Expertise Centre Manager

Build and develop a high-performing UK Expertise Centre team with clear expectations, effective workload management and strong accountability for individual, team and customer outcomes.

Increase the technical capability and self-sufficiency of the team by identifying knowledge gaps and implementing targeted coaching, training, knowledge sharing and improved diagnostic documentation across BoxTop and its supporting technologies.

Strengthen the management of complex escalations and major incidents , providing clear senior ownership and coordinating effectively with R&D, Product, Professional Services and other teams to achieve timely and sustainable resolutions.

Build trusted relationships with key customers through proactive communication, effective service reviews, transparent management of outstanding issues and early identification of emerging service risks.

Reduce recurring incidents and improve service quality by analysing trends, strengthening problem management, leading lessons-learned reviews and translating root causes into measurable preventative actions.

Develop a scalable and resilient support operation through effective recruitment, onboarding, coaching, performance management, workforce planning and knowledge sharing within a 24/7, business-critical environment.

Skills & Competencies — How the Work Gets Done

You are an experienced support leader who can combine strong people leadership with technical curiosity, sound judgement and a clear focus on customer outcomes. You are comfortable operating in a business-critical software environment where priorities can change quickly and effective ownership and communication matter.

You will bring:

Proven experience leading and developing a technical, application or enterprise software support team.

Experience supporting business-critical software applications and customers.

Strong knowledge of incident, request, escalation and problem management.

Experience managing service delivery against defined SLAs and KPIs and using performance data to drive improvement.

Strong people leadership, coaching and performance-management skills, with the ability to develop individual and team capability.

The ability to prioritise competing demands and make effective, well-informed decisions under pressure.

Strong analytical, troubleshooting and problem-solving capabilities.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the confidence to communicate with customers at operational and management levels.

Experience collaborating effectively with Product, R&D and Software Development teams to resolve complex issues and drive sustainable improvements.

Experience in supply chain, freight forwarding, logistics, customs brokerage or international trade would be valuable, particularly where you have developed an understanding of the operational challenges faced by customers in these industries.

Additional relevant experience could include:

Knowledge of customs declarations and brokerage processes.

Understanding of air, ocean and/or road freight-forwarding processes.

Experience supporting SaaS or cloud-based enterprise applications.

Familiarity with integrations, APIs, EDI and data exchange.

Experience with service-management or ticketing platforms.

Knowledge of ITIL or similar service-management principles.

Experience supporting geographically distributed teams and customers.

Culture Add: TEAM Values

We value team members who communicate with transparency , share information openly, and build trust across functions. You bring excellence and expertise to your craft, holding a high bar for quality while continuously improving your skills. You demonstrate accountability by owning outcomes, following through on commitments, and taking responsibility for results. You are driven by metrics , using data and experimentation to inform decisions and deliver measurable impact.

Aptitudes

Smart: Able to quickly understand complex systems, connect ideas, and make sound judgments.

Curious: Actively seeks to understand customer problems, emerging technologies, and better ways of working.

Coachable: Open to feedback, willing to adapt, and continuously improving through learning.

What’s in It for You

This role gives you meaningful ownership of the UK Expertise Centre supporting BoxTop and the opportunity to directly influence both service performance and the experience of customers who depend on our software for business-critical supply chain and freight operations.

You’ll have the autonomy to improve how the team operates, strengthen technical capability and introduce processes that make support increasingly scalable and resilient. You’ll also have visibility with key customers and senior stakeholders, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate the impact of the improvements you lead.

Working closely with R&D, Product, Professional Services, Sales and colleagues across the wider Descartes organisation will give you broad exposure to our technology, customers and business, while allowing you to influence improvements beyond the support function.

As the operation evolves, you’ll have opportunities to broaden your leadership scope, deepen your expertise in supply chain and freight management technology, and take ownership of increasingly complex service, operational and customer challenges.