Customer Fulfilment Team Manager in Leatherhead

ESP Utilities is seeking a Customer Fulfilment Team Manager who will be responsible for leading a high-performing, customer-facing team. The role requires strong operational leadership with a focus on productivity, service delivery & compliance along with a commitment to meeting SLAs while maintaining excellent customer service. Industry experience is helpful but not essential; what matters most is the ability to manage people/performance, resolve issues and drive results in a fast-paced & customer-focused environment.

Key Accountabilities

• The Team Manager is responsible for the day-to-day leadership of the team, ensuring productivity, performance, and service delivery targets are achieved.
• The role includes monitoring KPIs, identifying improvement opportunities and simplifying processes to improve efficiency and quality.
• The role also involves coaching and supporting the team to maintain engagement, professionalism and strong customer service across key customer/consumer journey touchpoints.
• Working in a highly regulated industry, the Team Manager is expected to understand regulatory expectations & frameworks/SLAs and to be responsible for ensuring the team delivers a compliant performance against these.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Development: Motivate, coach, and develop the team through 1-to-1s, team meetings and regular feedback. Ensure each team member receives a monthly review of their performance against productivity & quality targets, with insights used to support ongoing development & salary band evaluations. Identify training needs and manage performance, including addressing underperformance. Maintain high engagement and professional conduct.
• Operational Performance: Track & monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), productivity and service level agreements (SLAs) at both team & individual levels. Lead process improvements to simplify and automate workflows. Maintain up-to-date Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Customer Service: Ensure timely, high-quality service to customers (developers, ICPs, UIPs, SLPs). Cultivate a ‘Think Customer’ mindset to ensure all customers, including vulnerable consumers and those on the Priority Services Register (PSR) receive the right level of help and support. Handle escalations and complex queries fairly & in line with ESP Policies and the Industry Standards of Service. Actively utilise the CRM system provided including regularly reviewing of all available Dashboards and Reporting. Attend customer meetings face to face and/or via TEAMS, as appropriate.
• Strategic Account Management: Support Strategic Account Managers and their teams. Maintain strong, collaborative relationships with key accounts. Ensure clear & concise Meeting Reports are generated to accurately represent customer meetings. Generate & present customer reporting to demonstrate performance, challenges & focus areas.
• Data, Reporting & Analysis: Create and deliver accurate performance reports. Use data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement. Present information at department and executive level. Prepare & submit a comprehensive monthly summary of team performance.
• Regulatory Compliance: Submit all required reports to regulatory authorities including Ofgem & Ofwat in a timely manner. Actively participate in all relevant Audits, including those conducted by KPMG/Elexon. Utilise all available dashboards & reporting to monitor & measure compliance.
• Change & Continuous Improvement: Work closely with the Change Team to improve systems and processes. Use continuous improvement tools (e.g., Six Sigma) to achieve process efficiency & simplification.
• Internal Collaboration: Communicate clearly & professionally with internal teams and leadership. Prepare for and present to the monthly Operations Townhall Talk. Work closely with peers to ensure a consistent approach to team management across the department. Maintain a professional team reputation across the company by challenging respectfully and role modelling adherence to Company Policies.
• Manage conduct, absence, and capability. Hold timely performance and/or behaviour-related conversations, follow HR policies and maintain clear documentation / records. Use return-to-work interviews, capability reviews and formal improvement plans as appropriate to address issues early, support individuals appropriately and protect overall team performance and morale.

Person Specification

We are looking for a confident and organised leader with strong communication skills, a customer-focused mindset, and the ability to motivate others, solve problems & adapt to change. Key requirements include:

• Experience leading and developing teams, including active performance management.
• The ability to manage productivity, analyse performance data and turn insight into action.
• A strong customer service focus, communication skills, and stakeholder management.
• A proactive and innovative approach to problem solving, continuous improvement and change.
• The ability to produce and present clear reports, confidently use Microsoft Office and maintain attention to detail.
• Utilities or distribution industry experience and knowledge of continuous improvement principles is an advantage but not essential.