Jobs at NHBS

Customer Services Supervisor – German Speaking

Location: Totnes

NHBS (www.nhbs.com) is a world-leading online retailer supplying ecology and conservation books and equipment to customers in the UK and around the world and publishes two conservation magazines. We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Customer Service Supervisor to lead our customer support team, reporting to the Customer Service Manager.

This role involves overseeing daily operations, ensuring excellent service delivery, and fostering a positive environment for both staff and clients. The successful candidate will be an effective people manager with excellent communication skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast paced environment. Fluency in English and German is essential.

Key Responsibilities:

• Organise and oversee the day to day operations of the customer service team
• Ensure customer queries are handled efficiently and professionally and that orders are processed promptly
• Train team members and create, maintain and deliver training materials and plans
• Plan daily rotas and manage workload allocation
• Monitoring KPIs across the department to ensure our customers' needs are met
• Providing outstanding customer service, working independently, and leading a busy team
• Acts as an escalation point for more serious customer service issues
• All training plans are written and kept up to date
• Take responsibility for the team in the absence of the Customer Service Manager
• Support/testing of new processes
• Take a leading role in improving efficiency and service standards across the department
• Report issues, insights and performance updates to the Customer Service Manager

The ideal candidate will have:

• Proven experience in supervising or managing a customer service team
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and develop staff effectively
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and German
• Experience using NetSuite or similar ERP systems
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and identify trends
• A professional and calm approach to handling complex situations
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities
• Experience in analysing service metrics and implementing process improvements
• Supervising experience within a customer support setting is essential

Our offer to you:

This is an office based role offering a salary of £26,000 to £28,000 per annum based on a 37.5 hour working week Monday to Friday. The role includes 33 days holiday p.a. including bank holidays, employee health plan, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, a generous company pension, free parking and refreshments. NHBS also offers each colleague up to three paid days for conservation volunteering each year.

How to apply:

To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter to Lynne Littlewood, HRM, at llittlewood@nhbs.com.

Closing date 20 January 2026.

About us:

Founded in 1985, NHBS Ltd (www.nhbs.com) is a world leader in supplying wildlife, ecology and conservation books and ecological survey equipment to institutions, retailers, companies, and private customers worldwide. NHBS also manufactures equipment in an on-site workshop and publishes two magazines. NHBS is passionate about making a positive environmental impact - our core purpose is to support those who work to understand, protect, and conserve the natural environment.

The successful candidate will join a friendly and diverse team of 44 colleagues, working in a collaborative and supportive environment.