Complaints Officer

Herefordshire Council; Hereford; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS

Annual Leave 31 days

Flexible working

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

Herefordshire Council is seeking a motivated Complaints Officer to join the Governance and Law Team in the Corporate Services Directorate. You will be the key contact for the public, handling complaints, information requests and feedback with professionalism and fairness.

You will work with service managers, elected members and partners to ensure timely responses and drive service improvements. Responsibilities include recording and monitoring feedback, conducting investigations, and developing

Qualifications

• Experience handling complaints or information requests in a public sector or regulated environment.
• Able to build and maintain positive relationships with customers, colleagues and external partners.
• Confident in managing competing priorities, organising caseloads and working independently.
• Excellent communicator with strong interpersonal, negotiation and mediation skills.
• Experienced in analysing information and producing performance reports.
• Proficient with CRM systems and Microsoft Office applications.
• Able to exercise sound judgement and make balanced decisions in challenging situations.
• Committed to high-quality customer service and continuous improvement.
• Aware of equality, fairness and inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Act as single point of contact for complaints, compliments, comments and information requests.
• Record, monitor and report on customer feedback via CRM.
• Investigate complaints and act as Investigating Officer where required.
• Support development of policies and procedures relating to complaints and access to information.
• Coordinate with managers, councillors and service areas for timely responses.
• Analyze data to identify trends and opportunities for service improvement.
• Produce monitoring and management information reports.
• Promote awareness of complaints and information governance procedures.
• Support training and guidance for managers and staff.
• Ensure compliance with legislation including FOI, DP and Equality.

Skills

Customer service

CRM systems

Microsoft Office

Interpersonal skills

Negotiation

Education

A-Level or equivalent

Tools

CRM systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

Herefordshire Council is seeking a motivated and customer-focused Complaints Officer to join our Governance and Law Team within the Corporate Services Directorate. In this rewarding role, you will act as a key point of contact for members of the public accessing council services, ensuring complaints, comments, compliments and information requests are handled professionally, fairly and efficiently. You will play an important role in maintaining public confidence in the council by ensuring enquiries are managed effectively, legislative requirements are met and opportunities for service improvement are identified and acted upon., As a Complaints Officer, you will manage and monitor complaints, customer feedback and information requests across the council. You will work closely with service managers, elected members, customers and partner organisations to ensure concerns are responded to appropriately and within required timescales. Your responsibilities will include:

Responsibilities

• Acting as a single point of contact for complaints, compliments, comments and information requests.
• Recording, monitoring and reporting on customer feedback through the council's CRM system.
• Investigating complaints and acting as Investigating Officer where appropriate.
• Supporting the development and implementation of policies, procedures and systems relating to complaints and access to information.
• Liaising with managers, councillors, MPs and service areas to ensure timely and effective responses.
• Analysing complaint and performance data to identify trends and opportunities for service improvement.
• Producing monitoring and management information reports.
• Promoting awareness of complaints, information governance and customer feedback procedures.
• Supporting training and guidance for managers and staff.
• Ensuring compliance with relevant legislation including Freedom of Information, Data Protection and Equality legislation.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues, customers, advocacy services and partner organisations to resolve issues and improve outcomes.

As a Complaints Officer you will be:

• Experienced in handling complaints, information requests or customer enquiries within a public sector or similarly regulated environment.
• Skilled in building and maintaining positive relationships with customers, colleagues, elected members and external partners.
• Confident in managing competing priorities, organising caseloads and working independently.
• An excellent communicator with strong interpersonal, negotiation and mediation skills.
• Experienced in analysing information, identifying trends and producing performance reports.
• Comfortable working with customer relationship management (CRM) systems and Microsoft Office applications.
• Able to exercise sound judgement, solve problems and make balanced decisions in challenging situations.
• Committed to delivering high-quality customer service and continuous improvement.
• Sensitive to the needs of diverse communities and committed to equality, fairness and inclusion.
• Educated to A-Level standard or equivalent, with evidence of ongoing professional development. Complaints handling or mediation training would be advantageous.

We're proud and excited to unveil our new recruitment video, a celebration of Herefordshire's people, places, and purpose. Set in the heart of England and filled with pride, compassion and possibility, the video brings to life what it means to work somewhere you truly belong.

At Herefordshire Council, every role matters and every person makes a real difference for our communities. We're a team where people feel valued, supported and empowered to grow together. Herefordshire is big hearted, welcoming and friendly. We have strong and independent communities and idyllic countryside, situated in the South West Midlands and bordering Wales. The county sits between Worcestershire and the Malvern Hills to the east, and Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons) in Wales to the west. Historically Herefordshire has been the gateway to the Marches. We embrace partnership working. We are a member of the Marches Forward Partnership, which is a cross border collaboration between Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Powys and Shropshire who are collectively working to secure funding to invest in the region. The council priorities over the next four years are set out in the Council Plan, with four main areas; People: We will enable residents to realise their potential, to be healthy and to be part of great communities who support each other. We want all children to have the best start in life. Place: We will protect and enhance our environment and ensure that Herefordshire is a great place to live. We will support the right housing in the right place, we will support access to green spaces and we will do everything we can to recover the health of our rivers. Growth: We will create the conditions to deliver sustainable growth across the county; attracting inward investment, building business confidence, creating jobs, enabling housing development along with providing the right infrastructure. Transformation: We will be an efficient council that embraces best practice, delivers innovation through technology and demonstrates value for money.

Additional commitments

• Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the "Disability Confident" scheme.
• Those who indicate in their application that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Those who indicate in their application that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.

We take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

A competitive salary, holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:

Benefits

• Salary range of £28,142 - £32,062 pro rata £12,169 - £13,863 per annum.
• Enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Career progression: clear pathways to progress
• Annual Leave: 31 days' annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum during the request period
• Flexible working: including the potential for job-sharing, part-time hours and agile working.
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
• Payment of professional membership fees (based on role requirements)
• Pick your perks - our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.