Customer Experience Complaints Officer - 6 Month FTC

The Customer Experience Complaint Officer role is an important and essential role within the Customer Experience and Complaints team. The Complaint Officer is dedicated to resolving customer complaints, both orally and in writing, in a timely manner. Complaint Officers are responsible for supporting customers through the complaints journey, investigating cases on their individual merits, and coming to a decision on the outcome of the case. Overseeing and co-ordinating complaints received including those from the Housing Ombudsman Service, as well as MP & Cllr enquiries. This role also supports the team with a combination of undertaking research, coordinating, and collating performance data and continuous improvement information. The role ensures that all contacts are acknowledged within the stipulated timeframes set out in the Complaints policy and procedures. The role requires monitoring and overseeing complaints ensuring we are adhering to policy and developing a positive complaint handling culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the key point of contact for our customers in the complaint handling process, by acknowledging complaints and informing customers of what to expect next.
• Conduct investigations into complaints received and reach an outcome based on the merits of each case.
• Liaise with internal departments, contractors, and external partners as needed to ensure complaints are investigated thoroughly and fairly.
• Communicate your findings and outcome to our customers, and stakeholders, clearly and concisely, constructing a strong oral and written case.
• Identify recurring issues or trends in complaints and proactively work with teams to improve service delivery and resident satisfaction.
• Coordinate all contacts received from the Housing Ombudsman service, as well as MP & Cllr enquiries. These include logging new complaints as requested, highlighting escalations, responding to queries and requests for information.
• Process compensation payments for customers.
• Coordination of complaints data including updating relevant systems (CRM) and assisting with collation of performance & satisfaction data for monthly board reports, quarterly committee reports and benchmarking purposes.
• Coordinate benchmarking activities, including organising best practice visits to other organisations both within the social housing sector and other sectors.
• Conduct sample audits of reported performance data.
• To be prepared to carry out any varied duties that may be reasonably required to satisfy the needs of the service.

Requirements

• Demonstrable experience of complaint handling and working in a complaint environment.
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
• Ability to empathise and build relationships with customers and staff, showing a strong focus on putting customer experience first.
• Agile and responsive.
• Strong organisational skills to manage workload and meet deadlines.
• Utmost discretion and integrity particularly when dealing with sensitive and confidential information.
• Sound decision-making skills, able to provide clear rationale for decisions.
• Ability to be self-sufficient and deliver, but also work as an active team player.
• Experience in a customer centric environment, working across all disciplines and departments.
• Experience of co-ordinating and conducting customer satisfaction and other surveys.

Knowledge

• In-depth understanding of the Housing Ombudsman Complaint handling code.
• Knowledgeable about the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards.
• Knowledge of rights and responsibilities from a customer perspective.
• Knowledge of housing practice, legislation and regulation.
• Knowledge of social housing and policy development within the sector.

Qualifications / Skills

• Ability to use excellent written and verbal communication skills in interactions with colleagues across the organisation, external stakeholders and our customers.
• Proficient in CRM systems.
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to plan, manage and prioritise workload and allocated tasks associated with various projects, to meet deadlines.
• Ability to coordinate and document meetings with staff across teams and departments.
• Strong IT and administrative skills with the ability to use MS Office – Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint & Visio.

The salary for this role is £147 per day. Together, we continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices of our employees. Everyone is welcome. Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.