At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead customer experience initiatives and inspire your team to enhance service quality.
- Company: Join Taylor & Francis, a leading academic publishing company with a global impact.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, flexible working, generous leave, and wellness support.
- Other info: Hybrid role with excellent career growth opportunities in a supportive environment.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in customer satisfaction while developing your leadership skills.
- Qualifications: Previous customer service leadership experience and project management skills required.
The predicted salary is between 40500 - 49500 £ per year.
Taylor & Francis Group an Informa Business
Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world.
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.
Taylor & Francis Group produces high quality, peer reviewed books and journals.
We produce unique, trusted content by expert authors, spreading knowledge and promoting discovery globally.
We aim to broaden thinking and advance understanding, providing academics and professionals with a platform to share ideas and realise their individual potential.
Every day millions of people read our content. Would you like to be part of our customer journey?
Are you ready to be a Customer Service Customer Experience Lead, encouraging and inspiring others to improve customer experience, investigating and driving forward the implementation of process improvements?
This role is available on a six-month fixed-term basis and will work from home and from our offices in Oxfordshire three times a week.
The position reports to the Customer Service Manager and will work as part of a global Customer Service team, collaborating to manage day-to-day business processes and customer workflows, liaising with other departments where appropriate.
Investigating and driving forward the implementation of process improvements to improve customer satisfaction, first-time resolution, and reduce customer effort will be a key requirement.
The successful candidate should have demonstrableprevious Customer Service leadership and continuous improvement experience covering a variety of CS processes and including management of complex/challenging customer issues.
Closing date for applications: 17th June 2026.
Responsibilities will include
- Leading by example to encourage and inspire others to provide excellent customer service in line with best practice and company policy and procedures.
Promoting teamwork & collaboration to effectively achieve individual, team, and departmental objectives, sharing knowledge and skills.
Provide support within own team and to other teams as required.
- Taking ownership of complex/escalated customer queries through to resolution, striving to increase customer satisfaction/first time resolution and reduce the need for customers to contact.
- Leverage the voice of the customer (VOC), operational metrics, and best practice methodology to identify opportunities to improve the customer experience.
Develop succinct and compelling problem statements for customer pain points.
Conduct data collection discovery, subject matter expert (SME) interviews/workshops, process mapping, and related gap analyses.
- Evaluate existing day-to-day practices, analyzing root causes and identifying improvement opportunities to help define solutions that reduce complexity, and customer effort, improve customer experience/satisfaction, increase productivity, and enhance employee engagement.
- Collaborate with experts to understand the as-is customer journey, solve customer pain points, and develop to-be recommendations to close gaps.
- Develop a customer-centric culture, building relationships/partners with expertsand stakeholders to assess, improve, and implement continuous improvement projects and related solutions.
- Estimate project cost/benefit; develop a sound business case for the intended improvement.
- Manage project performance, evaluating the overall performance of enhancements, for benefit realization.
Take ownership of assigned projects, planning/managing, and delivering milestones on time.
Take a lead role in cross-functional project teams as and when required.
- Facilitating meetings and delivering presentations.
- Proactively creating and developing improvement ideas and driving forward the implementation of those ideas to improve customer satisfaction, reduce queries, increase productivity, or reduce costs.
You provide constructive feedback on new processes and developments.
You are open to and embrace change and encourage others to do the same.
- Managing monthly reporting and other performance reports to ensure they are compiled and cascaded by agreed deadlines.
- Knowledge and Qualifications
- Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Office and systems used within Customer Service systems (ideally SAP and Salesforce) with expertise to train new team members.
- Demonstrable previous Customer Service experience in an office environment covering a variety of CS processes and including management of complex/challenging customer issues.
Experience of encouraging others to work to KPI's/SLA's.
- Experience of managing projects, engaging contributors at all levels.
- Proven evidence of your ability to supervise colleagues with experience of encouraging others to work to Service Level Agreements and CS metrics.
- Ideally, understanding and experience using Lean 6 Sigma methodology.
- Understanding of the role of related departments and have a range of contacts outside and within Customer Service.
What we offer in return
- Competitive salary
- An excellent work/life balance with a fantastic, flexible working culture
- 25 days annual leave per year plus a day off for your birthday
- 3 additional discretionary days off during the holiday season at the end of the year
- 4 paid volunteering days each year
- Company funded single cover private medical insurance
- Employee assistance programme – offering 24/7 well-being support
- Share Match – Plan that matches every share purchased with two free shares.
