Customer Helpdesk Team Leader in Sowerby Bridge

Function: Customer Service Management

Location: Ripponden Office/Hybrid

Reports to: Customer Service Manager

Responsible for staff: TBC

About our business: JLA is a mission critical infrastructure solutions business offering services in Laundry, Catering, Heating, Fire Safety, Infection Control and Air Conditioning. The company offers an end-to-end, on premise, machine supply and breakdown service proposition under the name Total Care, and additional products and services.

Role overview: To lead the Customer Helpdesk Team, ensuring the effective resolution of customer cases while driving improvements in customer outcomes, protecting growth opportunities and enhancing customer experience. This role is central to building a high performing, empowered team that delivers fair, consistent and timely resolutions while influencing the wider business to prevent recurrence and strengthen customer trust.

• Team Leadership and Support:
• Provide day to day leadership and support to the Customer Helpdesk Team, ensuring high standards of customer service are consistently met.
• Create a positive and inclusive team environment that promotes accountability, engagement and confidence.
• Support team wellbeing and morale, addressing concerns promptly and appropriately.
• Lead by example, modelling expected behaviours, quality standards and customer focused decision making.
• Coaching, Performance and Development:
• Deliver regular coaching and feedback to support individual and team performance.
• Monitor performance against agreed KPIs and quality measures, taking action where additional support or improvement is required.
• Complete regular performance reviews and support goal setting and development planning.
• Identify training needs and ensure team members maintain appropriate knowledge of products, processes and systems.
• Lead team briefings and short workshops to share updates, learning and best practice.
• Quality Assurance and Performance Reporting:
• Take ownership of the teams quality assurance process, ensuring consistent monitoring of calls, emails, live chats and other customer communications.
• Carry out regular quality reviews, providing clear, constructive feedback and coaching based on QA outcomes.
• Track quality trends and common issues, using insight to improve individual performance and overall service standards.
• Produce regular KPI and performance reports covering service levels, quality outcomes, volumes and customer feedback.
• Highlight risks, underperformance or emerging trends to the Customer Care and Resolutions Manager, supporting actions to address them.
• Service Delivery and Customer Query Resolution:
• Ensure all customer contacts are responded to within agreed timescales and in line with service and quality standards.
• Support the team with customer queries and act as an escalation point for more complex or sensitive issues.
• Identify recurring customer issues and feedback insights to support service and process improvements.
• Continuous Improvement and Collaboration:
• Contribute ideas to improve team processes, quality, and customer experience.
• Work with colleagues across teams (e.g. Operations, Care, Customer Success, Sales) to resolve issues and reduce repeat customer contacts.
• Encourage team members to share feedback and improvement ideas.
• Governance and Compliance:
• Ensure the team follows internal policies, procedures and regulatory requirements at all times.
• Support the management of attendance, conduct and performance issues in line with company policies, with guidance where required.
• Escalate risks, complaints or compliance concerns promptly and accurately.

Criteria

• Essential (attributes required for candidate to be considered):
• Strong knowledge of customer service
• Strong communication skills - able to influence and build relationships cross functionally
• Skilled in leading teams to deliver against KPIs
• Competence in reporting, governance and performance tracking
• Desirable (attributes can be trained or developed):
• Knowledge of service delivery and operations in a field-based environment
• Familiarity with case management or CRM systems (e.g. Dynamics, Salesforce, Zendesk)
• Understanding of financial/commercial levels (credits/compensation/retention impact)

Experience (what you have done):

• Experience managing a team in a customer service environment.
• Demonstrated track record of improving customer outcomes.
• Evidence in coaching and developing individuals to achieve high performance.
• Experience handling complex and escalated customer issues with fairness and accountability.
• Experience working cross functionally to resolve issues and drive improvement.
• Proven delivery of service improvement initiatives with measurable business impact.
• Exposure to managing teams in hybrid environments.

Personal qualities (the way you think and act):

• Customer focused with strong advocacy for fair and timely outcomes.
• Commercially aware - able to balance customer needs with business impact.
• Collaborative, with the ability to build trust and influence at all levels.
• Resilient and calm under pressure, able to manage high volumes and complexity.
• Analytical and problem solving mindset, with a continuous improvement approach.
• Demonstrate integrity, accountability and respect in line with customer values.
• Inspirational leadership style that creates a highly engaged team culture.

Qualifications:

• Evidence of relevant professional development or training in leadership or customer service.
• Industry relevant compliance or regulatory training.