Customer Service Supervisor

Join Our Team: Customer Service Supervisor. We’re excited to welcome a new Customer Service Supervisor covering our London & South East region. Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.

Working Hours & Location

This role follows a 37 hours, Monday to Friday working pattern. The vacancy will be offered on a remote working basis, with a monthly requirement to attend our Little Venice, London hub for team meetings.

Role Overview

This role leads the customer support team within the waterway, overseeing the main customer interface and ensuring all enquiries and communications are handled efficiently and professionally. The Customer Service Supervisor will supervise day-to-day customer service operations and ensure the smooth running of the team. Working closely with customers, colleagues and stakeholders, you will drive high standards of service while supporting the team to deliver a consistent and positive customer experience.

Key Accountabilities:

• Drive and manage performance of the customer service team supporting region to meet Trust SLA’s and customer satisfaction targets.
• Manage cases and complaints on behalf of the team and region, working with regional operational and engineering colleagues and teams to resolve enquiries and complaints.
• Be a point of contact for case escalation and resolution, including formal complaints, drafting replies on behalf of BCSM and Regional Director.
• Be part of the Customer Service team responding to incoming customer telephone calls and manage telephone performance across the customer service team.
• Manage and write monthly report summaries of customer service performance to BCSM and Regional Director to help drive regional customer service performance and priorities.
• Manage claims process within the waterway, ensuring acknowledgements and responses are issued within the prescribed timescales.
• Oversee logging of all regional customer related incidents, via Safety Log, ensuring all reports are submitted in line with Trusts procedure.
• Maintain communication channels with our customer groups through telephone calls, notice boards, post, email, social media and our website; delivered in a consistent and timely manner.
• Be a support for the organisation of events and functions within the waterway, for both internal and external customers for example team days, APM’s and open days.
• Co-ordinate administration support for the waterway partnership, its chair and its members and ensure an effective flow of communication between the members, customers and staff of the Trust.
• Line manage a team of 6 Customer Service Administrators ensuring that tasks are processed efficiently and in a timely manner in line with defined standards and processes.
• Lead and develop individuals to ensure that the appropriate skills and competencies are maintained to deliver the objectives of the team, working with volunteers to expand the capabilities of the team.
• Provide financial management support to the waterway, under the guidance of the Finance Analysts, to ensure effective ordering of materials and supplies and adherence to financial processes.
• Display the Trust values and behaviours at all times.
• Ensure that diversity and inclusion are integrated into all aspects of Trust life and promote inclusion by challenging behaviour, practices, actions, or decisions that are counter to the objectives of the Trust’s policies and values.

About you

You are a confident, customer-focused professional with strong experience in administration. You communicate clearly, handle enquiries and complaints with professionalism, and remain calm under pressure. With proven team leadership and organisational skills, you can manage workloads, support others to perform at their best, and maintain high service standards. You are comfortable working with financial processes, IT systems, and organisational policies. Above all, you are approachable, resilient and committed to delivering excellent service while promoting an inclusive and values-driven culture.

Skills & Qualifications

• Proven experience of delivering excellence in customer service and working to customer service SLA’s.
• Proven experience of customer case management, including de-escalation and/or resolution of formal complaints.
• NVQ or equivalent in a Customer Service related discipline and /or Business Administration Level III / HNC - Desirable.
• Some knowledge of work safety management.
• Proven line & budget management experience.
• Proven experience in SAP - Desirable.
• Substantial experience in a customer service area, providing support over telephone and email.
• Substantial experience of administration.
• Some experience of working with or as a volunteer(s) is desirable.
• Communication skills that allow you to inform, help and advise customers clearly and professionally and liaise with other professionals.
• Listening skills, to understand exactly what customers require.
• Ability to deal with difficult and potentially confrontational situations.
• Confident in the use of word processing and spreadsheet software.
• Confidence, patience, politeness, tact and diplomacy, when addressing customer enquiries.
• Ability to work well under pressure.
• Ability to understand and implement organisational policies.

Contact & Application

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at CRT.recruitment@canalrivertrust.org.uk. We encourage early applications as we may close the vacancy once we receive enough suitable candidates.

What We Offer

We offer an annual salary of £32,500. Enjoy a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits.