Customer Service Adviser, Pullar House, Perth - PKC13475

Working within Perth & Kinross Council is more than a job, it's about being part of an organisation that puts people at the heart of all we do and provides opportunities to make a real difference by enhancing every life we touch.

We are looking for a part time advisor working 25 hours a week in the afternoons from 12.00pm until 17.00pm. Is your ambition to do your best every day? Do you like helping people and have a caring nature? If so, then this could be the role for you.

We are currently looking for a Customer Service Advisor to join our team. In our team, our customers and colleagues are our priority. One of our ambitions is to have a business head and social heart; your aim will be to provide a positive experience for every customer, listening to their questions, concerns or ideas and understanding things from their perspective.

You will be working in a fast-paced environment over multiple channels including telephone, face to face, email and webchat. Office working will be essential as we offer a face to face service but can be part of a hybrid working style when operationally feasible.

You will be the first point of contact for our customers providing information and advice on a wide range of Council services including waste and recycling, national entitlement cards, parking, social work and many more. Using a variety of systems and technologies, you will support customers through our enquiry, application or complaints processes, taking into account their needs to ensure we deal with everyone as individuals with dignity and respect while providing a consistent service.

The role is predominantly telephone based, so while we do cover other channels, you need to be aware that call handling is the major part of the role and a full-time advisor is expected to answer 70+ calls a day and do email/online enquiries in between calls.

Skills & Experience Required

Do you share our values and behaviours and are they important to you? The person we are looking for would ideally share these values as they are core to the way our team works and to the organisation. Ideally, you will have experience of working in a customer service environment and be someone who can work well as part of a team. You should be flexible in your approach to work and be able to react positively to change and new ways of working as we continually work to improve and adapt our services to best meet our customer needs.

Good communication skills are key to this role and you must have the ability to work between and communicate over multiple channels. You will bring a high level of resilience to the role, remaining calm, professional and solution-focused even during periods of sustained call demand. Your ability to stay composed under pressure, adapt quickly and maintain performance throughout the day will be essential to supporting our customers effectively.

If you have knowledge of Perth & Kinross Council’s services and experience in a variety of computer systems, including Microsoft packages, this would be beneficial although not essential as full training will be provided. You must have a positive approach to learning and be able to absorb new information quickly over a variety of subjects. As there is a focus on channel shift to more online and digital services, you must have the ability to use web pages for information searches and online transactions.

Working at Perth & Kinross Council

Our values and behaviours influence our work and support us in the delivery of our key priorities. In your application, and should you be invited to interview, you will be asked to describe situations that support the criteria required in the role and which also demonstrate our values and behaviours.

Here's what we can offer you:

• A generous annual leave package
• 6 days public holiday and an additional discretionary day
• Eligibility to join our pension scheme
• Family friendly and positive work/life balance policies such as Flexible Working, Maternity, Paternity & Adoption leave, time off for volunteering and our Wellbeing Framework
• Flexi time
• Access to a range of benefits

We recognise there can be benefits to flexible working and where individual jobs allow, we seek to support this. You are encouraged to discuss potential options with the recruiting manager, if this is of interest to you. A healthy work-life balance is important to us and we provide supportive management and, where possible, flexible working arrangements to help you achieve that balance. You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.

Next Steps

We would love to hear from you and would encourage you to get in touch with Liz Colledge on 01738 477928 to find out more.

External candidates are required to provide contact details for 2 referees, including email addresses. One of these must be your current or most recent employer. Internal applicants applying for secondment must obtain line manager approval through the secondment form available under My Forms – Secondment Request Form on MyView. Please note that secondment requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

We welcome applications from everyone and as a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential requirements of the post. Please contact the hiring manager above or the Recruitment Team on (01738) 475555 or recruitment@pkc.gov.uk to discuss any reasonable adjustments. Appointments are based on evidence supplied during the selection process.

Diversity is important to us and although some of our jobs may be perceived to be traditionally gender specific, we welcome applications from everyone and would encourage you to apply if you meet the job requirements. That includes welcoming applications from former armed forces personnel/reservists. Many of the skills picked up during your military career could be transferred directly into a role with local government.

To comply with Baseline Personnel Security Standard, you will be required to complete a Disclosure Scotland check. If you have lived overseas for a period of 12 months or more (continuous or total) within the last 5 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check. A confirmed offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of the above mentioned mandatory pre-employment checks (including references) and will also include eligibility to work in the UK, qualifications and fitness to undertake the post.