Customer Service Leader

Gunn Talent; New Zealand; On-site; NZD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Gunn Talent is seeking an experienced customer experience leader in New Zealand to direct a small customer support team and own the end-to-end customer journey. You will stay closely involved in daily customer interactions, handle escalations, and mentor staff to deliver exceptional service.

You will lead operations across inquiries, warranty claims, servicing concerns, and high-stakes issues, while collaborating with internal teams to optimise outcomes and drive satisfaction.

Qualifications

• Experience leading customer-facing staff in a B2C environment is essential.
• Willingness to stay hands-on with operational work alongside your team.
• Proven ability to manage complex escalations and deliver practical solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and support a small customer support team on a day-to-day basis.
• Remain actively involved in customer communication, including responding to enquiries, handling calls, resolving issues, and managing service requests.
• Take ownership of complex or sensitive escalations requiring investigation, sound judgement, and technical problem-solving.
• Work alongside team members on difficult cases, providing practical guidance rather than simply passing work down.
• Act as the senior point of contact for technical product issues, warranty claims, servicing concerns, and high-stakes customer situations.
• Partner with service providers, technical teams, suppliers, and internal departments to achieve timely and appropriate outcomes.
• Manage rostering, workload allocation, workforce planning, and the daily coordination of the team.
• Monitor service levels and customer satisfaction, identifying what is driving results and where processes can be improved.
• Prepare meaningful performance reporting and using insights to improve team capability and customer outcomes.
• Build a capable, confident team that can handle increasingly complex customer situations.

Skills

Leadership

Customer Support

Escalations

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

Our client is a well-established B2C health and wellness brand, with a broad -retail footprint in New Zealand and expanding into Australia. The business is very well known for luxury products, and genuine commitment to customer care that extends well beyond the point of sale.

As the business continues to grow, we are seeking an experienced people leader to take responsibility for the customer support team and the end-to-end customer journey.

It's really important to note that this is not a purely supervisory or management-focused position. Whilst you must demonstrate relevant leadership experience (this is essential) and you will absolutely be responsible for all of the management elements, you will also remain actively involved in customer contact every day. You will take calls, respond to enquiries, work through issues, manage escalations, and help solve technical or service-related problems alongside your team.

This opportunity will suit a customer experience leader who genuinely enjoys being close to customers and operations - someone who leads from the front, is comfortable rolling up their sleeves, and gets satisfaction from resolving a difficult issue as much as developing the people around them.

About the role

• Lead, coach and support a small customer support team on a day-to-day basis.
• Remain actively involved in customer communication, including responding to enquiries, handling calls, resolving issues, and managing service requests.
• Take ownership of complex or sensitive escalations requiring investigation, sound judgement, and technical problem-solving.
• Work alongside team members on difficult cases, providing practical guidance rather than simply passing work down.
• Act as the senior point of contact for technical product issues, warranty claims, servicing concerns, and high-stakes customer situations.
• Partner with service providers, technical teams, suppliers, and internal departments to achieve timely and appropriate outcomes.
• Manage rostering, workload allocation, workforce planning, and the daily coordination of the team.
• Monitor service levels and customer satisfaction, identifying what is driving results and where processes can be improved.
• Prepare meaningful performance reporting and using insights to improve team capability and customer outcomes.
• Build a capable, confident team that can handle increasingly complex customer situations.

About you

• You will already have experience leading customer-facing staff, but you're equally comfortable staying involved in the operational work
• Experience in the B2C sector would be advantageous - ie: retail, luxury goods, health and wellness products, appliances, automotive, consumer products or another product-heavy environment
• You enjoy being accessible to both your team and customers, understand the value of staying close to the detail, and are willing to personally handle customer interaction as part of your everyday work.
• Proven experience leading a customer service, customer experience, contact centre, retail support, technical support, or similar team is essential.
• You bring experience managing the customer journey beyond an initial enquiry, including post-sale support, warranty claims, servicing, complaints, and escalations.
• You have a practical, solutions-focused approach to technical or product-related troubleshooting.
• You're confident stepping into difficult conversations and resolving issues calmly, professionally, and fairly.
• You can demonstrate a leadership style centred on coaching, mentoring, and supporting people in real time.

Benefits

This is your chance to join a business that genuinely values customer experience - understanding that the best customer leaders remain connected to the people and issues they are responsible for.

You will have the autonomy to improve processes, be part of the wider leadership team, and the opportunity to make a visible impact on customer outcomes, team capability, and the continued growth of the business.

A competitive salary package is on offer, so don't hesitate to apply to find out more about this outstanding business!