Customer Care Manager School Transport

Bus Eireann; Leinster; On-site; EUR 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Permanent contract

25 days annual leave (28 after 5 years

Pension Scheme

Welfare Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Subsidised canteen

Job summary

Bus Éireann is seeking a Customer Care Manager for School Transport to lead customer service delivery and communications across the scheme. The role focuses on ensuring a consistent, customer-focused experience and data-driven improvements across channels.

The postholder will partner with local offices, the Call Centre and stakeholders to develop standards, monitor performance, and respond to escalations with clear, timely information.

Qualifications

• Third-level qualification in Business, Customer Service, Communications, Marketing, Public Administration or a related discipline. A relevant postgraduate qualification would be advantageous.
• Strong knowledge of customer experience and service management principles, with ability to translate insight into effective standards and solutions.
• Significant experience leading customer service operations, contact centres or high-volume environments, with proven performance management.

Responsibilities

• Lead the customer service strategy and delivery model for School Transport across channels.
• Manage call centre performance, establish standards, measures and QA processes.
• Drive continuous improvement using customer insight and performance data.
• Develop and implement customer communications strategies for clear, timely information.
• Oversee digital content across website and social media, monitor sentiment and respond to issues.
• Coordinate escalation handling and ensure timely resolutions informed by data.

Skills

Customer experience

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Call centre management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Customer Service, Communications, Marketing, Public Administration or related

Tools

Microsoft Office

CRM systems

Job description

Bus Éireann is responsible for the operation and delivery of the national School Transport Scheme on behalf of the Department of Education, providing safe and reliable transport services to eligible children and young people across the country. The School Transport Scheme is a large-scale, nationwide operation involving customers, parents and guardians, schools, transport operators, local offices and a wide range of stakeholders. The quality and effectiveness of customer service and communications are critical to ensuring customers receive clear, timely and consistent information and support.

The Customer Care Manager, School Transport is responsible for leading customer service delivery and customer communications across the School Transport Scheme. The role will oversee the customer experience across all channels, ensuring enquiries, escalations and correspondence are managed effectively and that customer service performance is monitored and continuously improved.

Working closely with local offices, the Call Centre, Customer Care teams and key internal and external stakeholders, the postholder will lead a consistent, customer-focused approach to service delivery and communications. This role will also identify opportunities to improve customer journeys, processes and information, using customer insight and service performance data to drive improvements across the School Transport Scheme.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the customer service strategy and delivery model for School Transport, ensuring a consistent, accessible and customer-focused experience across all channels and points of contact.
• Lead and manage call centre performance, establishing service standards, performance measures and quality assurance processes, identifying trends and taking action to continuously improve service levels, customer satisfaction and resolution rates.
• Drive continuous improvement in customer experience, using customer insight, complaints, enquiries, feedback and service performance data to identify systemic issues, improve processes and deliver measurable improvements in service delivery.
• Lead the development and implementation of customer communications strategies, ensuring clear, timely, accurate and consistent information is provided to customers, schools and other stakeholders, particularly during periods of significant operational or policy change.
• Oversee School Transport customer information across digital channels, including the Bus Éireann website and social media, ensuring content is accurate, accessible and aligned with operational requirements, while monitoring customer sentiment and ensuring appropriate responses to emerging issues.
• Lead the management of escalated and complex customer issues, working across local offices, the Call Centre, Customer Care and operational teams to ensure issues are appropriately prioritised, resolved effectively and used to inform wider service improvements.
• Lead the coordination of high-profile and sensitive stakeholder correspondence, including responses to Members of the Oireachtas, ensuring timely, accurate and consistent responses that reflect organisational policy and standards.
• Provide leadership and support to local offices during peak operational periods, ensuring appropriate customer service capacity, consistent approaches and effective escalation arrangements are in place to manage increased volumes of enquiries.
• Lead the development, review and implementation of customer service standards, policies and publications, including the School Transport Customer Charter, ensuring they reflect customer needs, operational realities and organisational commitments.
• Develop strong relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders, influencing and collaborating across the organisation to ensure customer experience considerations are embedded in School Transport policy, planning and operational delivery.
• Provide customer service insight and performance reporting to management, developing meaningful KPIs, management information and analysis to identify risks, inform decision-making and drive accountability for customer service performance.
• Lead a culture of customer focus and continuous improvement, ensuring customer experience is considered in the design and delivery of School Transport services and that learning from customer interactions informs operational and service development.
• Lead the development of automated systems of recording customer engagement and the provision of data to inform key decisions to be made.

KEY SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

• Third-level qualification in Business, Customer Service, Communications, Marketing, Public Administration or a related discipline. A relevant postgraduate qualification would be advantageous.
• Strong knowledge of customer experience and service management principles, with the ability to translate customer insight and best practice into effective service standards, processes and customer-focused solutions.
• Significant experience leading customer service operations, contact centres or high-volume customer environments, with proven experience managing service performance, quality standards and continuous improvement.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to develop clear, accessible and effective communications for a diverse customer base and to tailor messaging for different audiences and channels.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build effective relationships and engage confidently with customers, public representatives, schools, operational teams, senior management and other key stakeholders.
• Proven experience managing complex complaints, escalations and sensitive customer issues, demonstrating sound judgement, diplomacy and the ability to achieve effective and sustainable resolutions.
• Strong understanding of digital and social media channels and their role in customer engagement, information sharing, reputation management and responding emerging customer issues.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, with the ability to interpret customer feedback, complaints, enquiry trends and performance data, identify underlying issues and translate insight into measurable service improvements.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with the ability to set clear expectations, manage performance, build capability and create a culture of accountability, collaboration and customer focus.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, competing demands and tight deadlines within a complex and high-volume operational environment.
• Strong understanding of service performance management, including the development and monitoring of KPIs, quality measures, service standards and management information to support effective decision-making.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and customer service/contact centre systems, with the ability to use technology and data effectively to improve customer service delivery and reporting.
• Demonstrable commitment to customer-focused service delivery, with strong judgement, resilience, collaboration and problem-solving skills and the ability to drive change and continuous improvement in a complex stakeholder environment.

Joining Bus Éireann means becoming part of a respected national transport company that plays a vital role in connecting communities across Ireland. We are committed to supporting our employees through competitive pay, professional development opportunities, and a positive work environment that encourages career progression and work-life balance.

As part of our commitment to employee well-being and long-term career development, we offer a comprehensive range of benefits.

BENEFITS

• Contract: Permanent
• Annual leave: 25 days increasing to 28 after 5 years’ service
• Subsidised GP Scheme for yourself, your partner and dependents up to age of 16
• Travel concession on CIE services for yourself and dependents
• Residential travel on CIE services to and from workplace
• Pension Scheme
• Welfare Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Subsidised canteen

Bus Éireann is proud to be an equal opportunities employer, committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can achieve their potential.