We’re recruiting a Customer Service Team Leader on behalf of a well-established, globally operating advanced materials business headquartered in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. This is a full-time, permanent position with hybrid working available — and a genuine opportunity to step into a leadership role with real scope to grow as the customer service function expands. This role sits at the heart of a busy, technically diverse customer service operation, combining people leadership, escalation ownership, process discipline and a proportion of hands-on operational work (around 20–30%) to keep you close to the day-to-day realities of the team. You’ll be building a capable, motivated team that delivers responsiveness, accuracy and strong customer outcomes across a global client base spanning aerospace, research, engineering, medical science and emerging technology. If you’re an experienced people leader with a customer-first mindset and a structured approach to continuous improvement, this is a role worth exploring. Main Responsibilities: Leading, coaching and developing a team of Customer Service professionals through regular one-to-ones, development plans and performance conversations Managing workloads, prioritisation and resource allocation across the team on a daily basis Acting as the point of escalation for customer complaints, issues and internal process barriers, and seeing them through to resolution Monitoring SLA performance and taking proactive steps to manage risk and maintain service levels Creating and maintaining SOPs for high-frequency and high-value processes Driving a structured approach to continuous improvement, including identifying recurring issues and working cross-functionally to resolve them Championing adoption of internal tools and supporting automation and process streamlining Supporting onboarding and coaching of new team members Collaborating with stakeholders across the business to resolve issues early and clearly Contributing to projects that shape how customer service is structured and delivered across the wider group Skills/Experience: Previous experience in a customer service environment — essential Demonstrated ability to coach, influence and support others — essential Strong written and verbal communication skills with excellent stakeholder management Confident problem solver with sound judgement in complex situations Able to manage competing workloads, SLAs and internal and external priorities Competent with core IT systems — experience with D365, MS Office or Salesforce desirable Previous leadership, mentoring or senior agent experience — desirable Exposure to SLA-based operations — desirable Understanding of the order-to-cash cycle and order fulfilment — desirable Familiarity with AI-assisted workflows or process automation — desirable Experience working across multiple sites, teams or business units — desirable Salary & Working Hours: Salary is competitive and dependent on experience. Full-time, permanent position with hybrid working. Typical hours are 8:00am–4:00pm or 9:00am–5:00pm, Monday to Friday. Based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Benefits: * Competitive salary with scope, progression and reward reviewed as responsibility grows * 22 days annual leave rising to 25 days * Hybrid working arrangements * Company-funded private healthcare * Employer pension contribution of 5% * Critical illness and life assurance cover * Company sick pay scheme * Employee Assistance Programme * Professional development and training support * Onsite parking and complimentary refreshments * Programme of social events throughout the year