Complaints Officer - Harlow District Council

Essex County Council; Essex; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government council is seeking a dedicated Complaints Officer based in Harlow. This full-time temporary role focuses on improving the handling of resident complaints and delivering resolutions effectively. You will engage with residents, conduct thorough investigations, and promote a positive complaints culture within the council. The position demands excellent communication skills and a customer-focused approach, contributing to the overall enhancement of council services. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the community.

Qualifications

• Experience in handling complaints professionally and effectively.
• Ability to draft clear and concise written responses.
• Demonstrable skills in customer service and engagement.

Responsibilities

• Log and acknowledge resident complaints according to procedures.
• Engage with complainants to understand their issues.
• Investigate complaints by reviewing case histories.
• Draft responses that are clear, concise, and empathetic.
• Conduct root-cause analysis for service improvement.

Skills

Complaint handling

Effective communication

Root-cause analysis

Collaboration

Empathy

Job description

Complaints Officer - Harlow Council

Location, Harlow

Full time, Temporary

6 Months Contract

£101.37 PAYE / £130.00 Umbrella - daily rate

Closing Date: Monday 8th December 2025

Essex County Council (ECC) are delighted to be supporting Harlow Council to recruit a Complaints Officer on a full-time, temporary basis.

Please note that this post requires the successful individual to be based on site at least 3 days per week.

Harlow is a district of contrasts and an ideal location to both live and work. The town itself is thriving, with excellent shopping and leisure facilities for all ages. We have good road links to the M11 and M25 and excellent rail connections to London and Stansted Airport, just 35 minutes and 20 minutes away from Harlow respectively.

We believe that introducing a centralised team is essential to improving how we handle complaints, the quality of our responses to residents, and how effectively we learn from the issues they raise. The first mission set out in our corporate plan is to transform our council, including by adopting a holistic approach to customer services. This aligns with our values of ambition and excellence, which reflect our commitment to innovation, continuous improvement, and achieving the highest standards for our residents. A centralised complaints team will allow us to focus more effectively on complaint handling as a key service. It will help us to build specialist expertise, ensure consistency, and to drive ongoing improvement over time. By actively listening to our customers and conducting thorough root-cause analysis, we can go beyond just improving complaint handling. We can learn lessons that can help us enhance the quality of all council services.

We are looking for an experienced complaint hander to grow a new customer experience team, key tasks will be

• Log and formally acknowledge resident complaints in line with council procedures.
• Engage with complainants to ensure a clear understanding of the issue and their desired resolution.
• Thoroughly investigate complaints by reviewing case histories and liaising with relevant teams to reach fair and informed decisions.
• Collaborate with service teams to help achieve appropriate resolutions and remedies for residents.
• Draft written responses that are clear, concise, and empathetic.
• Follow up to ensure we complete promised actions and keep residents well informed.
• Conduct detailed root-cause analysis to help the council learn from mistakes and identify opportunities to improve our services.
• Ensure we handle all complaints within the timelines and standards set out in council policies and ombudsman codes.
• Take a customer and resolution-focused approach to all complaint handling activities.
• Promote a positive complaints culture across the council through constructive engagement with colleagues in all services.

What you should do next

If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website. If you have any queries relating to this post please email [e-mail]