Support Specialist

About us Lightning Reach is the only platform that helps people quickly access grants, support with bills and benefits through a single, simple platform - laying the foundations for lasting financial stability. Our technology provides the infrastructure organisations rely on to deliver support faster, reduce admin and increase impact at scale. Since launch, more than 300,000 people have unlocked over £25 million in financial support, with over 100,000 people accessing help each year. About the Role We're looking for a Support Specialist to lead and evolve our support function as we continue to scale. You'll be the first point of contact for our users, owning the day-day support experience while leading the strategy behind it. This is a hands-on role where you'll support users directly through email (and potentially phone support as we grow), while also identifying opportunities to improve processes, shape the product and make the function more efficient. You'll work closely with Product, Customer Success and Operations to ensure the voice of our users influences decisions across the business. Responsibilities Own the user support function: Be the primary point of contact for user enquiries, delivering timely, empathetic and high-quality support via email (and potentially phone support as the function evolves). You'll support people experiencing financial hardship and other vulnerable circumstances with care and respect. Lead support strategy: Define how the support function grows with the business, ensuring we continue to deliver an outstanding experience while improving efficiency and scalability. Platform expertise: Develop an expert understanding of the Lightning Reach platform, becoming the organisation's subject matter expert on our tech SaaS product and end-to-end user journey. You'll confidently investigate issues, test functionality, understand edge cases and identify practical workarounds, acting as a trusted source of knowledge for colleagues across the business. Voice of the user: Analyse user feedback, recurring issues and support trends to provide actionable insights that influence Product, Operations and the wider business. Cross-functional collaboration: Work closely with other teams to improve user journeys, resolve recurring issues and ensure users receive a seamless experience. Knowledge management: Own our internal and external knowledge base, ensuring guidance is accurate, easy to understand and continuously improved. Continuous improvement: Use data, user insights and emerging tools or technologies to continually improve support processes while ensuring that the support function remains efficient and user-centred. Commercial and product opportunities: Recognise opportunities from user conversations that could inform new partnerships, products or services, helping drive the business forward. Requirements Who you are: An experienced customer or user support professional Comfortable being hands-on with user support while also thinking strategically about how to improve it An excellent written communicator who can explain complex topics clearly and empathetically, particularly to people in vulnerable situations Passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences You genuinely care about helping people and understand the importance of delivering compassionate support, particularly to those experiencing vulnerable circumstances Naturally curious and proactive when solving problems. You enjoy investigating issues, testing functionality yourself and finding practical workarounds before escalating Able to become a subject matter expert on our platform, understanding not just the core user journey but also the edge cases and nuances that help colleagues deliver a great user experience. You have a genuine interest in how technology can be used to improve people's lives. Confident using user insights, data and trends to identify opportunities for improvement. A collaborative partner who enjoys working closely with other teams Organised, adaptable and comfortable in a fast-moving startup environment Nice to have Experience working in a technology, SaaS or startup environment, ideally supporting users of a digital product and collaborating closely with Product and Engineering teams Experience supporting vulnerable customers or service users, particularly within financial services, charities, local government, housing or advice organisations Lived experience: Applicants with personal experience of financial hardship, or have received support from charitable organisations are strongly encouraged to apply Diversity: We believe that diversity brings strength and fosters innovation, and are seeking candidates from a range of backgrounds, including gender identity, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexuality, disability.