Sales & Office Administrator
Canterbury Fireplaces Ltd – Blackburn
Part-time, permanent22 paid hours over three days per week£15,500–£16,500 per year, depending on experience.
Working days and hours
Our preferred working pattern is:
- Monday: 9am–5pm
- Thursday: 9am–5pm
- Saturday: 10am–4pm
Join a successful family business with over 35 years of experience
Are you a confident communicator who enjoys working with customers? Are you organised, commercially minded and interested in how technology, AI and better systems can improve the way a business operates?
Canterbury Fireplaces is looking for a Sales & Office Administrator to join our team in Blackburn.
We are an established family business with one of the largest fireplace showrooms in England, featuring more than 150 displays across approximately 4,000 square feet. We specialise in gas and electric fires, wood-burning stoves, fireplaces and bespoke media walls.
This is not a traditional office administration position. You will combine customer service, showroom sales and administration while helping us introduce better systems and more efficient ways of working.
For the right person, this is an opportunity to become an important part of the business and make a noticeable difference to both our customer experience and day-to-day operations.
The role
Your responsibilities will include:
Sales and customer service
- Welcoming customers and acting as a first point of contact in our showroom.
- Speaking to customers by telephone, email and through our website.
- Understanding customers’ requirements and helping them identify suitable products and services.
- Learning about our fires, stoves, fireplaces and media-wall options.
- Supporting showroom sales and converting enquiries into orders.
- Preparing and sending estimates and quotations.
- Following up customers who have received quotations.
- Booking showroom consultations, home surveys, installations and service appointments.
- Maintaining regular communication with customers from their initial enquiry through to installation.
- Making aftercare calls and requesting customer reviews.
Office administration
- Supporting the day-to-day running of the office.
- Maintaining accurate customer, quotation and job records.
- Processing customer information, paperwork and product orders.
- Liaising with office staff, suppliers and installation teams.
- Keeping customers informed about orders and installation arrangements.
- Helping manage our servicing and previous-customer database.
- Contacting previous customers regarding servicing and other relevant opportunities.
- Providing administrative and customer-service cover during staff holidays.
Systems and business improvement
An important part of this position will be helping us improve the way the business operates.
You do not need to be an AI or technology expert, but you should be confident learning new systems and interested in how technology can reduce repetitive work and improve customer service.
This may include:
- Helping implement and maintain our job-management and customer-management systems.
- Improving how customer information is recorded and shared.
- Creating consistent processes for enquiries, quotations, orders and follow-ups.
- Developing useful email, text-message and document templates.
- Identifying repetitive tasks that could be simplified or automated.
- Using AI appropriately to support administration and customer communication.
- Helping create clear procedures and staff guides.
- Producing basic reports covering enquiries, quotations, sales conversions and lost opportunities.
- Suggesting and helping implement practical improvements throughout the business.
What we are looking for
The ideal candidate will be:
- Friendly, professional and confident when speaking to customers.
- Comfortable following up quotations and asking customers for their business.
- Commercially minded and able to recognise sales opportunities.
- Highly organised and able to manage several responsibilities at once.
- Accurate and attentive when dealing with customer details and paperwork.
- Confident using email, spreadsheets and online systems.
- Interested in AI, automation and new technology.
- Proactive and willing to suggest improvements.
- Self-motivated and comfortable taking responsibility for their workload.
- Willing to develop strong knowledge of our products and services.
- Dependable and able to work as part of a small, close-knit team.
- Flexible enough to assist with holiday cover when reasonably required.
Previous experience in sales, customer service, office administration, retail, home improvements or a similar environment would be beneficial.
Experience within the fireplace industry is not required, as full product and systems training will be provided. Attitude, organisation, initiative and willingness to learn are equally important to us.
Working days and hours
Our preferred working pattern is:
- Monday: 9am–5pm
- Thursday: 9am–5pm
- Saturday: 10am–4pm
We may consider an alternative working pattern for an exceptional candidate, although regular Saturday working is strongly preferred.
Some flexibility to work additional or alternative days to provide cover during staff holidays and particularly busy periods would be helpful. Any changes to the normal working pattern would be discussed and agreed in advance.
Why join Canterbury Fireplaces?
- Join a successful, established family business with a strong local reputation.
- Work in one of England’s largest fireplace showrooms.
- Enjoy a genuinely varied position combining sales, customer service, administration and technology.
- Receive full training in the fireplace and stove industry.
- Have the opportunity to introduce ideas and influence how the business operates.
- Attend staff and supplier product-training sessions.
- Free on-site parking.
- Staff discount.
- Convenient location approximately two minutes from Blackburn train station.
How to apply
Please apply with your CV and a short covering message explaining:
- Why this particular position interests you.
- Your experience in sales, customer service or administration.
- Whether you can work our preferred Monday, Thursday and Saturday pattern.
Applications can be submitted through Indeed or emailed to:
[email protected]
We are looking for someone who wants to become an important part of the business—not simply someone to cover the office for three days each week.
Job type: Part-time, permanentWork location: In person, BlackburnExpected hours: 22 per week
Pay: £15,500.00-£16,500.00 per year
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
