Complaints and Early Resolution Officer

Job Title: Complaint and Early Resolution Officer
Contract Type: Permanent
Full time: 35 hours per week 
Salary: £32,646.32 per annum (£35,916.32 is achieved after 12 months successful performance in the role)
Working Pattern: Monday-Friday Hybrid
Location: Speke, Liverpool

Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment

For your application to be considered please ensure you complete and attach alongside your CV a Supporting Statement detailing in a few sentences why you have applied and feel you are a suitable candidate for this role

 

Want to make a real difference to the lives of people? For over 90 years, The Riverside Group has been providing affordable housing across the UK to people as well as care for the elderly and support for those who face homelessness.

 

The difference you’ll make

As a Complaints and Early Resolution officer you are there to listen to our customers concerns and understand the best resolution. You will be responsible for managing a complaints case load, working within the timescales outlined in the Housing Ombudsman code. You will work with stakeholders internally and externally to deliver the right outcome for the customer. 

 

What you will be doing?

• You will be the first point of contact for customers and manage their complaint cases from start to finish
• You will be responsible for managing and prioritising you case load, ensuring that you are proactively updating customers
• You will hold other services areas to account, making sure that you are monitoring the actions to resolve issues for customers. 
• You will work within the timescales outlined within the Housing Ombudsman code 

 So, who are you?

• Proven experience of complaint handling, housing experience is desirable but not essential.
• The ability to communicate both verbally and written 
• Good planning and problem solving 
• High levels of tenacity, with the ability to work at pace in a busy environment 

 

Enjoy the rewards

Working with us, you’ll enjoy competitive pay, 28 days holidays plus bank holidays, a wide range of benefits, flexible working, and the chance to learn valuable new skills. We empower our people to do great work by investing in learning, personal development, and technology.

If you’re the kind of person that wants to do a really great job and make a difference to our customers, we think you’ll love it here. Sound like a challenge you’d like to take on? Then get in touch and let’s talk about how you can help us transform lives and revitalise neighbourhoods.

We encourage applicants from all sections of the community so that we can truly reflect the neighbourhoods in which we work

 

Accountabilities or “What You Have to Do”

• Manage a caseload of complaints to ensure effective early resolution for our customers in accordance with agreed Policies, processes, standards, time scales and targets using our Customer Relationship Management system, Salesforce.
• Thoroughly investigate complaints from customers showing empathy and understanding. Examine databases, files, records and liaise and meet with relevant colleagues to fully understand the events and actions leading up to the complaint.
• To ensure complaints are responded to and fully investigated within the required timeframes set out in the Housing Ombudsman code.
• Through complaint handling be able to identify and escalate any serious concerns or risks to business through the appropriate channels and to Senior Management, such as any Health & Safety or Data Protection concerns
• Actively promote and raising awareness of the complaint’s procedure across the organisation and the customers ensuring it is inclusive and accessible
• Ensure all complaint documentation and record keeping is accurately maintained on the customer relationship management system.
• Build and maintain good relationships with all colleagues across The Riverside Group to ensure service improvements are seen as positive changes.
• Contribute to the development of best practice standards and share learning across the team.
• Contribute to the dissemination of learning outcomes to both colleagues and customers to raise awareness of service improvements identified during the course of the complaint investigations

 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

• An empathic approach to dealing with customers.
• Strong analytical and investigation skills.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills.
• Able to work to own initiative.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate both verbally and in writing, focus on plain English.
• Dispute resolution skills, and the ability to truly listen to a customer’s concerns and resolve effectively
• A ‘can-do’ attitude and solutions-driven, innovative approach
• An awareness of the risks associated with poor complaints management.
• Effective stakeholder management, both internally and external to the organisation.
• The ability to remain calm in a pressurised environment.
• Excellent team player who can work flexibly to meet business requirements.
• Results driven with strong analytical skills and experience of providing meaningful management information.
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office

Desirable

• Knowledge of Housing
• Knowledge of the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code.
• Experience of working in a complaints/resolution team
• Experience identifying service improvements as a result of feedback and complaints