Customer Support Executive

The Customer Support Services Team members develop a comprehensive array of knowledge in order to support the customer in a timely manner. The roles are demanding and rewarding. The role will be central to Innovate UK's future operations.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

Working as part of the wider Customer Support Services Team you will:

Be the first line support to our customers via the telephone and through email 'help desk'

Be a first point of call for knowledge relating to the organisation's activities particularly competitions and networks

Be responsible for the management of a large volume of assigned competition queries (phone & email), working with the Innovation lead and Portfolio Manager to understand the nature of your assigned competitions, and provide comprehensive management of assigned competition queries and resolutions

Track case history and support needs for telephone and email enquiries using the relevant tools and databases quickly and accurately

Act as the interface between the customer and internal teams where necessary

Liaise with Technologists and specialist staff to facilitate positive customer outcomes

Work accurately and efficiently to ensure timely completion of customer enquiries

Shadow assigned competition activities, e.g., planning meetings and briefing events to ensure sound knowledge and accountability of your assigned competitions

Handle multiple competition queries simultaneously without compromising on quality of customer services.

Provide support to the Senior Customer Support Services Executive and/or the Customer

Support the Services Team Leader as and when required to ensure smooth workflows & day to day management of the team

Support with preparation of weekly, fortnightly, monthly stats/reports as and when required

Support with resource planning and team management

Support development of Customer Support Services Administrators to build overall strength of department

Identify training needs and feed back to Customer Support Services Team Leader

Provide coaching/training/mentoring to Customer Support Services administrators with the guidance of the Customer Support Services Team Leader

Provide support to the Customer Support Services Administrators with triaging and general enquiries as and when required

Be onsite support to our operations and strategy teams, and remote support to our travelling technologists

Keep abreast of new competitions and opportunities to ensure accurate up to date information for customers

Contribute to continual improvement processes within the team and the organisation to facilitate excellence in customer service

Be responsible for the upkeep of CRM templates, ensuring they are accurate and up to date with current Innovate UK details, policies and processes

Where directed, take responsibility for specific tasks relating to excellent customer service ad hoc administrative/project work as directed by the Customer Services Team Leader

Be support for external events and briefings

Utilise IT skills and develop CRM tools to enhance the service

Support other areas of Operations (i.e., Project Setup) with their email traffic should the need arise through taking part in cross training across the department and ensuring maintenance of knowledge gained

This is not an exhaustive list and the post-holder might be expected to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the necessary experience and/or training.

Essential -

Qualified to A-level standard or equivalent experience

Experience:

Essential -

Clear previous experience of working within a call centre, customer help or support environment

Experience of working in a fast-paced and process-oriented environment

Demonstrable experience of working as part of effective teams, preferably in an operational/customer support environment to deliver results

Proven hands-on ability to work within a changing and process-led environment

Experience of working with multiple stakeholders, providing proactive customer/stakeholder support, managing multiple deadlines concurrently

Skills:

Proven team working skills with the capability of working independently to achieve results

A professional and mature attitude to work

Strong communication (both written and oral) skills, and the ability to produce clear, concise and accurate documents

Exceptional telephone manner, able to convey messages effectively while working in a customer service led environment

High competency of ICT skills: IT systems and applications including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and MS Outlook

Strong IT and database skills, including managing data, reporting, documenting and maintaining processes, and controls and data integrity

The ability to respond calmly under pressure and to make impartial and well-considered judgments as and when required

Exceptional administration skills, demonstrated consistently

Clear self-organisation skills (self-starter) and a demonstrable ability to manage and prioritise a large workload unsupervised in order to meet tight deadlines and contractual SLA's (service level agreements)

Active listening skills, with a keen ability to understand new information

Exceptional attention to detail

Positivity and the clear confidence to engage effectively

Excellent interpersonal skills, including tact and discretion

Analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to quickly understand new issues, processes of systems and to apply solutions

Ability to manage often conflicting demands of multiple stakeholders whilst protecting the integrity and ownership of the documented processes