Customer Services Manager

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Job description

Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation.

Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues.

Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.

Job Summary

To lead customer service teams across multiple product lines as required, ensuring service level target levels are fully understood and met, quality standards are maintained and costs are appropriate.

A strong, confident communicator who can bring the strategy to life for our teams/people. Shares the goals and objectives which demonstrates the role Customer Services play in delivering the overall strategy.

Builds strong, collaborative relationships (internal and external). A strong team player who works together to gain consensus in any situation. Develop & improve the skills of their Team Leaders by coaching, mentoring & providing development opportunities.

Embeds a customer centric culture, professionalism and ongoing improvement and in line with the

What You'll Do

• Leads team (recruit/develop/coach/support) & nurtures a sense of self belief and confidence in others. Encourages empowerment and innovation. Promotes change and enables team to respond in an agile manner to ensure great service to our customers. A proactive approach to staff development and performance management to bring out the best in people and ensure a high performance culture. . Overall an inclusive leader and treats all colleagues fairly.
• Champions Voice of Customer across their teams. Educates teams on the importance of Customer Experience ensuring the Customer as centre to our BAU and future service offering. Ensure team meet agreed KPI's which are reported in agreed manner.
• Builds strong, collaborative relationships, both internally/externally. Challenges in a proactive manner; works together to gain consensus. Competent & confident in the use of any mode of communication deciding when to use in any given situation.
• Able to plan & prioritise multiple tasks with successful outcomes. Positive influence on others to adopt like-minded principles. A positive persona that always exudes someone in complete control.
• Able to resolve complex/high risk problems, working with others to achieve the right outcome. Excellent product and end-to-end process knowledge. Ability to challenge and add efficiency/control to existing processes. Takes accountability for resolving issues. Uses insight and knowledge to make commercial and timely decisions, ensuring the best outcome
• To manage and ensure flexible resource levels (people, skills and availability) are maintained at all times, in order for the business to adapt quickly and effectively to peaks in volumes, ensuring service standards are achieved.

Who You Are

Knowledge

• Knowledge of UK platform products
• Highly capable in managing high volume, multi-team customer service tasks.
• Knowledge of customer service management within a shared services environment
• Risk and Control management
• Knowledge of Platform sector
• Knowledge of Data Protection and handling personal sensitive information
• Knowledge of regulatory complaint handing process

Skills

• Excellent people management / team coaching and leadership skills
• "Can Do", proactive attitude
• Ability to operate in a fast paced, dynamic environment and able to work under pressure
• Resource Management to identify areas in most need of attention
• Data and Mi production & analysis
• Prioritisation to enable sound commercial decisions
• Organisational skills so that service is managed at all times
• Excellent verbal/presentation skills to enable clear communication to teams
• Listening skills to ensure areas of confusion are addressed
• Written skills to ensure clear and concise articulation of instructions/customer problem
• Ability to Influence others to ensure all parties understand reasons for decision/change

Experience

• Working in customer service environment or a customer focussed role
• Experience with Composer (GBST) software
• Min 5 year experience working in the Platform sector
• Resource and expense management exposure
• Managing multiple teams in highly regulated environment
• Experience of successfully working in a major project / change intiative
• Oversight of quality control and other key controls associated to customer service function
• Team communication and upwards communication to senior management
• Complaint handling, preferably in a FCA regulated environment

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 A* - C / 9 - 4 Grade GCSEs (including English and Maths) or equivalent - essential
• Financial Planning Qualification - desirable

What you'll like about working here

As a Canada Life UK colleague, you'll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance, along with a generous pension and bonus scheme. You'll also receive the support you need with your personal and professional development.

Diversity and inclusion

Canada Life is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Our role as an employer of choice is to provide the right environment for talented people to do their best work, by respecting, understanding and valuing individual differences