Support Shift Lead

Barkbus is the nation's premier mobile dog grooming company, made up of dog-loving creatives, operators, technologists, and entrepreneurs taking a Silicon Valley startup approach to disrupt and modernize the pet grooming industry. Driven by our mission to deliver joy to pets and their people. As the fastest-growing pet health & wellness startup in the country, we're creating a generational company to remake the industry nationally — and we'd love for you to join us in building the nation's most beloved pet brand.

We're a highly collaborative, high-quality team of problem-solvers, united by a love for dogs and a passion for excellent service. We work with thoughtfulness, empathy, and speed in everything we do. Our goal is simple: make Barkbus the highlight of your career, and make every day at Barkbus the best day in pet care—for dogs, their people, and our team.

The Shift Lead oversees all inbound client service and real-time dispatch operations during their assigned shift. You'll guide a team of Support Specialists and Dispatchers, ensuring they meet service-level agreements (SLAs) and uphold Barkbus's high communication standards.

You'll act as the go-to decision-maker during your shift — coaching team members in real time, maintaining queue health, and proactively solving problems before they impact clients or Pet Stylists. This role blends people leadership, operational oversight, and hands-on support to deliver world-class pet parent and Pet Stylist experiences.

• Lead and support the Dispatcher and Support Specialists on duty, ensuring clarity of responsibilities and smooth collaboration.

• Serve as the point of escalation in partnership with Trust and Care for urgent client or operational issues, making confident, timely decisions.

• Provide real-time coaching and feedback to elevate service quality and efficiency.

• Ensure full coverage of all channels—phone, SMS, email, and internal comms—through effective workload balancing.

• Monitor queue health for both support inquiries and dispatch tasks, proactively reallocating resources to meet SLAs.

• Approve or make rapid dispatch decisions

• Track shift activity, escalations, and resolutions in the CRM and internal tools.

• Identify recurring issues and flag for the Customer Support Manager for follow-up.

• Maintain Barkbus' communication standards in all direct client and internal messages.

• Support your team in delivering fast, empathetic, and accurate responses in every channel.

• Ensure Pet Stylists receive timely updates and the support they need to provide excellent grooming experiences.

  • Submit a shift summary highlighting key wins, challenges, and recommendations for improvement.

  • Share real-time updates and learnings with other Shift Leads to maintain a consistent client and team experience.

  Success Metrics

  • SLA Achievement: % of messages answered within service standards (target: ≥ 95%)

  • Queue Health: Balanced workload and cleared queues by shift end

  • Escalation Effectiveness: Urgent issues resolved within defined timelines (≥ 95%)

  • Team Feedback: Positive post-shift feedback from both Support Specialists and Dispatchers

  • Quality Scores: Internal QA scores for accuracy, tone, and adherence to SOPs

  • Coverage Reliability: No gaps in coverage during shift

  Who You Are

  • Confident Leader: Can direct a team in real time with clarity, fairness, and decisiveness.

  • Operationally Sharp: Skilled at reading situations, juggling multiple priorities, and optimizing resources.

  • Customer-Obsessed: Deeply committed to ensuring pet parents receive exceptional service.

  • Clear Communicator: Able to quickly convey expectations, feedback, and updates helpfully.

  • Collaborative: Builds trust with peers, cross-functional teams, and leadership.

  • Solution-Oriented: Resourceful and calm under pressure.

  • Process-Driven but Flexible: Knows how to follow and reinforce SOPs, but adapts when real-time needs demand it.

  What You'll Bring

  • 2+ years in a customer service or dispatch-related role; leadership or team-lead experience required.

  • Proven ability to lead in fast-paced, high-volume environments.

  • High proficiency with multi-channel communication tools, CRMs, and workflow platforms.

  • Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

  • A genuine love for dogs and a passion for Barkbus' mission.

  Why Barkbus?

  • Join the fastest-growing brand in pet health & wellness.

  • Work with a team that values empathy, speed, and high standards.

  • Opportunities for growth into Team Lead, Customer Support Manager, or multi-regional operational roles.

Compensation: $8/hr

Working Hours: 1pm - 10pm EST (Tues to Sat) - FULL TIME

If you're ready to make pet parents smile, support talented Pet Stylists, and help build something extraordinary, we'd love to meet you. Apply today and help Barkbus deliver joy, one pet at a time.

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