Team Lead Customer Support (m/f/d)

ABOUT US

Pliant is a modular B2B payments platform that combines commercial card issuing, payment accounts, FX, and spend management in one system — adapting to existing setups rather than requiring customers to replace them.

Businesses across industries such as travel, e-commerce, and insurance use Pliant to manage complex payment workflows with cards, backed by credit lines Pliant underwrites itself.

Fintechs and software platforms embed Pliant's payment infrastructure into their own products, from API-based Cards-as-a-Service to fully white-label solutions. Banks use Pliant's Card & Spend OS, the customer-facing interface, on their own infrastructure to run card programs.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Berlin, Pliant serves 5,000+ businesses and 40+ partners across Europe and the United States. A principal member of Visa and Mastercard, Pliant issues commercial cards in 13 currencies across 32 countries — under its own European e-money license and with licensed partners in the UK and US.

Learn more at http://www.getpliant.com/www.getpliant.com http://www.getpliant.com

ABOUT THE ROLE

As Team Lead Customer Support (m/f/d), you’ll lead our team of customer support specialists and take real ownership of how customer support runs at Pliant. You’ll stay close to the work: you’ll handle escalated cases yourself, coach your team and make sure every customer gets fast, accurate and friendly support. You’ll also act as deputy to our Head of Customer Support, so you’ll step into wider responsibilities, make decisions independently and represent the team across the business. This is a great opportunity for someone ready to take the next step in their leadership career at a fast-growing fintech.

This role can be based in either Berlin, London or New York.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Represent customer support

• Act as deputy to the Head of Customer Support taking full ownership of the team and its priorities when needed.
• Be the main point of contact for customer support with leadership and other departments, including reporting on performance and raising risks early.
• Make day-to-day decisions on staffing, processes and priorities without waiting for sign-off.
• Keep ongoing projects and improvements moving so the team keeps progressing, not just running.

Lead and develop your team

• Manage, coach and motivate a team of customer support specialists through regular 1:1s, feedback and development plans.
• Onboard and train new team members so they’re confident and effective quickly.
• Build a team culture of empathy, ownership and continuous improvement.

Run day-to-day operations

• Plan schedules, coverage and workload across our support channels (chat, phone, email, in-app) so we meet our service levels.
• Monitor team KPIs such as CSAT, first response and resolution times, and escalation rates, and act quickly when things slip.
• Run quality checks on tickets and calls, and turn what you find into coaching and better processes.

Own escalations and customer trust

• Act as the first escalation point for complex or sensitive customer issues, making sure they’re resolved quickly and communicated clearly.
• Make sure your team follows regulatory and card scheme service requirements and our internal controls.
• Work closely with Risk, Fraud, Payments and Compliance to handle sensitive cases with care and accuracy.

Improve how we work

• Spot recurring issues and root causes, and share customer insights with Product and Engineering.
• Keep our help centre content, macros and internal documentation up to date.
• Contribute to automation, tooling and AI initiatives that make the team more efficient.
• Help prepare the team for new feature launches so customers have a smooth experience.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• Experience: 5 to 7 years in customer service or customer operations, including at least 2 years leading a team, ideally in fintech, payments or financial services.
• Ownership: You’re comfortable running a team independently, making calls with limited guidance and representing your area to senior stakeholders.
• People Leadership: You coach and develop people, give honest feedback and enjoy seeing others grow.
• Customer-Centric Mindset: You care about getting things right for customers and stay calm and solution focused under pressure.
• Operational Strength: You’re confident planning workloads, managing queues and keeping service levels on track.
• Data Driven: You use KPIs and customer feedback to spot problems and improve performance.
• Collaboration: You build good relationships with teams across the business, from Product to Compliance.
• Communication: You write and speak clearly with customers and colleagues alike.
• Adaptability: You’re comfortable in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where things change quickly.

Nice to have

• Experience with customer service tools such as Zendesk, Intercom or Hubspot, and with automation or AI tools.
• Other European languages.
• Familiarity with process improvement or quality frameworks.

WHAT WE OFFER

• The opportunity to work in a growing team with big responsibilities that thrives on a strong exchange of knowledge and excellence
• Attractive remuneration
• Flat hierarchy and transparent communication in a relaxed, professional atmosphere
• Opportunity to develop your talent in a dynamic team with ambitious goals
• Flexibility and possibility to work remotely
• Monthly mobility benefit
• Wellhub Membership
• Company card with a monthly allowance for lunches, coffee, etc. with co-workers

At Pliant, we believe diversity and inclusion are essential to building not only an innovative product but also an exceptional experience for both our customers and our team. This commitment begins with our hiring process—we welcome individuals of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, religions, national origins, gender identities or expressions, sexual orientations, ages, marital statuses, and abilities. If you require accommodations or accessibility support during the interview process, please let us know in your application so we can make sure your experience is seamless.

At Pliant we use the Ashby AI Criteria to assist with looking over resumes against our job qualifications for this role. All final decisions are made by our Talent Team and Hiring Team.

A human is behind these processes. Ashby does not automatically reject candidates or make final hiring decisions. Our teams review all results and make the final hiring decision with every candidate that applies.