Customer Service Assistant

D&AD; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 26,000; Full time

Job summary

An organization dedicated to creative excellence is seeking a Customer Service Assistant to provide high-quality support to entrants in their awards programs. The role involves managing queries through various channels and conducting outreach to potential entrants. The ideal candidate will have prior customer service experience and strong communication skills. The position offers a hybrid working model, with flexibility required during busy periods.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in a customer service or administrative role, ideally in events or creative industries.
• Experience managing queries across multiple communication channels.
• Basic research skills to identify potential entrants.

Responsibilities

• Manage outgoing and incoming entrant queries via email, phone, and video calls.
• Provide tailored support to entrants throughout the awards process.
• Conduct research to identify potential entrants and maintain records.

Skills

Customer service experience

Strong communication skills

Organizational skills

Proficiency in a second language

Problem-solving skills

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

Job Description

Job Title: Customer Service Assistant

Reports to: Operations Manager

Job Type: Full time, fixed-term contract (7 January - 10 April 2026)

Deadline: 21 November 2025

Interviews: W/C 1 December 2025

Location: Hybrid working (2 fixed days in the London E2 office a week)*

Salary: £25,250 pro rata

Hours: Monday - Friday (9:30am-5:30pm) - Flexibility is required when working to deadlines and covering team hours.

*Core office days are typically Tuesday and Thursday, though this may change depending on team schedules, busy periods, or business needs.

About D&A

Founded in 1962, D&A is an organisation that is all about the pursuit of creative excellence within advertising and design - inspiring it, celebrating it and enabling it. A fundamental way of us achieving this is through our world class learning programmes which up skill the current and future workforce.

Whilst our remit focuses on the advertising and design industry there is a broader goal: to demonstrate the positive impact that creativity can have across education, the economy and within society.

Purpose of the Job

The D&A Awards and New Blood Awards spotlight the world’s most outstanding creative work, across commercial design, advertising, production, and craft, judged by over 260 global creative leaders. While the main D&A Awards celebrate professional excellence, the New Blood Awards champion emerging talent, attracting thousands of entries from students and young creatives worldwide.

The Customer Service Assistant plays a key role in providing responsive, high-quality support to entrants across both D&A programmes. They will monitor shared inboxes and other support channels to resolve queries quickly and effectively, ensuring a smooth experience for both prospective and existing entrants. The role involves answering questions via email, phone, zoom and in‑person interactions, as well as guiding entrants towards available self‑support resources.

Beyond day‑to‑day query handling, the Customer Service Assistant will also contribute to outreach and research to identify potential entrants and support them in submitting their work. They will work closely with the Operations and Business Development teams to ensure consistent communication, seamless entrant journeys, and the highest standard of customer care.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Service

• Confidently manage outgoing and incoming entrant queries via email, phone, and video calls (Zoom or similar platforms).
• Provide high‑quality, tailored support to entrants throughout the awards process.
• Proactively investigate and resolve queries, escalating complex issues when necessary.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with entrants, ensuring a smooth and supportive experience.
• Maintain D&A’s tone of voice and ensure responses are delivered within policy and agreed timeframes.
• Accurately log and track all interactions to ensure accountability and timely follow‑up.
• Support following up with entrants to ensure timely submission of entries.
• Share entrant feedback and insights with internal teams to help improve processes and service delivery.

Business Development

• Develop and maintain a pipeline according to targets and provide clear and accurate reporting of sales outcomes and activities.
• Develop and grow existing entrant relationships.
• Coordinate and schedule calls or meetings between prospective entrants and Business Development Managers.
• Support follow‑up communications to entrants, ensuring they receive timely and accurate information.
• Assist the Business Development team with administrative tasks to help deliver growth and engagement initiatives.

Admin & Research

• Conduct research to identify potential entrants, award‑winning talent, and notable work across design, advertising, tech, and film industries.
• Maintain awareness of market activity, including potential competitors, industry trends, best practices, and potential collaborators, to support the Business Development team.
• Maintain accurate records of entrant interactions, submissions, and communications.
• Collaborate with Operations and other internal teams to ensure smooth entry processing and resolve administrative issues.
• Assist with general administrative duties to support efficient programme delivery.
• Maintaining contact and company records.
• Audit, clean, and organise contact databases to ensure data is accurate and consistent.

Key Experience and Skills

• Previous experience in a customer service, client support, or administrative role, ideally in events, awards, or creative industries.
• Experience managing queries across multiple communication channels (email, phone, chat, in‑person).
• Experience using CRM systems or databases to log interactions and track communications.
• Experience supporting outreach or research activities is a plus.
• Basic research skills, including identifying potential entrants and maintaining accurate records.
• Able to communicate and present decks effectively on calls or virtual meetings with entrants when required.
• Proficiency in a second language (ideally Spanish, Portuguese, or Mandarin) is a plus.

Personal Qualities

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain information clearly and professionally.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities effectively.
• Problem‑solving skills and the ability to resolve issues efficiently while escalating when necessary.
• Proactive and adaptable, with a willingness to support ad‑hoc projects and tasks as needed.
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams and build positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Passionate about design, advertising, and creative industries.

D&A is committed to diversity, equality, equity, inclusion and respect for all. Providing a work environment in which all employees are treated with fairness, respect and dignity and which is free of discrimination, victimisation, bullying and harassment. At D&A we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Please email [e-mail] to let us know if you need any reasonable adjustments to be made for any part of the recruitment process.

In order to comply with the Prevention of Illegal Working, Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act, you will need to provide appropriate documentation that proves that you are eligible to work in the UK.

Due to the number of applications we receive, we regret that you will not be contacted unless you are shortlisted for an interview. If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date of your application you should assume that you have not been successful on this occasion.

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