Customer Services Officer (37 hours)

North Hertfordshire District Council; Letchworth; Hybrid; GBP 21,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

North Hertfordshire District Council is seeking a proactive Customer Service Advisor to join our Customer Services and Client Care team in Letchworth. You will handle enquiries by telephone, letter, social media, email and face to face, logging feedback and resolving as many issues as possible at the point of enquiry across council services such as Council Tax, Housing, Waste and Environmental Health.

We value professionalism, clear communication and adaptability.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering customer service across multiple channels with accuracy.
• Ability to stay calm under pressure and adapt to change.
• Strong attention to detail and effective communication in writing and speech.
• Proficient in using computer systems to log and resolve enquiries.

Responsibilities

• Handle customer enquiries by telephone, letter, social media, email and face to face.
• Log comments, compliments and complaints and resolve enquiries at the point of enquiry.
• Assist across Council Tax, Housing, Waste and Environmental Health and perform administrative tasks as needed.
• Promote a professional image and uphold council standards and procedures.

Skills

Attention to detail

Clear communication

Multitasking

Customer service

Adaptability

Problem solving

Computer literacy

Job description

Working Hours: 37

Job Category: Customer Services and Client Care

Our customer service professionals are the primary relationship with our internal and external customers; either by direct or virtual contact, ensuring customers receive a high-quality customer experience.

Duties include handling customer enquiries by telephone, letter, social media, email and face to face and logging comments, compliments, and complaints. You will be responsible for resolving as many customer enquiries as possible at the point of enquiry, about a variety of different Council services such as Council Tax, Housing, Waste, and Environmental Health, amongst others. The role also involves some administrative tasks.

You will need to promote the best image of the company through a professional manner, personal appearance and behaviour and adhere to company standards and procedures whilst maintaining the highest level of personal conduct.

The Experience you will bring

• Rigorous with a strong attention to detail.
• Able to adapt your speech/voice tone to each situation.
• Able to remain calm under pressure with a high level of resilience.
• Proactive/reactive, reassuring and understanding.
• Able to advise/coach customers.
• Agile and able to embrace constant change with adaptability.
• You will need to have good computer skills and be able to communicate effectively whilst taking accurate and appropriate details on computer systems and navigating computer-based information to resolve enquiries accurately and efficiently.
• Experience in providing customer service solutions across a range of different customers with confidence.
• The ability to multitask, set priorities and manage time effectively.
• Effective, clear, and professional written and verbal communication.
• Ability to analyse a situation, identify a solution and take a decision.

North Hertfordshire is a large rural district with approximately 125,000 residents with four historic towns, Hitchin, Baldock, Royston and Letchworth Garden City. The Council have four priorities: Thriving Communities, Accessible Services, Responsible Growth and Sustainability. The Council Plan sets out our key priorities and themes for the next five years. The North Herts Values define how we as colleagues work with each other, and we strive to be: Adaptable, Inclusive, Learning, Listening, Together .

We are committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion in our recruitment practices and in our employment policies . We want our employees to feel safe to express themselves and we encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of talents . We are dedicated to promoting a healthy work/life balance, valuing our employees, and enabling them to make a difference to the local community.

At North Herts Council we are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and we guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum requirements for the job .

Please note that all our vacancies require you to live and work in the UK, and selection interviews are face to face in our Letchworth offices or other nearby council sites.

We are changing

North Herts Council (NHC) is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by NHC on 1 April 2028, it is expected that the majority of roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes in local government we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better.

If you would like an informal chat about the post, you can contact Sam Murray - Customer Services Team Leader on 01462 474363

Hybrid working

Flexibility with homeworking and office-based days

Working pattern

This job is open to flexible working patterns and working hours

Job Category

Customer Services and Client Care