Customer Service Officer

Vacancy details

Posted Monday 10 November 2025 at 01:00 | Expires Monday 1 December 2025 at 00:59

Our team

Boat Safety Scheme Limited, or BSS, is a public safety initiative run as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. Our role in supporting navigation and harbour authorities, is to help reduce the risk of boat fires, explosions, carbon monoxide or pollution from boats harming visitors to the inland waterways, the waterways' workforce, other waterways users and property on or alongside the waterways.

The BSS comprises a team of 10 operating across the UK supporting 16 navigation & harbour authorities. BSS colleagues are Canal & River Trust employees permanently seconded full time to BSS Limited.

Our opportunity

Our Customer Service Officer is responsible for the day-to-day coordination of the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) cases process, including all queries from navigation authorities, examiners, the marine trade, safety partners and boating customers.

The role takes full daily liaison responsibility with the BSS outsourced call answering service and for the effective running of the BSS CRM system (Cases) collating and recording queries by phone, email, web-form, text and social media. The post holder is responsible for maintaining effective relationships for the BSS throughout the UK to ensure service level agreements are adhered to, the complaints procedure, escalation and all associated record keeping runs smoothly, whilst maintaining a consistent approach to recording and evaluation of enquiries.

Find out more here: https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/about-us/

Location & coverage

The position will be offered on a home working basis, with a requirement to attend our main hub spaces and or other navigation & harbour authority offices throughout the UK as and when required for team working and collaborative meetings. Travel throughout the waterway network is expected in order to conduct site visits.

BSS Limited represents numerous navigation authorities throughout the UK, we have training centres at Evesham, Northampton and Norwich. We hold forum meetings in numerous locations but mainly based in Warwickshire and Hertfordshire. Our monthly meetings are held In Hemel Hempstead.

When travelling on Boat Safety Scheme business, train tickets, and accommodation (when overnight stays are applicable) are bookable through designated apps and websites.

See the links to most of our navigation and harbour authority stakeholders here: www.aina.org.uk 

About the role

Supporting the BSS General Manager, and working with the Technical Manager, Operations Support Executive and Salesforce Administrator, this person will use data trends and insights, to help the BSS identify and implement improvements to delivery systems to enhance customer service across the BSS teams and consultants, for BSS customers, BSS forum members and BSS Examiners.

Key accountabilities:

  • Day to day management and coordination of the BSS complaints and feedback process, associated record keeping/reporting and is the principle point of contact with navigation authority customer service representative and their reporting processes.

  • Daily direction of the BSS outsourced customer service team and to ensure effective communication channels exist throughout the BSS Team to facilitate excellent service by this agency.

  • Influence and facilitate effective relationship and communication within the BSS (specifically with the BSS Examiners and Navigation Authorities functional teams) to ensure consistent and outstanding customer service practice.

  • Ensure customer contact data is full and accurate and that trends and insights are communicated and shared throughout the BSS to enable better decision-making including dashboards and regular benchmark information of BSS approach to enquiries and complaints processes with comparable organisations, navigation authorities and UK trade establishments.

  • Identifying opportunities to improve service by making recommendations and/or implementing systems/process changes, that positively influences BSS customer communications. Designing and commissioning new feedback channels where necessary.

  • Working with the BSS Technical Manager, Governance Manager, and BSS Operations Support Executive, support the creation, development and implementation of training plans to improve customer service standards across the Boat Safety Scheme.

  • Working with the BSS Communications Manager & Governance Manager to help ensure the BSS operates within The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and General Data Protection Regulations.

  • As Canal & River Trust employees on permanent secondment to BSS Limited, we display the Trust values and behaviours at all times, including best practice whilst ensuring that diversity and inclusion are integrated into all aspects of Trust life and promoting inclusion by challenging behaviour, practices, actions, or decisions that are counter to the objectives of the Trust’s policies and values.

About you

Qualifications:

  • NVQ Business Administration Level III / HNC or equivalent in a customer service-related discipline.

Technical: 

  • Experience of decision making in a customer service environment.

  • Experience of working with Senior Management groups with confidence to challenge and question decisions.

  • Proven interpersonal skills enabling the building of collaborative relationships across the BSS, the endorsing navigation authorities (the Trust, the Environment Agency, the Broads Authority and members of the Association of Inland Navigation Authorities) & with external stakeholders.

  • Experience of commissioning new data insight to identify improved customer experience.

  • Report writing and data analysis capabilities.

  • Appropriate proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, Salesforce & SAP, beneficial.

General:

  • Customer focused approach and reflective communication skills (written and verbal).

  • Ability to deal with difficult and potentially confrontational situations.

  • Intelligent, independent & analytical approach; being able to identify solutions to complex scenarios and operational needs.

  • Confident presentation skills.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact CRT.recruitment@canalrivertrust.org.uk

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

What we offer

When reading this section, it is important to understand that the BSS Office team are Canal & River Trust employees on permanent secondment to BSS Limited

In addition to your salary of £35,600, you will benefit from a competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, great holiday entitlement and numerous other employee benefits, including several salary sacrifice benefits, all of which can be found here (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/work-for-us/our-benefits).

  • Competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, where the Trust doubles your contribution to a maximum of 10%.

  • 25 days paid holiday (plus paid Bank Holidays), increasing with years of service to up to 30 days after 5 years, plus holiday purchase scheme.

  • Home working status with ‘hub’ facilities available at Trust, or possibly other navigation authority, offices should you need the flexibility to work outside of home.

  • As a Trust employee, you get free access to specialist counselling on a range of issues, e.g. health, financial, well-being and domestic matters.

  • As a Trust employee, you get access to a range of employee benefits including store discounts, boating holiday discounts and holiday purchase scheme.

  • You will have 2 days paid volunteering leave per annum, allowing you to volunteer for a local community project etc.

  • Free fishing facilities across the Trust canal network.

We care passionately for the waterways of the British Isles, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We strongly believe that a diverse workforce brings with it a diversity of ideas, thinking and ways of working which enhances what we do. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.

All candidates will be treated on the basis of their merits, skills and abilities and solely by being assessed against the requirements for the job. 

We, as Trust employees are empowered to flow and thrive both on and off the water. Our colleagues enjoy a variety of benefits that enhance their lives while working in a place that positively impacts others. We take pride in, protecting people, property, history and wildlife. We’re all about the future of our colleagues and the future generations who love and use the nations’ navigations and harbours. Inspired by people, we harness the different ways of working and thinking, ensuring our teams grow and reach their full potential.

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