Customer Operations Team Leader

We’re Pentland Brands; a dynamic, global family business, and proud owners and licensees of many iconic active and footwear brands. With a community of over 1,300 team members worldwide, we embrace diversity and inclusion, and champion growth and development. Our success is built on teamwork, courage, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

WHAT’S THE MISSION FOR THIS ROLE?

As Customer Operations Team Leader, you’ll play a pivotal role in leading a team of Customer Operations Executives. This is a hands-on, customer-facing role where you’ll work directly with key strategic customer accounts, ensuring high levels of service and commercial alignment.

You’ll build and nurture strong relationships with our strategic partners, becoming a trusted point of contact who drives collaboration and long-term value. You’ll also work closely with the Customer Operations Manager to support the team’s daily performance and continuous improvement.

WHAT DOES THIS ROLE DO?

As our Customer Operations Team Leader, you will be responsible for:

• Lead, develop, and motivate a team of Customer Operations Executives, conducting regular PDRs and promoting our Pentland Principles.
• Act as a primary point of contact for strategic customer accounts—building trust, ensuring seamless communication, and driving operational excellence.
• Ensure smooth order placement and delivery, using exception reports to identify and resolve issues promptly.
• Manage in-season order requests and prioritise fulfilment to meet commercial and customer needs.
• Handle order lifecycle processes including cancellations, returns, credits, debits, VAS (value-added services), and distribution centre requirements.
• Work cross-functionally with our merchandising and shipping teams in Asia to coordinate direct delivery exports when needed.
• Contribute to commercial discussions by sharing insight from customer interactions to inform forecasting and service improvements.

WHAT DO I BRING TO THE ROLE?

You just might be our next superstar if you have the following skills and experience:

• Thrive in a fast-paced, customer-facing environment and enjoys building relationships with strategic accounts.
• Proactive problem-solver who can lead by example and bring structure and clarity to daily operations.
• Proven experience in a customer-facing or account management role, ideally within a supply chain or commercial operations environment.
• Strong communication skills and a customer-first mindset, with the ability to influence internal and external stakeholders.
• A track record of meeting performance metrics such as OTIF (On Time In Full), SLAs, and customer satisfaction targets.
• The ability to coach and develop a high-performing team, driving engagement and ownership.

We want you to live our company principles, bringing a strong consumer focus, while always looking for ways to improve and grow in your role. Take ownership of your work and be proactive in solving problems whilst communicating openly and treating everyone with respect and kindness. And, of course, let your creativity shine by bringing your unique style and individuality to the Pentland Brands Team.

Customer Operations Team Leader | Sunderland | Permanent, full time

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

• Salary + discretionary bonus
• 25 Days Holiday: Increases with length of service and the option to purchase additional days to suit your needs.
• Discounts: Brand discounts (including friends and family and JD Sports), Sample Sales, and other retail discounts and perks.
• Family-Friendly Benefits: Generous enhanced parental leave policies
• Health Perks: Choose from a variety of health-related perks including medical cash plan, critical illness cover, life assurance, gym and fitness discounts, dental insurance, eye care, and health screening to maintain your wellbeing.
• Travel Perks: Take advantage of our season ticket loan, cycle to work schemes, electric car schemes, and discounts on home charging units to support eco-friendly commuting.
• Flexible Working: We offer hybrid working and flexible working hours, allowing you to start your day earlier or later to help with commute costs or personal commitments.
• Chance to join our Charity, D&I and Sustainability employee networks.

As an equal opportunity employer, we’re committed to fostering diversity and creating an inclusive culture across our business, stores, and office environment.

We warmly welcome your application.