Viking relocates jobs back to the UK

Viking has confirmed the creation of 60 jobs in the UK after completing the onshoring of its customer service team from South Africa. The new appointments are based at Viking’s main office in Leicester and will complement its existing centre in Oldham.

The company said the move underscores its commitment to improving the client experience and its overall performance. It is part of a turnaround plan started in 2022 under the ownership of European reseller RAJA, which acquired Viking in 2021.

“Viking’s customer service is now 100% based in the UK. We believe this will quickly make a significant impact on the quality of our service. Bringing this critical function back in-house is part of our efforts to deliver first-class customer experience,” said Simon Allan-Brooks, Managing Director for Viking UK & Ireland.

The 60 new positions in Leicester include reps, team managers, quality specialists and trainers. Viking said it is still looking for commercially minded customer care personnel to reinforce the line-up. Julia Martin was named Senior Manager Customer Service UK & Ireland in May. She has a strong sales background, particularly inside sales, having spent more than eight years in a management role at Office Depot UK.

Viking has also revealed the appointment of experienced sales exec Peter d’Amery, who was recently named Sales Director for UK & Ireland. His focus will be to grow the key accounts customer profile. He previously held a similar position at Office Depot UK and his association with the business products industry goes back to 1992 when he joined Guilbert.