Job description
Sales and Customer Service Team Leader, English Online
Date: 01-Mar-2023
Location: London, UKM, GB
Company: British Council
We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.
Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021–22 we reached 650 million people.
- Supporting recruitment exercises and the allocation of staff resources, including preparing the team’s timetable and monitoring annual leave.
- Managing induction and training plans for new joiners.
- Day-to-day supervision of the work of the Sales and Customer Services Executives with the aim to ensure rapid, high quality customer services and support for new and existing customers. This includes supporting enquiry management when needed.
- Provide regular briefing and training to the team to ensure that team members are fully equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to answer customer enquiries and requests for support in a timely and professional manner. This includes identifying training needs and to ensure training is arranged in line with British Council’s strategies, needs and objectives.
- Ensure line management is conducted as per British Council guidelines. This includes ensuring that poor performance is addressed and dealt with, following the British Council Performance Management Standards.
- Embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) principles within the team, and ensure that a culture of EDI is actively developed and maintained.
- Planning and executing new English Online initiatives as directed by the English Online Sales and Customer Service Lead, ensuring these are operationalised across the wider business.
- Working with the English Online and wider Customer Management function to manage and monitor service effectiveness, quality, and KPI’s for the English Online suite of products.
- Monitoring and reporting on the team achievement of agreed performance targets and service level agreements (SLAs).
- Using Salesforce CRM and other management information systems to capture customer data and voice of customer, to help the business continually improve all areas of customer experience
- Undertaking regular quality checks and reviews, following agreed corporate or relevant external protocols, to monitor the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of service delivery. This includes Reporting on findings and recommending appropriate actions.
- Ensure data is captured for customer services interactions, enquiries, complaints and resolutions using global systems and to global standards.
- Ensure that customer feedback is regularly gathered, analysed and acted upon to drive continuous improvement in customer experience.
- Contribute with quantitative and qualitative feedback to help drive continuous improvement throughout the customer experience.
- Makes recommendations to improve procedures, resources, and other operational initiatives to drive enhance team performance, cost effectiveness, services quality and efficiency.
- Manage incoming cases from for new and existing customers through to resolution, primarily via email and live chat.
- Follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and SLAs to maintain high levels of service.
- Providing support to the team with escalated cases, complaints, and complex issues. This includes liaising with other teams where necessary.
- Act as a communication point for Teaching Centre Sales and Customer Services teams that have sales or customer services enquiries for English Online. This includes providing the teams with the necessary training to deliver exceptional customer service experience to all customers as well as meeting all KPIs, business targets and objectives.
- English – C1 level
- Diploma / Degree or equivalent qualification, or equivalent work experience
- Customer focused with strong understanding of corporate customer services standards
- Substantial experience of working as part of a customer facing team and being accountable for the delivery of agreed KPIs
- Experience of working in an international context and with international customers
- Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with internal/external stakeholders
- Experience of managing complaints and complex customer enquiries
- Ability to use own judgement and problem-solving skills to resolve complex enquiries
- Competent user of Microsoft Office packages
- Experience of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms and reporting tools
- Professional qualification in a relevant business discipline (e.g., Customer Services, Sales Management) or a related subject
- Experience applying the basic principles of project management
- Analytical mindset, experience of producing reports to inform decision making
- Experience in the education industry – particularly in the ELT sector
- Working knowledge of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation and data governance
- Experience of multi-country working
- Experience providing customer support in an online environment