Complaints Lead

Riverside-12e5e24d; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

Riverside is seeking a Complaints Lead to manage a team of complaints professionals in a hybrid London-based role. You will ensure empathetic customer resolution, coach the team, and drive service improvements across the complaints process.

The role focuses on delivering against objectives, maintaining performance standards and collaborating with senior colleagues to enhance customer satisfaction. This fixed-term 6-month contract offers London-based work with 2 days in the office.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code.
• Customer focus and ability to elicit needs and deliver solutions.
• Strong coaching skills to drive performance.
• Experience in handling complaints.
• Ability to identify service improvements from feedback and complaints.
• Experience liaising with senior colleagues and developing a team.
• Provide high quality, business-focused customer service.

Responsibilities

• Accountable for a team of complaints professionals delivering against objectives and performance measures.
• Support the Complaints Operations Manager to champion the customer and embed coaching culture.
• Maximise team productivity, quality of service and customer satisfaction with innovative approaches.
• Lead and develop the team, enabling autonomy to solve customer problems within milestones.
• Manage performance and development of people, processes, systems and governance.
• Ensure investigations are fair, impartial and evidence-based.
• Ensure compliance with targets, service standards and QA.
• Collaborate with other areas to implement service improvements from feedback.
• Lead local continuous improvement activities and engage the wider Complaints Centre of Excellence.
• Maintain knowledge of Riverside policies to support complex enquiries and escalate when needed.
• Allocate casework to 8-10 colleagues and monitor completion against targets.
• Ensure regulatory obligations are met and QA is delivered.

Skills

Housing Ombudsman code

Customer focus

Coaching

Complaint handling

Service improvements

Stakeholder liaison

Team development

Performance management

Job description

Job Title:Complaints Lead
Contract Type:6 Months Fixed Term
Salary:£52,065.35 Per Annum
Working Hours:35 hours per week
Working Pattern:Monday - Friday
Location:London / Hybrid - 2 days a week in the London office

Please note that whilst we will accept applications based on any form of valid legal permission to work in the UK, we will be surrendering the Riverside Sponsorship licence, so for the avoidance of doubt, we are unable to apply for any further sponsorships whether on behalf of existing colleagues or candidates.

The difference you will make as Complaint Lead
The Complaints Lead (CL) will be accountable for a team of complaints professionals, ensuring they are delivering against all objectives and performance measures and providing complaint resolution service to customers ensuring an empathetic approach at point of contact. Ideally in this role you will be support the Complaints Operations Manager to actively & visibly champion the customer and embed a coaching & performance culture across the team, also to maximise team productivity, quality of service and customer satisfaction through an innovative approach.
About you
We are looking for someone with:

• Knowledge of the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code.
• Customer first ethos and the ability to elicit customer needs quickly and deliver to those needs, were possible.
• Excellent coaching skills with the ability to drive performance
• Experience of complaint handling
• Knowledge of identifying service improvements as a result of feedback, service failures and complaints
• Experience of liaising and working with senior colleagues of all levels
• Experience of managing and developing a new team
• Provision of providing high quality business focused customer service

Why Riverside?
At Riverside, we’re a housing association with a difference – enhancing the everyday for all our customers. For 90 years, we’ve been revitalising neighbourhoods and supporting communities by providing the homes they need to live full, fulfilling and rewarding lives.

We have a portfolio of over 75,000 affordable residential and retirement homes across the UK. Our work ranges from homelessness services to social care, employment support to retirement living, and we need the best people on board to help us.
Working with us, you’ll enjoy:

• Flexible working options available
• Investment in your learning, personal development and technology
• A wide range of benefits

Diversity and Inclusion at Riverside:

We are inclusive. At Riverside, we value diversity in all its forms. We foster a workplace where all individuals are respected, empowered, and heard. Our commitment to inclusivity drives our success and enriches the lives of our customers and colleagues.

