Senior Operations Team Lead

Clarks; Street; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Flexible/hybrid working options

Career development and progression

Supportive and collaborative culture

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Clarks is seeking a Customer Operations Lead to head the wholesale operations team across Europe, ensuring orders move smoothly from entry to delivery. Hybrid role based in Street, Somerset, reporting to the Customer Operations Manager, with close collaboration across Sales, Supply Chain, Distribution, Finance and IT.

You will develop and coach a multi-market team, drive KPIs, manage escalations and use data to improve service levels.

Qualifications

• Experience leading customer operations or order management teams.
• Strong knowledge of wholesale order management and fulfilment.
• Experience with major retail/wholesale customers.
• Excellent stakeholder management across functions and countries.
• Proactive, solutions-focused with strong analytics and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a Customer Operations team supporting multiple European markets.
• Oversee end-to-end wholesale order management from entry to fulfilment and delivery.
• Ensure excellent customer service and operational performance across key accounts.
• Monitor service levels, order fulfilment metrics and KPIs, taking action where required.
• Build relationships with Sales, Supply Chain, Distribution Centre, Finance and IT teams.
• Manage seasonal order books including pre-season planning and in-season execution.
• Identify opportunities to improve customer experience, processes and ways of working.
• Manage escalations and resolve complex operational issues promptly.
• Drive consistency and best practice across markets and teams.
• Ensure accurate reporting and use data to support decisions.
• Support change initiatives and continuous improvement projects.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Excel

ERP systems

Order management

Wholesale operations

Tools

SAP

Job description

Customer Operations Lead

Location: Street, Somerset (Hybrid)
Reporting to: Customer Operations Manager

At Clarks, we're committed to delivering an exceptional experience for our wholesale customers across Europe. We're looking for a Customer Operations Lead to play a pivotal role in leading our customer operations team, driving service excellence, and ensuring the seamless management of wholesale orders from order placement through to delivery.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced customer operations professional with strong leadership skills and a background in wholesale, retail, footwear or apparel environments.

The Role

As Customer Operations Lead, you will lead a team supporting wholesale customers across multiple European markets. You'll be responsible for ensuring customer orders are managed effectively throughout the entire order lifecycle, whilst working closely with Sales, Supply Chain, Distribution, Finance, IT and country teams to deliver outstanding service.

You'll act as a key operational partner to internal and external stakeholders, using data, insight and strong leadership to drive performance and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a Customer Operations team supporting multiple European markets.
• Oversee the end-to-end wholesale order management process from order entry through to fulfilment and delivery.
• Ensure excellent customer service and operational performance across key accounts.
• Monitor service levels, order fulfilment metrics and operational KPIs, taking action where required.
• Build strong relationships with Sales, Supply Chain, Distribution Centre, Finance and IT teams.
• Support the management of seasonal order books, including pre-season planning and in-season execution.
• Identify opportunities to improve customer experience, processes and ways of working.
• Manage escalations and resolve complex operational issues in a timely manner.
• Drive consistency and best practice across markets and teams.
• Ensure accurate reporting and use data to support operational decision-making.
• Support change initiatives and continuous improvement projects across the function.

About You

We're looking for someone who combines strong leadership capability with hands-on customer operations expertise.

You'll likely bring:

• Experience leading and developing customer operations, wholesale operations, sales operations or order management teams.
• Strong understanding of wholesale order management and customer fulfilment processes.
• Experience working with major retail or wholesale customers.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence across functions and countries.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach to problem solving.
• Strong analytical skills with advanced Excel capability.
• Experience using ERP systems, ideally SAP.
• The ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple priorities.
• Experience within footwear, fashion, retail or other product-based businesses would be highly advantageous.

Why This Role?

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a globally recognised brand and help shape the future of customer operations across our European business. You'll have the opportunity to lead a talented team, influence key operational decisions and play a critical role in delivering exceptional service to our customers.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary
• Flexible/hybrid working options
• Career development and progression opportunities
• Supportive and collaborative culture
• Comprehensive benefits package

Why Join Us

At Clarks, you'll join a business that combines global scale with a people-first culture. We are committed to creating an environment where colleagues can develop, contribute and make a meaningful impact, whilst working alongside passionate and talented teams across the world.

About Clarks

Clarks is a global footwear brand with over 200 years of heritage, known for combining craftsmanship, innovation and comfort. From our origins in Somerset to customers across the world, we continue to shape the future of footwear while staying true to our values and purpose.

Disclaimer: Clarks is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are dedicated to providing reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process where required.