Customer Services Advisor Customer Facing Telephony

Wigan Council; Wigan; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

Wigan Council is seeking a Customer Service Advisor to join the busy Customer Service team. You will handle enquiries across Housing Benefits, Council Tax, Financial Assessments and Business Rates, providing frontline support via calls, emails and webchat/WhatsApp.

Working in a dynamic environment, you will ensure accurate information capture in systems and deliver an excellent first contact resolution for residents of the Borough.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering frontline customer service and resolving enquiries across multiple channels.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced team environment.
• Good organisation and accuracy when handling information in systems.

Responsibilities

• Handle enquiries (Housing Benefits, Council Tax, Financial Assessments, Business Rates) via phone, email, webchat/WhatsApp.
• Provide advice within relevant legislation and capture data on computer systems.
• Deliver a high-quality first point of contact resolution service to residents.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Teamwork

Problem solving

CRM systems

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

Priority Candidates will be considered in the first instance

Wigan Life Centre North

Salary: Grade 5, £27,709 - £30,515 per annum. £14.36 - £15.81 per hour

37 hours per week

Temporary for 12 months from start date.

We're on a journey to build a workforce reflective of our Borough.

We are committed to fostering diverse teams where everybody can bring their authentic selves to work and feel that they belong. If you want to work for a Council where everybody is encouraged to meet their full potential and make a difference in our neighbourhoods, we would love to hear from you!

Your role

We require a Customer Service Advisor to join our busy and forward-thinking Customer Service team to support with the delivery of our services. Your role will include dealing with and responding to a range of enquires such as Housing Benefits, Council Tax, Financial Assessments and Business Rates. Working as part of a supportive team, you will provide a front-line service answering incoming calls, emails and webchat/WhatsApp which may be from vulnerable individuals or be of a sensitive nature. You will provide advice and guidance within specific legislation and be required to capture information on various computer systems.

About you

We’re looking for someone who is solution-focused and passionate to deliver an excellent first point of contact resolution service to the residents of the Wigan Borough. Driven and confident at working in a fast-paced environment, you will have the ability to work well as part of a team and unsupervised. We will also expect to see strong communication skills both written and verbal.

You will embrace and effectively engage our residents in an asset-based conversation that seeks to understand the knowledge, skills and talents of our residents ensuring they are signposted to the relevant support access routes that could improve their health and wellbeing.

About us

Our Customer Service teams deal with approximately 550,000 enquiries every year and is the first point of contact across 18 service areas including Council Tax, Environmental Services and Housing.

If you have the drive to support the residents of the Wigan Borough then we’d love to hear from you!

• Saturday working is required between 8:00am and 12:30pm on a rota basis with allocated time off in the week prior.

The Progress with Unity plan is a place movement for change for the next decade, bringing a new era for Wigan Borough. It draws on the strengths of our individual organisations, recognising that together we can achieve much more for our communities by delivering on our 2 place missions; create fair opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses and make our towns and neighbourhoods flourish for those who live and work in them.

Here at Wigan, we are proud to support flexible working patterns, when the service can accommodate this. We also take a blended approach to where we work, depending on the work we do. This may include working from home, the office, or the community. We like to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits to find out more about working for TeamWigan.

To be appointed to this role you must be able to prove your right to work in the UK, and you must maintain a valid (active) right to work. Please note, at present we are not a licenced sponsor. Please visit the link below to check you qualify to apply. Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK www.gov.uk Prove your right to work to an employer

Wigan Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. As part of this commitment, Wigan Council operates robust Safer Recruitment procedures

For further information, please contact Kathryn Atherton, Assistant Business Partner [e-mail]

Interview date: 21st September 2026

This position is subject to Basic Disclosure Procedures

The employer is committed to safeguarding

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