Assistant Customer Service Manager

About the role

You will work closely with the Customer Service Manager to ensure smooth daily operations, high service quality, and strong team coordination. The role is closely connected to route operations, meaning you will also play a part in supporting business continuity outside standard office hours when needed.

While this is not a formal people management role, you will act as a key support to the team and step in as backup for the Customer Service Manager during absence (e.g. holidays or sick leave). In addition, you will contribute to both local and global customer experience initiatives. You will be reporting directly to the Route Director Belgium.

Key Responsibilities

In this role, you will combine operational involvement with team support and continuous improvement:

• Support daily customer service operations, ensuring efficient handling of bookings, requests, and issue resolution

• Act as a senior point of support for the team, helping to guide priorities, resolve escalations, and maintain high service quality

• Work closely with Route Operations, supporting the handling of operational disruptions and ensuring a seamless customer experience

• Provide operational support outside standard hours when required, including occasional weekend/on-call coverage (approximately once per month, with increased needs during peak and holiday periods)

• Act as backup for the Customer Service Manager, supporting coordination and decision-making during periods of absence

Alongside daily operations, you will also contribute to improvement initiatives:

• Support the rollout of global Customer Experience initiatives, in collaboration with the central CX team

• Contribute to local projects focused on improving processes, efficiency, and service quality

Who You Are

You are an experienced customer service professional who is ready to take on more responsibility.

• You have solid experience in customer service, preferably within logistics, transport, or a similar operational setting

• You are motivated to take a step towards leadership, without necessarily having formal people management experience yet

• You are comfortable working close to day-to-day operations, including handling time-sensitive issues

• You are willing and able to support the business outside standard hours on an occasional basis

• you are calm and resilient under pressure, with a strong sense of ownership

• You are structured and adaptable, able to manage both operational tasks and improvement activities

• You are a strong communicator with the ability to collaborate across teams

• A permanent, full-time position within a leading European shipping and logistics company

• A dynamic, international workplace in the harbour of Ghent (North Sea Port)

• A competitive salary package with attractive extra-legal benefits (including a company car, meal vouchers, hospitalisation and group insurance, flexplan, GSM, laptop)

• Training and development opportunities to grow your leadership and professional skills

• A company culture built on teamwork, responsibility, and continuous improvement

At DFDS, you will be close to the ships, the people, and the customers — and part of a company that proudly connects Europe by sea.

Ready to come aboard?

If you enjoy working with people, manage customer expectations in a fast-paced maritime environment, and contribute to an outstanding customer experience, we’d love to hear from you.