Customer Service Team Lead

Taylor & Francis Group; Abingdon; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Pension

Life assurance

Medical care

Volunteer days

Job summary

Taylor & Francis Group, part of Informa, is seeking a Customer Service Team Lead to guide a global CS team. The role combines home-based work with three days a week in the Milton Park office, Oxfordshire, leading exceptional service, driving process improvements, and ensuring KPIs/SLA targets are met.

You will mentor staff, manage escalated queries, coordinate projects, and report on performance while contributing to a flexible, supportive working culture and ongoing professional development.

Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office and CS systems (SAP/Salesforce) with training ability.
• Experience leading customer service teams and handling complex issues.
• Experience managing projects and engaging contributors at all levels.
• Proven ability to supervise and drive SLA/KPI performance.
• Understanding Lean Six Sigma is a plus.
• Strong cross-department collaboration experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead by example to deliver excellent customer service per policy and procedures.
• Own complex/escalated queries from start to resolution to improve first-time resolution.
• Manage workload and capacity across the team and departments.
• Recruit, train, and coach team members; set objectives and conduct reviews.
• Facilitate meetings and present to stakeholders; drive process improvements.

Skills

Customer service leadership

KPI/SLA management

Project management

Coaching / mentoring

Lean Six Sigma

Tools

SAP

Salesforce

Microsoft Office

Job description

Taylor & Francis Group an Informa Business

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

Taylor & Francis Group produces high quality, peer reviewed books and journals. We produce unique, trusted content by expert authors, spreading knowledge and promoting discovery globally. We aim to broaden thinking and advance understanding, providing academics and professionals with a platform to share ideas and realise their individual potential.

Taylor & Francis Group an Informa Business

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

Taylor & Francis Group produces high quality, peer reviewed books and journals. We produce unique, trusted content by expert authors, spreading knowledge and promoting discovery globally. We aim to broaden thinking and advance understanding, providing academics and professionals with a platform to share ideas and realise their individual potential.

Job Description

Every day millions of people read our content. Would you like to be part of our customer journey?

Are you ready to be a Customer Service Team Lead managing a team with a determination to drive for results.

This key role will work from home and from our offices in Oxfordshire 3 days a week. You will lead by example to encourage and inspire others to provide excellent customer service in line with best practice and company policy and procedures.

The position reports to the Customer Service Manager and will work as part of a global Customer Service team, collaborating to manage day to day business processes and customer workflows liaising with other departments where appropriate. Investigating and driving forward the implementation of process improvements to improve customer satisfaction, first time resolution, and reduce customer effort will be a key requirement.

The successful candidate should have demonstrable previous Customer Service leadership experience covering a variety of CS processes and including management of complex/challenging customer issues.

Closing date for applications: 06 October 2026

Responsibilities will include

• Leading by example to encourage and inspire others to provide excellent customer service in line with best practice and company policy and procedures. Promoting team work & collaboration to effectively achieve individual, team and departmental objectives, sharing knowledge and skills. Provide support within own team and to other teams as required.
• Taking ownership of complex/escalated customer queries through to resolution, striving to increase customer satisfaction/first time resolution and reduce the need for customers to contact.
• Managing workload, reviewing capacity globally and in collaboration with the management team ensuring your team/department handles day-to-day priorities and department objectives. You take steps to remove obstacles that prevent achievement of objectives.
• Recruiting new team members. Providing support, training and coaching to members of the team. You inspire others to deliver excellent customer service and encourage others to participate/learn. You share knowledge/skills and available time beyond your team where needed. You set objectives, conduct reviews and regular 1-2-1’s to review progress, manage performance and support team members in their self-development.
• Facilitating meetings and delivering presentations.
• Proactively creating and developing improvement ideas and driving forward the implementation of those ideas to improve customer satisfaction, reduce queries, increase productivity or reduce costs. You provide constructive feedback on new processes and developments. You are open to and embrace change and encourage others to do the same.
• Taking ownership for assigned projects, planning and managing, delivering milestones on time.
• Managing monthly reporting and other performance reports to ensure they are compiled and cascaded by agreed deadlines.

Qualifications

Knowledge and Qualifications

• Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Office and systems used within Customer Service systems (ideally SAP and Salesforce) with expertise to train new team members.
• Demonstrable previous Customer Service experience in an office environment covering a variety of CS processes and including management of complex/challenging customer issues. Experience of encouraging others to work to KPI’s/SLA’s.
• Experience of managing projects, engaging contributors at all levels.
• Proven evidence of your ability to supervise colleagues with experience of encouraging others to work to Service Level Agreements and CS metrics.
• Ideally, understanding and experience using Lean 6 Sigma methodology.
• Understanding of the role of related departments and have a range of contacts outside and within Customer Service.

Additional Information

Additional information

What we're offering in return

• An excellent work/life balance with a fantastic, flexible working culture and hybrid working from home and office
• 25 days annual leave per year plus an extra day off each year for your birthday
• 3 additional discretionary days for Christmas each year
• 4 paid volunteering days each year
• Employee assistance programme - Offering 24/7 well-being support
• Share Match - Plan that matches every share purchased with two free shares.
• Pension scheme
• Life assurance, plus optical and medical care.

What you should know

• This role will be balanced, with 3 days per week being office based. You will therefore need to be based within a commutable distance of our office in Milton Park, Oxfordshire.
• You must have the right to live and work in the UK.
• Closing date for applications: 06 October 2026
  • Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and interviews will be conducted throughout the duration of the recruitment process. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as possible.

Work/life balance:

At Taylor & Francis we care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. You will be joining a thriving business, working alongside an exceptional group of people. We believe that the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities, and to innovate and develop in areas which you are passionate about.

Training And Professional Development

We’re passionate about ensuring you have all the tools and resources at your fingertips to reach your short and long-term career goals. We’ll support you in your journey by working together on your own bespoke Taylor & Francis Development Plan, ensuring you have the resources, tools, support and coaching that will get you where you want to be.

Being Yourself at Taylor & Francis

If you’re excited about working with Taylor & Francis to foster human progress through knowledge, we invite you to apply even if your existing skills and experience don’t fit every item listed above. At Taylor & Francis, we are at our best and most successful when colleagues can be themselves and contribute regardless of their identity or background. As a colleague, you will have the opportunity to further innovate and develop in areas that you are passionate about. Our goal is to empower you with the resources, incentives, and flexibility you need to enjoy success at work and to live a healthy, balanced life.

Taylor & Francis is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe in and value diversity of people and thought, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where all colleagues can learn and succeed as their true selves. Taylor & Francis recruits, develops, and retains colleagues without regard to any protected personal characteristics or other non-merit-based factor.

We genuinely care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. We want to preserve the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities, and to innovate and develop in areas which you are passionate about. To find out more about our business and the great career opportunities please go to our Careers Site: http://www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/careers

Or better yet check out our LinkedIn 'Life' Page, highlighting our accomplishments, employees, and company culture. It’s also a good way of meeting our recruitment team, who will be happy to advise you on your journey here at T&F.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/taylor-&-francis-group/life/79e0c27c-afdf-4bbb-84e6-5f8ed5e10bb8/