We're hiring! Dispatch Assistant (Part-Time)

Tino and Theo say they're better at testing Charley Chau beds and blankets than packing them so it's time for us to hire a Dispatch Assistant! 

Interested, or know someone who might be interested in joining our small team? Then read on ... 

Summary of the Dispatch Assistant Role

We are searching for someone to help us in the role of a Dispatch Assistant to ensure that Charley Chau customers receive their orders on time and in fabulous condition wherever they are in the world, and to ensure that we are always on top of letting customers know what’s happening with their order.

Core Hours: 21 hours per week, 10.00am – 5.00pm, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday .

Additional hours: additional days may be required at busy times, and there is potential for this role to become a full-time role at a later date.

Location: Charley Chau HQ, Unit 16 Astra Business Park, Guinness Road, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1SU, UK.

Role & responsibilites

Managing our daily order dispatch

The key role of the Dispatch Assistant is to manage Charley Chau’s daily order dispatch. This involves monitoring all incoming orders on the websites that sell Charley Chau products, booking parcels into our courier systems, assembling and packing the orders, and fulfilling the orders online: 

• Monitor online sales channels for incoming orders and review orders to ensure that we identify any potential problems before the order is sent out, e.g. if a customer has ordered odd size beds that may not be suitable for their dog(s) or if an item is out of stock;
• Book parcels – book each order or dispatch with the relevant courier or Royal Mail service using our web-based booking systems and print the shipping labels;
• Assemble & pack orders - Charley Chau beds are packed to order. We assemble all of our beds in-house to ensure that we handle every single Charley Chau bed and maintain exceptionally high quality standards. The Dispatch Assistant will assemble and pack the beds and blankets ordered and make sure that they are in perfect condition before they leave HQ to wing their way to our customers all over the world.
• Fulfilment – the Dispatch Assistant will be responsible for ensuring that customers are notified that their orders have been dispatched, and for ensuring the original order is marked as “fulfilled” in our online order systems and that our stock management system is updated accordingly.

Communicating with customers

Communication is key! The Dispatch Assistant will be responsible for communicating with Charley Chau customers about their orders via email and telephone in a timely and appropriate manner. We always aim to be responsive, helpful, friendly and efficient.

Processing returns for exchange / refund

When a customer returns an item for an exchange or refund the Dispatch Assistant will process the returned item. This includes updating our stock management system, updating the online order system, flagging internally whether or not a balance is to be paid / refund to be issued and communicating with the customer.

Trade orders

The Dispatch Assistant will also be responsible for packing trade orders ready for dispatch to our trade customers which range from small pet boutiques to large national retail chains. This includes making sure all beds and blankets are correctly labelled with the relevant bar codes and health and safety stickers, and booking and packing palletised shipments.

Stock monitoring 

In the absence of a clever electronic stock management system (we are working on it) we manage our stock in the good old fashioned way at Charley Chau – we count it! The Dispatch Assistant will be required to help us with our stock management in terms of being pro-active in flagging when stock is low, or when particular products are selling very quickly, and also assisting with stock counts.

Administrative support

The Dispatch Assistant may be required to provide some administrative support, mainly keeping their eyes on our main inbox and helping with customer enquiries, and helping to handle phone enqiuries.

Working autonomously

As we are a very small team, during shows and events, the Dispatch Assistant may have to work at HQ on their own while the rest of the team are manning the show stand. 

Salary & benefits

Salary rate: £10 / hour

Holidays: we offer the statutory holiday entitlement on a pro rata basis, and we offer an optional perk of being paid in lieu for holiday not taken (up to a maximum of 35 hours per calendar year).

Staff discount: there is a very lovely staff discount on Charley Chau beds and blankets.

Dog friendly office: you get to work with our four monkeys at HQ, and if you have a dog or dog(s) yourself then they are very welcome to come to work too providing they get along OK with our naughty monkeys!

A relaxed place to work: we are a very busy team but we like to make the office a relaxed place to be. The TV is always on, or Jenny plays bad music through her iPad. There is an endless supply of tea and coffee; biscuits and chocolate feature a lot too. Team lunches are also a regular thing and down time with the dogs is a must!

Who we're looking for 

Ideally we’re looking for someone who is:

• dog mad
• self-motivated and a self-starter
• meticulous with a good eye for detail
• organised and likes to get things done
• able to work autonomously
• able to anticipate customer needs and translate this into delivering exceptional service
• reliable
• lovely to work with! 

At Charley Chau we are very proud of the exceptional quality of our luxury dog beds and blankets, and we believe we should do everything we can to make sure that a Charley Chau customer is excited about receiving their order. The Dispatch Assistant role is not an anonymous ‘pick and pack’ role in a large warehouse – the work carried out by the Dispatch Assistant is critical in maintaining the exceptional customer service levels that we always aim to deliver and that our customers expect - this is why we (Christine & Jenny) have continued to pack orders ourselves for over five years - with help from Fiona who is with us two days a week and a super star! 

From a practical point of view, the Dispatch Assistant needs to be comfortable working on a PC as most of our systems are Internet based but relevant training will be provided. Other than that we have no specific requirements regarding previous work experience - we just want to hire someone who can do the job well and who is a pleasure to work with! 

About Charley Chau

Charley Chau was founded in 2010 by sisters Christine and Jenny Chau as a quirky little hobby. We focus on designing dog beds and blankets that are comfy, stylish and practical. 

When we founded Charley Chau we never expected that it would get so busy that we would leave our day jobs and run Charley Chau full time but we now have customers in over 30 countries around the world, ranging from dog lovers who save up to order a Charley Chau bed to baronesses and billionaires with homes all over the world. But forget who does what and who knows who, the one thing our customers all have in common is that they love their dogs and want them to be as comfortable as caninely possible, hence they choose Charley Chau!

Despite growing rapidly we are determined to keep a small business approach to running Charley Chau. We love that we know our customers and their dogs and we want to keep it that way. We have no intention of becoming a faceless internet shop that deals in units of inventory and only worries about the bottom line. Find out more about our little company by browsing around our website and on Facebook and Instagram too.

To apply for the Dispatch Assistant Role

If you are interested in applying for the role of Dispatch Assistant with Charley Chau please send:

• a cover letter that explains why you think you’d be fab in the role and why it appeals to you
• your CV

By email to: hello@charleychau.com.

The deadline for applications is Friday, 6 May 2016.

We are hoping to shortlist candidates soon after and invite candidates to meet us in the week commencing 16 May 2016.

If this role is not for you but you know someone who might be interested, please feel free to share!

Please note that we will not accept any applications from recruitment agencies.