This role also falls under our Ethnic Diversity guaranteedinterview scheme. If you are Ethnically Diverse and demonstrateyou meet the minimum criteriafor the role you will be guaranteed an interview.

Role Profile

• The Complaints Lead (CL) will be accountable for a team of complaints professionals, ensuring they are delivering against all objectives and performance measures and providing complaint resolution service to customers ensuring an empathetic approach at point of contact.
• To support the Complaints Operations Manager to actively & visibly champion the customer and embed a coaching & performance culture across the team.
• To maximise team productivity, quality of service and customer satisfaction through an innovative approach
• The CL will lead and develop their team to create a culture that encourages individual autonomy and freedom to solve customer problems within milestones
• The CL is accountable for the performance and delivery of their team and is responsible for the management of and continuous development of people, processes, systems and governance within the complaints process working with the Operations Manager and Head of Complaints
• The CL will ensure that all complaints and disputes are investigated or reviewed fairly and impartially, using an evidence-based approach.
• The CL will ensure that the team are working efficiently and effectively and in accordance with agreed performance targets, service standards and quality standards.
• The CL will work closely with other key areas of the business to share learnings and to ensure delivery of service improvements as a result of customer feedback.
• Lead on local continuous improvement activity
• Work with the wider Complaints leadership team to create a highly engaged workforce within the group Complaints Centre of Excellence
• To ensure knowledge of Riverside policies & processes is maintained in order to support colleagues with more complex enquiries & resolve issues where intervention at a more senior level is necessary
• Manage the operational performance of a team of between 8 to 10 Complaint colleagues
• Allocate casework appropriately and monitor completion of work in line officer’s targets to contribute to Riverside’s corporate objectives.
• Ensure compliance with legal, regulatory and statutory obligations within their team including QA being delivered
• Work closely with colleagues in the Business Information and Insight and other teams to ensure service improvement is a natural step alongside customer involvement and links Tenanacy Satisfaction Measures (TSM’s) and Consumer Standards and ensuring that actions are completed, and the impact of actions is monitored and can be evidenced.

Person specification Knowledge,
Skills and Experience
Essential

• Knowledge of the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code.
• Customer first ethos and the ability to elicit customer needs quickly and deliver to those needs, were possible.
• Excellent coaching skills with the ability to drive performance
• Experience of complaint handling
• Knowledge of identifying service improvements as a result of feedback, service failures and complaints
• Experience of liaising and working with senior colleagues of all levels
• Experience of managing and developing a new team
• Provision of providing high quality business focused customer service
• Proven track record within a customer service environment.
• Outcome and solution focused with ability to show initiative and propose solutions to issues identified.
• Strong organization skills with the ability to prioritise conflicting demands. #
• Resilience and tenacity to see things through to conclusion.
• Excellent team player able to work in collaboration and flexible to meet business requirements.
• Proficient in Microsoft office.
  Desirable
• Proven ability to work independently within tight deadlines, whilst still ensuring a high standard of service was delivered.
• Experience working within a Social Housing delivery context or in an external agency setting.
• Good experience and understanding of the Social Housing sector.
• Relevant qualifications/experience and have a proven ability to apply legal and statutory framework.
• Having experience of working within a team to share knowledge and develop your senior Capabilities in line with commit
• This is a nine to ten month fixed term contract with a strong possibility for extension beyond the fixed term. Confirmed location London. This aims to be part location based but potentially more remote.
• Basic English - working level of English
• Excellent communication skills and... and advanced report writing skills with an analytical approach.
• Have experience of accommodation 3 days a week London or somewhere. 34 hours per week. If you do not are maintain strategic support with a maximum 24 hours

About Us

Riverside is one of the UK’s leading not-for-profit social housing and regeneration organisations, owning or managing around 75,000 homes from Irvine to Kent. We are a leading provider of supported housing services, particularly for those affected by homelessness, and our track record of transforming lives and revitalising neighbourhoods dates back over 90 years. We have plans to build over 15,000 affordable homes over the next decade.