Customer Service Manager
Location: Burton upon Trent
Permanent
37.5 hours per week
About the role
Based at the National Distribution Centre in Burton, the Customer Services Manager (CSM) owns the end‑to‑end customer service strategy for our UK operations.
You will lead, inspire and develop a multi‑discipline team, ensuring every customer interaction, direct or indirect, delivers an outstanding experience. You will combine day‑to‑day operational excellence with longer‑term, data‑led improvements that keep us one step ahead of our growth ambitions.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
• Translate company vision into a customer-first service roadmap, with clear annual objectives, budgets and resource plans that prioritise getting it right first time.
• Empower teams to deliver outstanding service by aligning goals, removing barriers, and embedding a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Champion the voice of the customer across the organisation—driving cross-functional initiatives with teams such as Supply Chain, Digital and Retail to enhance the end-to-end experience.
• Define, track and communicate service KPIs and SLAs; share actionable insights and recommendations with senior leadership to inform decision-making and strategy.
Operational Excellence
• Lead the delivery of a best-in-class customer support experience across all channels, including voice, email, live chat, social media, and store escalations.
• Champion a service culture focused on helpful, timely and effective resolution of customer queries and issues, supporting satisfaction and long-term loyalty.
• Use available tools and insights to plan resources and manage team capacity, ensuring coverage aligns with expected demand while balancing operational efficiency.
• Continuously benchmark against industry leaders to keep our service offering ahead of the curve, proactively adapting to evolving customer expectations.
Team Development
• Recruit, coach and mentor Team Leaders and Advisors, creating a culture of high engagement, accountability and enjoyment at work.
• Deliver regular feedback, tailored development plans and build clear succession pipelines to support career growth.
• Foster a safe, inclusive working environment that prioritises wellbeing and empowers people to perform at their best.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships to embed customer-first thinking and champion the voice of the customer across the business.
Systems & Process Innovation
• Drive continuous improvement by owning and optimising the customer service tech stack, identifying enhancements, testing and reviewing functionality, and leading rollouts that deliver measurable impact.
• Leverage the full potential of platform integrations, automation, and self-service tools to increase satisfaction, speed up resolution, and improve team productivity.
• Establish clear governance and performance monitoring to ensure systems are reliable, effective, and aligned with evolving customer and business needs.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to turn insights and feedback into scalable, value-adding solutions.
Role Requirements
• Proven track record of running a high volume, multi channel customer service team and outperforming KPIs.
• Leadership excellence - motivating teams through change and growth, with clear, honest communication.
• Analytical mindset with experience in building dashboards and turning data into action.
• Expertise in Customer support technologies (e.g., Zendesk, Salesforce, Freshdesk, Zoho, HubSpot).
• Flexible to work core hours with occasional evening/weekend oversight during peak seasons.
Desirable
• Continuous improvement toolkit (Lean, Six Sigma or similar) and passion for customer journey mapping.
• Background in retail, e commerce, or arts & crafts sector.
• Experience integrating AI chatbots or knowledge base solutions.
What Success Looks Like
* CSAT ≥ 80 % and sustained year on year improvement
* Contact per order and cost to serve reduced through automation and process optimisation.
* Employee engagement scores in the top quartile for the business.
* Customer pain points rapidly identified and resolved, feeding into product and service enhancements.
Company Benefits
• Competitive Salary
• 25% Discount Card for Hobbycraft Stores
• Free Onsite Parking
• Free Hot Drinks
• 33 days holiday inclusive of Bank Holidays with an increase each holiday year
• Birthday Day Off
• Hybrid Working
• Company pension contribution – up to 4% contribution
• Employee Assistance Programme provide by Retail Trust
• Cash Health Plan with Health Shield
• Contribution towards eyesight test and glasses
• Subsidised gym membership
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Long service awards and gifts
• Continuous training, development, and performance management
• Colleague Wellness Programme
• A creative working environment
• Colleague Social Events throughout the year
Please note this role will require evening & weekend working and a successful candidate must have a flexible approach to their working hours including being flexible to work more when needed.
At Hobbycraft we celebrate the joy of crafting, and we celebrate all of our colleagues and customers. As a retailer we have a diverse Colleague base from a broad range of all communities. Our colleagues are recruited for their skill, passion, love of craft and customer service, which is also reflected in our customer base. It is this skill and love of crafting which defines them. Hobbycraft, is an equal opportunity employer who takes equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging very seriously, we regularly review our policies and practices to ensure not only compliance, but also best practise from an employment perspective.
Hobbycraft are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, and we are committed to equal and fair treatment for all colleagues or potential colleagues irrespective of race, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic origins, religion or belief, disability, age, gender, marital or family status.