National Customer Services and Documentation Manager at Pacific International Line(PIL)

• We’re seeking a National Customer Service and Documentation Manager to build, lead and embed a centralised function that delivers consistent, high quality service across all branches. This role owns end‑to‑end customer service performance while driving standardisation, capability uplift, and continuous improvement. It also leads the national documentation function, ensuring governance, compliance, and effective risk and exception management.

Key Responsibilities:

National Customer Service:

Transformation & Centralisation

• Establish and embed a centralised national Customer Service model based in the PIL Durban head office, transitioning from branch-based practices to a standardised, national operating model.
• Establish and lead a specialised reefer customer service vertical with national coverage of the perishable and deep-frozen reefer markets, ensuring compliance and risk management.
• Ensure gradual reefer Customer Service knowledge transfer to enable customer service provision (complementing Cape Town when needed) to the reefer vertical from the national Customer Service centre in Durban too.
• Introduce industry best practice in customer service processes, governance, escalation and communication.
• Lead customer sensitisation and change management to ensure a smooth transition with no service disruption.

Operations & Performance Ownership

• Lead, coach and manage the national CS team, including redeployed staff, with full accountability for service quality, responsiveness and data accuracy.
• Own the team structure, capacity planning, performance management and skills development.
• Act as the senior escalation point for key customers and complex service issues.
• Ensure all bookings are processed accurately and on time, aligned with internal processes, commercial priorities, equipment availability and network constraints.
• Own the customer service data quality and system discipline, ensuring accuracy across bookings, documentation and downstream processes.
• Drive proactive customer communication, defining clear standards for updates, exceptions and escalations.
• Resolve recurring service issues through root-cause analysis and measurable corrective actions. Drive adoption of digital customer service tools and ensure CRM discipline.
• Monitor and report on Customer Service KPI’s, trends and risks, recommending improvements as the business evolves.

National Documentation: 

Leadership, Governance & Oversight

• Lead and supervise the in-country documentation function, ensuring strong performance, service continuity, and compliance with company standards.
• Own and maintain documentation controls, policies, and escalation processes.
• Provide day-to-day oversight of any outsourced documentation functions, ensuring service quality, turnaround times, accuracy, and adherence to SOPs.

Exception Handling & Operational Support

• Manage complex or non-standard documentation cases, such as:
• Customs stops / detentions
• Long-stay cargo
• Legal or regulatory document holds
• Shipment disputes or corrections
• Release issues or fraud-risk cases
• Destruction of abandoned cargoes
• Act as the in-country escalation point for documentation queries from internal and external stakeholders.

Stakeholder & Customer Engagement

• Work closely with other internal departments and external authorities to resolve documentation issues quickly and effectively.
• Support key customer relationships where documentation handling impacts service delivery.

Compliance, Risk & Quality Control

• Ensure strict compliance with statutory regulations, customs and port authority requirements, internal policies and global trade documentation standards across all applicable activities.
• Support audit readiness and provide documentation for inspections or regulatory queries.
• Identify documentation-related risks and implement preventative controls.

Performance & Process Improvement

• Monitor performance metrics (quality, timeliness, exceptions, rework rates, etc.) for both local teams and any outsourced providers.
• Identify recurring issues and drive continuous improvement, standardisation, and simplification of documentation processes.
• Support digitisation and automation initiatives where applicable.

Cold chain & regulatory compliance

• Ensure PPECB requirements and reefer settings (set-points, ventilation, CA/cold treatment, inspections) are correctly captured and documented; maintain audit-ready records.

Risk reduction & quality assurance

• Prevent any avoidable errors in documentation that leads to rollovers, storage, demurrage, or cargo quality claims; lead root-cause fixes.

Stakeholder alignment

• Coordinate with Ops, CS, Sales, depots, terminals, PPECB, and customers to ensure documentation meets cut-offs and vessel windows.

Key Relationships

• Work closely with Operations, Sales, Logistics and Documentation to deliver seamless customer outcomes.
• Build strong relationships with key customers to support retention, loyalty and long-term partnerships.
• People Leadership
• Lead, coach, and develop the local documentation team to build strong capability, motivation, and service discipline.
• Support knowledge transfer and training between local staff and the offshore back-office.