Customer Service Manager in Plymouth

We're looking for a Customer Service Manager to lead our support function across Surfline, FishTrack, and Buoyweather. This is a 70/30 player/coach role: you'll spend the majority of your time optimising our support operations, systems, and automation — including Zendesk and Intercom Fin — while managing one Senior Customer Service Specialist. You aren't just managing a queue; you are building a modern, AI-enabled support operation that scales efficiently while protecting customer trust and Surfline's brand voice. Under Surfline's "Work from Anywhere" policy, this position may be performed from anywhere in the UK.

What You'll Do:

• Strategy & Ops (70%)
  • Act as the primary admin and operator for Zendesk (workflows, routing, triggers, macros, views, SLAs, reporting) and Intercom Fin.
  • Own the ongoing success of Fin including containment/deflection performance, failure reason analysis, and continuous improvement.
  • Maintain and govern the knowledge base to ensure Fin provides accurate, brand-aligned answers and escalates appropriately.
  • Own the integration and workflow between Fin and Zendesk, ensuring clean escalation, context handoff, and minimal customer friction.
  • Partner with Product and Engineering to turn ticket trends into fixes (bugs, UX confusion, billing issues, content gaps).
  • Track and report KPIs such as SLA attainment, CSAT, time to resolution, backlog health, Fin containment, and top contact drivers. Deliver actionable insights to leadership.
• Leadership & Execution (30%)
  • Lead one Senior Customer Service Specialist, providing clear goals, high standards, and development support.
  • Handle complex billing, technical issues, App Store / Google Play edge cases, or high-priority customer escalations.
  • Ensure every customer interaction feels like it's coming from a knowledgeable peer — not a corporate script or bot.
  • Help coordinate customer communications during high-impact incidents (outages, subscription disruptions, camera downtime), partnering cross-functionally to drive resolution and prevention.

What We're Looking For:

• You can confidently build and optimise workflows, routing, macros, automations, and reporting.
• You've managed AI agents or automation systems (Intercom Fin experience is a major plus) and understand how to improve deflection without harming CX.
• You're happy staying close to tickets and escalations, while spending most of your time improving systems and operations.
• You're comfortable managing an experienced specialist who doesn't need hand-holding, but thrives on clear goals, standards, and strategic alignment.
• Experience working with tools such as Stripe, Jira, and App Store / Google Play billing (Amplitude/Braze familiarity is a plus).

You May Also Have:

• Passion for ocean-going activities, specifically surfing.
• Pre-existing familiarity with the Zendesk customer service platform.

About Surfline Wavetrak:

Millions of people around the world depend on Surfline Wavetrak's products to enrich their experiences in and around the ocean. Since 1985, our company has connected people with the ocean. Starting with surfers and expanding to offshore cruisers, anglers and a myriad of other ocean enthusiasts, we've made it our mission to deliver peak maritime experiences. We provide those who work and play in the ocean with all the advanced tools, personalised insights and immersive content to make their lives better -- supplying them with the information they need to make smarter decisions, seek out new experiences and gain valuable knowledge. We are dedicated to bringing people together across the globe, and we champion and encourage those who bring different perspectives, ideas, and creativity. At Surfline Wavetrak, we recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, gender identity, gender expression, age, veteran status, and any other protected status.