- Pension scheme
- Life assurance, plus optical and medical care
What you should know
- Closing date for applications: 17 June 2026
- This role will be based in the UK and you must have the right to live and work in the UK
- This is a hybrid position that will require on site reporting at least 3x weekly.
As such, we can only consider candidates within a reasonable commuting distance to our Abingdon location
Please note: Our Milton Park office will be relocating from Milton Park Abingdonto Oxford City Centre in late 2027 / early 2028, offering an exciting new workplace in the heart of the city.
Being Yourself at Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.
We believe in and value diversity of people and thought, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where all colleagues can learn and succeed as their true selves.
Taylor & Francis recruits, develops, and retains colleagues without regard to any protected personal characteristics or other non-merit based factor.
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Customer Experience Lead (12 month maternity cover) in Abingdon employer: Informa Connect
At Taylor & Francis, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that champions a flexible working culture and prioritises work-life balance. Our Milton Park office, soon relocating to the vibrant Oxford city centre, offers a collaborative environment where diverse ideas thrive, alongside generous benefits such as 25 days of annual leave, private medical insurance, and opportunities for professional growth. Join us in fostering human progress through knowledge while enjoying a supportive and inclusive workplace that values your unique contributions.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Customer Experience Lead (12 month maternity cover) in Abingdon
✨Get Social with Customer Support Communities
Join customer support groups on platforms like Facebook or Reddit. They often share job openings or temp opportunities. Engaging with these communities can help you learn more about the specific skills and experiences employers are looking for, plus you'll meet folks who might know about openings at companies like Informa Connect.
✨Leverage Seasonal Hiring Trends
Since customer support roles can spike during busy seasons (think holidays and sales periods), keep an eye out for timelines when companies ramp up hiring. Make sure to apply early and stay active; sending a quick follow-up a week after applying can show your enthusiasm for the role.
✨Flex Your Communication Skills
In customer support, communication is key! Prepare for hypothetical scenarios that test your problem-solving and customer interaction skills. Practising answers to common role-play questions can really help you shine in interviews—trust us, it makes a difference!
✨Make the Most of Job Boards
Use industry-specific job boards like Glassdoor or Indeed to find temporary roles. Don’t forget to set up alerts for customer support positions at companies like Informa Connect. The earlier you apply, the better your chances, so keep your finger on the pulse!
We think you need these skills to ace Customer Experience Lead (12 month maternity cover) in Abingdon
Some tips for your application 🫡
Highlight Your Communication Skills:In customer support, top-notch communication is key. Make sure your CV showcases any previous experience where you’ve had to clearly convey information or resolve issues. If you’ve handled customer queries via email or chat, mention it! Let’s see those strong verbal and written skills shine through.
Showcase Problem-Solving Experience:Employers love to see how you've handled tricky situations. Include examples in your application where you’ve tackled customer concerns or had to think on your feet. It's all about proving you can keep cool under pressure and find solutions—something super important in a temporary customer support role!
Tailor Your Approach for Temporary Roles:Since this is a temporary gig, make sure your cover letter emphasises your flexibility and eagerness to dive right in. Mention that you're ready to hit the ground running and are adaptable to new tools or systems—this shows that you understand the urgency often needed in temporary positions.
Proof of Customer Satisfaction:If you’ve got any quantifiable achievements from past customer support roles, like improved customer satisfaction scores or successful project completions, make sure to include them. Numbers speak volumes! This not only shows your capability but also gives us a reason to believe you'll bring that same success to Informa Connect.
How to prepare for a job interview at Informa Connect
✨Master the Customer Interaction Game
In customer support, we need to showcase our people skills. Prepare for role-playing scenarios where you'll demonstrate how to handle difficult customers or resolve complaints. Think about the types of issues common in Informa Connect's industry and how you can respond empathetically and effectively!
✨Know Your Products Inside Out
For a temporary role, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with the products or services Informa Connect offers. Brush up on key features, common issues, and FAQs. This knowledge will enable you to respond quickly and confidently to customer queries, showing you’re ready to jump in at a moment’s notice!
✨Flexibility is Key - Emphasise Your Adaptability!
Since this is a temporary role, we're looking to convey how quickly we can adapt to new systems or processes. Be ready to share examples of how you've quickly learned new tools or adjusted to changing environments in past roles. Show them you're the go-to person when the pressure's on!
✨Prepare for Quick Conversational Q&A
You might face a rapid-fire round of questions about customer service principles or how you'd handle specific situations. To ace this, think through different customer scenarios ahead of time, and practice your responses to ensure they're concise and impactful. The aim is to demonstrate your quick thinking and problem-solving skills!
