Customer Operations Manager

John Lewis Partnership; Darwen; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Herbert Parkinson, part of the John Lewis Partnership, seeks an experienced operations leader to own the end-to-end customer journey across a multi-channel portfolio. You will optimise workflows, leverage data, and lead high-performing support teams to build scalable operations and deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Based at our Darwen office, the role focuses on aligning customer operations with business objectives, tracking meaningful KPIs, and driving continuous improvements while

Qualifications

• Proven track record of leading and developing customer service teams.
• Experience managing key accounts and fostering long-term relationships.
• Ability to analyse operational metrics to drive improvements.
• Ability to prioritise multiple tasks in a fast-paced setting.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage workload and resource allocation to ensure all customer touchpoints are processed within SLAs and deliver exceptional service.
• Collaborate with the commercial team to align operations with business objectives for scalable growth.
• Set expectations and monitor performance using KPIs and SLAs, addressing service failures quickly.
• Drive continuous improvement across customer operations to protect margins and enhance customer experience.
• Provide effective talent management for line reports and succession planning.

Skills

Managing teams

Customer service

Key account management

Process improvement

KPIs & performance tracking

Communication

Stakeholder management

Job description

About the role

At Herbert Parkinson, a proud and historic part of the John Lewis Partnership, we are embarking on an exciting transformation journey to secure our long-term success. By investing in state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities, streamlining our operations, and creating broader, more fulfilling roles for our Partners, we are building a more sustainable and agile future. Join us as we continue to deliver exceptional quality and service for our customers while empowering our partners to thrive.In this role you will own the end-to-end customer journey—from initial enquiry through order placement to fulfillment and post-sale support for a multi-channel customer portfolio. You will optimise workflows, leverage data, and lead high-performing support teams to build efficient, scalable operations laying the groundwork for future growth & delivering an exceptional customer experience.

• Expected salary - £48,600 - £55,000 (dependent on experience).
• Contract type - This position is a Permanent role.
• Location - This role is based at our Herbert Parkinson Darwen, Lancashire Office.

Key responsibilities

• Manage workload and resource allocation to ensure all customer touchpoints—onboarding, quotations, orders, project management, enquiries, fulfillment, and post-sale support—are processed accurately within agreed SLAs while driving exceptional service delivery
• Work with the commercial team to align customer operations with broader business objectives, actively building scalable customer operations that support rapid growth
• Set clear expectations and track performance using meaningful KPIs and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), taking quick, decisive action to resolve service failures and restore operational standards
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across customer operations, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, develop scalable operational processes & service frameworks to protect business margin & enhance overall customer experience
• Effective talent management of line reports to identify individual goals and a route for succession

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Proven track record of managing and developing customer service & support teams
• Demonstrable experience of managing key accounts and building long-term client relationships
• Ability to analyse customer operational metrics and KPIs to drive actionable process improvement
• The ability to manage multiple priorities within a fast-paced environment
• Possess exemplary communication & relationship building skills, alongside excellent organisational and stakeholder management experience

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Exposure to both Retail & B2B markets (Contracts)
• Comprehensive knowledge of soft furnishing industry - Made to measure (M2M) and Filled Goods
• Proven track record of managing projects; delivering project milestones on time and within scope
• Sounds knowledge of Continuous Improvement methodologies
• Relevant Project Management qualification - PRINCE2 or equivalent

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The partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third‑party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.