Customer Care Manager (maternity cover)

Who are we?

Abel & Cole has pioneered organic, ethical and sustainable food delivery for over 30 years. Doing things better is our bread and butter; from saving over 60 million plastic bags by using reusable boxes for our food deliveries, to finding alternatives to plastic long before it hit the headlines. We are forever challenging ourselves to find the most positive way to do business and want everyone to eat organic because it’s one way to save the future. It’s these values that enabled us to become B Corp certified; an optional audit we’ve gone through to recognise how we put people and planet before profit, as well as help us find room for further improvement.

We’re looking for more people to join our team of almost 700, to share our passion for doing the right thing even bigger and better than we do already. In a fast paced and competitive market, we know it’s our people who make the difference. We’ve learnt how important it is to recognise, develop and promote from within; and that trusting people lets them come up with the best ideas and that helps our entrepreneurial spirit to thrive.

Want to see more?

Check us out at: www.abelandcole.co.uk, https://bcorporation.net/directory/abel-cole, and Instagram

The Customer Care Department

Our Customer Care department plays an incredibly important part in the growth and success of our business; exceptional service is extremely important to us, and so are the people who provide it. We have an absolutely brilliant team who love talking to our customers across a number of platforms and we give them the freedom to provide the fantastic service which we pride ourselves on.

Role Summary:

On an interim basis, as Customer Care Manager, you will be responsible for ensuring that all service targets are met and exceeded within budget. Your passion for great service will be evident and you will use this to continually drive great results. As our business is constantly evolving, you will ensure that department processes adapt to meet changes and that there is an infrastructure in place to enable a culture of service excellence, allowing each team member to do their job to the best of their ability. You will be responsible for the management of the Team Manager group, ensuring that they all reach their full potential through your inspirational leadership & effective development skills. You will build solid working relationships with other departments, ensuring that the Customer Care department receives all relevant information in a timely manner, communicates customer feedback appropriately and that all issues are resolved effectively.

Key Responsibilities:

Customers

• To lead by example by providing an exemplary customer focus at all times.
• To be accountable for the level of service the department provides & be proactive in working to continually improve this.
• To effectively relay customer feedback to other parts of the business and ensure that there are processes in place to do this.
• To take action and work with other departments to resolve any service-related issues.
• To monitor and improve call and e-mail quality.
• To use judgement & initiative to resolve complex customer enquiries & problems, supporting the Team Manager group and being the second point of escalation.
• To be proactive in doing everything possible to improve the retention of customers.

Team

• To lead, manage and motivate the Customer Care team.
• To take action to ensure that all individuals within the department are happy, motivated and well-informed in their work. To create a productive, yet fun and friendly working environment.
• To be accountable for ensuring that the department is consistently staffed to budget through effective planning and recruiting.
• To coach, develop, motivate and empower the Team Manager group.
• To ensure that the Team Managers have clear development plans for their teams to retain the great legacy we have of progressing people within the department and the business.
• To support the Team Managers with any performance, disciplinary or capability issues and oversee the process.
• To ensure that there are clear and fair career progression opportunities within the department.
• To ensure the Team Managers have all relevant information required to support the wider team.

Business Focus

• To manage the department’s workload, meeting all service level targets through the effective management of resource whilst keeping costs within budget. To take relevant action if the department is not meeting its targets.
• To use historical data and a thorough understanding of how the department runs to manage future performance.
• To manage costs on a monthly basis and continually work to improve costs as a % to sales.
• To monitor and take action to ensure that office credits are managed and reduced across the department.
• To ensure that the department is kept up to date with business changes.
• To communicate all information professionally, positively and confidently in order to ensure that the team understands the reasoning and decision making behind them and supports accordingly.
• To work with other departments on cross departmental projects to positively impact customer focus across the business as a whole.
• To initiate and/or attend meetings with relevant departments to represent the needs and interests of the department and/or customer and to maintain and improve inter-departmental communication.
• To foster a selling culture within the department in the spirit of great service.
• To manage third party relationships and systems, including trusted partners such as Freshworks, Bazaarvoice, Trust Pilot etc.
• To work with our IT teams to continually develop our online service proposition and to continually evolve our internal Banana CRM system.
• To work with our delivery management team on future phases in the development of the driver application to ensure we are providing a modern service for our customers, our drivers and our customer service teams.
• To maintain the customer contact categorisation reporting suite on Freshworks so you’re able to use the insight to drive real change within the customer experience, sharing the reports where appropriate with the wider business.
• · Act as an ambassador for our B Corp values: make all decisions with our social and environmental impact in mind and look for opportunities, no matter how small, to use our business as a force for good.

Skills and Experience:

• The proven ability to motivate and develop people to their full potential.
• A proven track record of providing great service and inspiring others to do the same.
• Evidence of the ability to make the right decisions for both employees and customers.
• Experience of managing a large team.
• A solid understanding and experience of managing the capability and disciplinary process.
• Experience of setting and managing a budget, desirable.
• A very high level of written English with impeccable spelling and grammar.
• Good Excel skills.

Personal Attributes:

• Inspiring and motivating leadership skills and the ability to drive results through others.
• A positive, enthusiastic and professional attitude.
• The ability to adapt within the role & prioritise as the business & team demands.
• The ability to work well under pressure and still ensure that you and those around you have fun.
• Sound common sense and great problem-solving skills.
• Reliable, conscientious and consistent with the ability to deal with challenges in a level-headed way.
• A willingness to take responsibility and use own initiative; not afraid to try something different!
• Excellent time management & organisational skills and the ability to work effectively to deadlines.
• Influential and persuasive with the ability to gain buy in easily.
• Highly motivated; a person who continually looks for opportunities and ways to do things better.

What we offer?

This is a full-time position, Monday – Friday, 37.5 hours per week. The role will be based from our Wimbledon office.

• Salary starting from £42,000 per annum (FTE), depending on experience.
• 33 days holiday inclusive of bank holidays (FTE).
• Flexible working options considered.
• A free box of fruit and veg every week (It’s pretty delicious!)
• Up to 35% discount on A&C products.
• Cycle to Work Scheme.
• Contributory pension scheme.

The deadline for submitting applications is Friday 20th June 2025.

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