Sales & Customer Service Manager

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education, arts, culture, language, and creativity. Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. We connect. We inspire Role Purpose: The Customer Service Team Manager is responsible for leading and developing a team of Customer Service Representatives to deliver exceptional and consistent customer experiences across all customer touchpoints, including face-to-face interactions, phone, email, chat, and social media. The role ensures the highest standards of service delivery, operational excellence, and compliance with safeguarding, financial, and organisational policies. Through effective leadership, coaching, and performance management, the Customer Service Team Manager drives customer satisfaction, supports business growth, and enables opportunities for customer enrolment, retention, and engagement. By fostering a high-performing and customer-focused culture, the role contributes to the British Council’s mission of building trust and understanding through education and cultural relations. The Customer Service Team Manager is part of the Sales and Customer Service function, which plays a critical role in delivering outstanding customer experiences, strengthening customer loyalty, and supporting the growth of the British Council’s teaching and exams businesses. Leading a frontline customer service team, the post holder oversees daily operations, workforce planning, performance monitoring, and continuous improvement initiatives to ensure service excellence across multiple centres and communication channels. Working collaboratively with Sales, Teaching, and Marketing colleagues, the role aligns frontline delivery with organisational priorities, develops team capability, and supports the achievement of strategic objectives by ensuring customers receive timely, accurate, and engaging support throughout their journey with the British Council. Main Accountabilities: Team Leadership & Engagement The role is responsible for leading and managing a team of Customer Service Representatives to deliver an outstanding customer experience across all customer contact channels, including face-to-face, telephone, email, web chat, and social media. The postholder creates a positive and inclusive working environment that promotes engagement, collaboration, wellbeing, and high performance. The role oversees the recruitment, onboarding, and retention of talented team members, ensuring the team has the capability, capacity, and resources required to meet current and future business needs. The postholder develops individual and team performance through regular coaching, feedback, performance reviews, and ongoing development activities, fostering a culture of continuous learning and accountability. The role proactively identifies performance gaps and areas for improvement, implementing appropriate support, development plans, and performance management actions to ensure consistent delivery of service excellence and achievement of business objectives. Performance Management & Operations The role is accountable for monitoring and managing team performance against agreed service and operational targets, including customer satisfaction, service levels, quality standards, response times, and complaint resolution measures. The postholder oversees day-to-day operational activities, including workforce planning, scheduling, workload management, and resource allocation, ensuring effective service delivery and business continuity during peak periods and changing operational requirements. The role analyses performance data and operational trends to identify improvement opportunities and mitigate potential risks. The postholder prepares and delivers accurate and timely reports for Cluster Managers and regional stakeholders, providing insights that support informed decision-making, operational effectiveness, and continuous service improvement. Compliance & Risk Management The role ensures that customer service operations are delivered in full compliance with British Council policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements. The postholder promotes a strong culture of accountability, accuracy, and ethical practice, ensuring adherence to safeguarding, data protection, financial control, information security, and compliance standards. The role proactively identifies and addresses operational risks, ensuring appropriate controls are in place to protect customers, employees, and the organisation. Customer Insight & Continuous Improvement The role is responsible for gathering, analysing, and sharing customer insights to support service improvement and enhance the overall customer experience. The postholder identifies trends, customer needs, service challenges, and opportunities for improvement, contributing to Voice of the Customer initiatives and broader customer experience strategies. Through collaboration with key stakeholders, the role supports the implementation of process improvements and service enhancements that drive customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and business performance. The role also supports sales and customer retention objectives by ensuring team members effectively identify customer needs and recommend relevant British Council products and services. The postholder promotes a customer-focused sales culture that balances commercial objectives with excellent service delivery, helping to increase customer engagement, conversion, and long-term loyalty. Role specific skills • Self-motivated and target focused • Resilience • Strong communication skills – including both verbal and written • The ability to influence and negotiate with others • Commercial awareness • Problem solving • Competent IT skills • Numerical skills Knowledge & Experience: Minimum / Essential: • Experience of leading a customer service team in a multi-channel environment (e.g. face-to-face, phone, email, chat, social media). • Demonstrated ability to manage performance against KPIs, service standards, and quality frameworks. • Proven experience of coaching, developing, and motivating staff to deliver consistently high levels of service. • Excellent emotional intelligence, communication and interpersonal skills Desirable • Experience of managing customer services in the education or training sector. • Understanding of Voice of the Customer methodologies and continuous improvement processes. • Experience of handling escalated complaints and service recovery. • Knowledge of British Council products and services, particularly English teaching and exams. • Experience of working in an international or multi-cultural organisation. • Strong cultural awareness and ability to champion equality, diversity, and inclusion, ensuring inclusive engagement with diverse teams and customers. Language Requirements • English at Proficiency Level C1 • Bulgarian at Proficiency Level C1 Education • Degree in relevant subject Closing Date: Applications will close at 23:59 EEST on Sunday, 20 September 2026 Please note that candidates must have the pre-existing, legal right to work in Bulgaria, at the time of application. Important information: Location: Sofia, Bulgaria Contract Type: Indefinite contract Pay-band: 6/G Salary: 1 427 - 1 600 EUR gross per month + addtional benefits Individual offer will be based on interview performance and overall suitability for the role. A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community as we believe that a diverse workforce gives added depth to our work. The British Council is a Disability Confident Employer. The Disability Confident scheme helps challenge attitudes, increase understanding of disability and ensure staff are drawn from the widest possible pool of talent. We guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the minimum role requirements. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities. Safeguarding Statement The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with. We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989. Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children. If you experience any difficulties with submitting your application, please email askhr@britishcouncil.org