Customer Relations Officer

Portsmouth City Council; Sunderland; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

Portsmouth Homes in Portsmouth is seeking a Customer Relations Officer to join our housing team. The role is 17 hours per week (Friday and other days to be negotiated) and is permanent, based at Somerstown Area Housing Office, with a salary of £27,346 - £29,170 per year (pro rata for 17 hours).

You will handle customer enquiries at reception, by phone and email, liaise with internal teams and external partners, and help meet the Consumer Standards and Pillars of service across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Experience in customer service, preferably face-to-face and over the phone.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with diverse customers.
• Good organisation and ability to prioritise in a busy front-facing role.
• Ability to work within a team and adapt to changing needs.
• Numerate with accurate data entry and basic software use.

Responsibilities

• Respond to customer enquiries at reception, by phone and email.
• Refer matters to the right resource and arrange appointments as needed.
• Collaborate with Portsmouth Homes and external partners to meet standards.
• Support compliance with consumer standards and tenancy obligations.

Skills

Customer service experience

Communication skills

Organised

Team player

IT skills

Tools

Data entry

Software applications

Job description

This is a fantastic opportunity to join us as a Customer Relations Officer! The role is 17 hours per week (Friday & other days to be negotiated), permanent, based at Somerstown Area Housing Office and is at the salary of £27,346 - £29,170 p.a. (£12,564 - £13,402 pro rata for 17 hours).

Your new role

The Social Housing Sector has seen considerable change in the last 2 years with the addition of new and revised regulations including a new set of consumer standards. Portsmouth Homes is undertaking a programme of change to respond to the new environment and changes in expectations from our tenants and leaseholders. The Customer Relations Officer (CRO) provides comprehensive support to Portsmouth Homes Landlord services across Area Housing Offices. Most of the communication is front facing with tenants and leaseholders, so there is always a need to present Portsmouth Homes positively and professionally.There will also be a need to communicate with other teams within Portsmouth Homes, PCC and external partners/organisations, such as Social Services, HNAS, Building Services, Finance & Treasury, I.T, HR, the Police etc. CRO's must respond to customer/resident enquiries at the reception counter, by phone, respond to emails and where necessary refer matters to the right resource.CRO's also arrange appointments for customers where necessary with other officers or teams to ensure that Portsmouth Homes meets it obligations under the Consumer Standards and for Compliance matters.Please see the full job profile attached at the bottom of this page for the full list of what the role will involve!

Who is the person?

You need to:

• Have previous customer service experience preferably through dealing with members of the public by telephone and in-person.
• Have good communication skills and the ability to deal with a wide variety of customers in a sensitive and emphatic manner.
• Be well organised, able to prioritise tasks and manage your own workload.
• Able to work as part of a team to ensure a smooth delivery of the service and be flexible in being able to adapt to the needs of the team.
• Be numerate and able to handle money accurately as part of the cashiering roleHave a positive attitude towards work and actively work with your colleagues to improve the service offered to customers
• Have good IT skills including accurate data entry and use of software applications.
• Training will be given on the specific systems used in housingHave an awareness and understanding of the Data Protection Policy as you will be dealing with confidential informationBe able to work from any of the area housing offices when required

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act.

We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals.Learn more about our values and behaviours.

You must demonstrate why you are suitable against each of the points described in the 'Who is the Person' points on the Job Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. If you apply without a detailed personal statement, it is unlikely that you will be successful.

We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.