Customer Service Officer

Sheffield City Council HQ; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

Sheffield City Council HQ is seeking experienced Customer Service Officers to join the Core Customer Hub. You will help residents, communities and businesses access information and services across phone, in-person, and online channels, handling diverse enquiries and medium-complexity requests.

You will work in a rota-based, hybrid environment from home and office, supporting back-office processes and face-to-face interactions.

Qualifications

• Clear and confident verbal and written communication.
• Active listening and effective questioning.
• Sound problem-solving skills and the ability to make decisions within guidance.
• Confidence using digital systems and maintaining accurate customer records.
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload and meet service standards.
• Attention to detail and understanding of confidentiality and data protection.
• Demonstrates teamwork and the ability to build working relationships.
• Commitment to courteous, inclusive and customer-focused services.

Responsibilities

• Respond to a broad range of enquiries across telephone, digital, written, back-office and face-to-face channels.
• Resolve straightforward and medium-complexity enquiries using knowledge and agreed options.
• Process applications, service requests, submissions and supporting evidence accurately.
• Use service-specific systems to update records and progress cases.
• Provide clear information, guidance and signposting, aiming to resolve at first contact.
• Triaged enquiries and handed over to Linked Services as needed.
• Handle financial transactions and support relevant appeals or enforcement processes.
• Manage challenging interactions professionally with appropriate de-escalation.

Skills

Clear communication

Active listening

Problem-solving

Digital literacy

Organisational skills

Attention to detail

Teamwork

Customer-focused

Job description

Are you an experienced customer service professional who enjoys solving problems, supporting people and working in a varied, fast-paced environment?

We are looking for enthusiastic, adaptable and customer-focused individuals to join our Core Customer Hub as Customer Service Officers. This is a varied role that may involve working directly with customers through our telephony or face-to-face services, as well as processing applications, service requests and other customer activity within our back-office teams.

The Core Customer Hub is at the heart of delivering great customer experiences across Sheffield City Council. Our teams provide high-quality support through both contact centre and back-office functions, helping residents, communities and businesses access the information, services and support they need. Working across a range of customer contact channels, including face-to-face, telephone and digital services, we help people reach the right solution at the right time. Through a responsive, accessible and customer-centred approach, our colleagues play a vital role in improving outcomes for customers and supporting our communities across Sheffield.

About the role

Whether you are helping someone at a reception point, responding to an enquiry over the telephone, reviewing evidence or progressing a service request behind the scenes, you will help ensure customers receive a responsive, accessible and joined-up service. You will be involved in delivering services in a multi-channel environment, which could include face-to-face, back-office, telephone or online services. You will be supporting a broad range of enquiries and progressing medium-complexity requests within established procedures, recognising when specialist advice or escalation is required.

Our Teams are varied including supporting Licensing and Environmental Regulation activities, Building control and Planning services, Fulfilment processes, and Notice Processing tasks on behalf of Parking Services and Customer Service and Contact Centres.

What you'll be doing

• Responding to a broad range of customer enquiries across telephone, digital, written, back-office and face-to-face channels.


• Resolving straightforward and medium-complexity enquiries, using your knowledge and judgement to select from agreed options.


• Processing applications, service requests, submissions and supporting evidence accurately.


• Using service-specific systems to update records and progress cases.


• Providing clear information, guidance and signposting, aiming to resolve enquiries at the first point of contact wherever possible.


• Triaging enquiries and making effective handovers to our Linked Services


• Handling financial transactions and supporting relevant appeals or enforcement processes.


• Managing challenging interactions professionally, using appropriate communication and de-escalation techniques.

We're looking for someone who

• Can demonstrate clear and confident verbal and written communication.


• Shows active listening, effective questioning and the ability to summarise information accurately.


• Has sound problem-solving skills and the ability to make appropriate decisions within agreed guidance.


• Has confidence using digital systems and maintaining accurate customer records.


• Has the ability to organise and prioritise your workload, follow tasks through and meet service standards.


• Shows accuracy, attention to detail and an understanding of confidentiality and data protection.


• Demonstrates positive teamwork and the ability to build effective working relationships.


• Shows a commitment to providing courteous, inclusive and customer-focused services.

As you will be required as a regular and intrinsic part of your role, to speak to members of the public in English, you must be able to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English.

Previous experience within a council or regulatory service is not essential where you can demonstrate relevant transferable skills, experience and a willingness to learn.

Making services better

As a Customer Service Officer, you will also contribute to the ongoing development of the Core Customer Hub. You will take part in team learning activities, share customer insight and identify recurring issues or avoidable customer contact. You may suggest improvements to processes and knowledge resources and support colleagues as a buddy where appropriate.

We will provide induction, training and ongoing development to help you build the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to succeed in the role.

Working arrangements

Our Teams operates within a rota-based, hybrid working model. You will be required to work from home and the office in line with service requirements, including attending team meetings, service events and scheduled in‑person collaboration. The role may involve working across different Council sites and customer channels, including face‑to‑face services. Occasional out‑of‑hours working may be required where this forms part of the relevant contractual arrangements.

Why join us?

This is an excellent opportunity to develop your customer service career within Sheffield City Council. You will join a supportive and collaborative service, develop experience across a range of council activities and play an important role in improving customer journeys and outcomes for the people of Sheffield.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to fairness and social justice and welcome applications from everyone. We value our diverse workforce and aim to work together to make the most of our differences.

Under the Disability Confident Scheme, disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role are guaranteed an interview.

For an informal discussion please contact Oliver Boddye [e-mail]

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under‑represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we'll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full‑time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.