mindset and a structured approach to continuous improvement, this is a role worth exploring.
Main Responsibilities:
- Leading, coaching and developing a team of Customer Service professionals through regular one-to-ones, development plans and performance conversations
- Managing workloads, prioritisation and resource allocation across the team on a daily basis
- Acting as the point of escalation for customer complaints, issues and internal process barriers, and seeing them through to resolution
- Monitoring SLA performance and taking proactive steps to manage risk and maintain service levels
- Creating and maintaining SOPs for high-frequency and high-value processes
- Driving a structured approach to continuous improvement, including identifying recurring issues and working cross-functionally to resolve them
- Championing adoption of internal tools and supporting automation and process streamlining
- Supporting onboarding and coaching of new team members
- Collaborating with stakeholders across the business to resolve issues early and clearly
- Contributing to projects that shape how customer service is structured and delivered across the wider group
Skills/Experience:
- Previous experience in a customer service environment — essential
- Demonstrated ability to coach, influence and support others — essential
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with excellent stakeholder management
- Confident problem solver with sound judgement in complex situations
- Able to manage competing workloads, SLAs and internal and external priorities
- Competent with core IT systems — experience with D365, MS Office or Salesforce desirable
- Previous leadership, mentoring or senior agent experience — desirable
- Exposure to SLA-based operations — desirable
- Understanding of the order-to-cash cycle and order fulfilment — desirable
- Familiarity with AI-assisted workflows or process automation — desirable
- Experience working across multiple sites, teams or business units — desirable
Salary & Working Hours:
Salary is competitive and dependent on experience. Full-time, permanent position with hybrid working. Typical hours are 8:00am–4:00pm or 9:00am–5:00pm, Monday to Friday. Based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
Benefits:
- Competitive salary with scope, progression and reward reviewed as responsibility grows
- 22 days annual leave rising to 25 days
- Hybrid working arrangements
- Company-funded private healthcare
- Employer pension contribution of 5%
- Critical illness and life assurance cover
- Company sick pay scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Professional development and training support
- Onsite parking and complimentary refreshments
- Programme of social events throughout the year