Customer Service Team Lead

About Us

Red Kite is a modern, boutique holiday home management company operating across the Cotswolds and surrounding areas. We bring a fresh, technology-led approach to rural hospitality and are on an ambitious journey to scale to 500+ homes by while maintaining a 90% five-star review score.

We are a fast-paced, ever-evolving startup. Things move quickly, priorities shift daily, and we continually build and refine processes as we grow. If you thrive in a dynamic environment, love solving problems, and enjoy being part of a business building something special from the ground up, this is the place for you.

We're looking for a talented customer centric team leader who is excited about being the voice of the customer to deliver outstanding customer service to all our guests 24/7 365 days a year.

Role Overview

The Customer Service Team Lead plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth running of day-to-day operations across our portfolio. You will work closely with the Operations Manager to deliver excellence in guest experience. This is a challenging and complex role with many moving parts. On one hand, you need to be a brilliant leader - one who can train, nurture and develop talent in a different timezone. On the other, look to consistently refine processes and systems to help us work smart using data and insights to make the right decisions.

Customer service experience is essential. This role suits someone who is naturally proactive, able to anticipate issues before they arise, and confident in leading people, managing performance, and supporting the wider team with clarity and compassion.

Start up experience is highly desirable. You must be comfortable working in a fast-paced, constantly changing environment where proactivity, ownership, and sharp prioritisation are key.

Customer experience and pushing the bar for improving customer service should be at the heart of everything you do.

Key Responsibilities

Guest Experience

• Act as the voice of the guest, ensuring their experience is at the heart of every decision and action.
• Lead, train, and support the offshore Guest Experience (GEX) team to deliver fast, friendly, and professional communication 24/7 before, during, and after guest stays.
• Maintain close oversight of day-to-day operations through regular spot checks, ensuring communication is accurate, proactive, and aligned with our friendly and helpful tone of voice.
• Review all daily handovers, giving consistent feedback and driving continuous improvement across the team.
• Run weekly 1:1s with GEX team members to support performance, development, and accountability.
• Oversee guest reviews and feedback, ensuring issues are resolved quickly and used to improve processes and the guest journey.
• Manage distribution channels (Airbnb, , VRBO, Marriott Homes & Villas, Google, direct), keeping all listings up to date and accurate.
• Resolve in-stay issues using our contractor network, escalating when needed and applying sound judgement to balance guest satisfaction with operational and business needs.
• Lead complaints through to full resolution, ensuring a fair, balanced approach that protects both guest experience and the business.
• Lead on managing our guest guide books via Guidey, ensuring they are fully complete, up to date, and supported by a clear process for ongoing updates.
• Identify opportunities to add value to guest stays through thoughtful touches and modern hospitality technology.
• Continually review processes, collecting feedback from the team and guests to improve efficiency, clarity, and service delivery.

Operational & Business Support

• Help lead and support the housekeeping network when needed to ensure consistent standards across all homes.
• Coordinate maintenance works, ensuring correct processes are followed and contractors are briefed effectively.
• Support stock management (linen, consumables, cleaning products).
• Be fully cross trained across the operations team to be able to step in and cover when needed.
• Participate in our shared weekend operations rota (1 weekend per month), supporting Guest Experience, Housekeeping, Owners, and Maintenance.
• Assist with new property onboarding, ensuring homes meet Red Kite quality standards before going live.

What We're Looking ForEssential Requirements

• Customer service / support experience is essential.
• Exceptional prioritisation skills — you know what needs attention now and what can wait.
• Highly proactive — anticipates needs, solves problems independently, and takes initiative.
• Strong leadership ability — confident supporting and guiding remote teams.
• Ability to remain calm and effective under pressure, using your initiative to solve problems quickly and independently.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• A calm, solutions-focused mindset, especially when dealing with time-sensitive issues.
• High attention to detail with excellent organisational skills.
• A genuine passion for delivering outstanding customer and guest experience.

Highly Desirable Experience

• Experience in a startup environment, used to pace, ambiguity, and rapid change.
• Experience in hospitality, property management, or guest-facing roles.
• Familiarity with Breezeway, Hostaway, or similar operational tools.
• Experience managing remote or distributed teams.

What Success Looks Like

• Housekeeping and maintenance teams are functioning smoothly with high reliability.
• Properties are consistently guest-ready and meet quality standards.
• Guest satisfaction, ratings, and reviews continue to increase.
• Operational issues are identified early and resolved efficiently.
• Processes become more streamlined, documented, and scalable.
• You are a trusted go-to person for clarity, problem solving, and leadership.

Benefits

• Salary £35,000
• Fully remote/hybrid with flexible working — ideally within 2–3 hours of the Cotswolds.
• 33 days holiday (including bank holidays in lieu).
• Birthday day off.
• Apple MacBook Pro + £500 home office setup.
• Company iPhone.
• £500 Airbnb credit annually.
• Opportunity to be part of a rapidly scaling startup where your impact is felt daily.
• Entrepreneurial, creative environment where ideas are encouraged.

If you're a proactive, organised leader who thrives in a fast-paced startup environment and is passionate about delivering best-in-class customer experiences, we'd love to hear from you.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: £35,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Company events
• Free or subsidised travel
• Referral programme
• Sick pay
• Work from home

Application question(s):

• Are you based within 2-3 hours of Cheltenham?
• Are you willing to travel to Cheltenham for team days 1-2 times a month?
• What excites you about the role of Customer Service Team Leader at Red Kite?

Experience:

• Customer service: 3 years (required)
• Team management: 1 year (required)

Work Location: Remote