Department: Customer Services
Reports To: Executive Director – Customer Insight
Directly Responsible For: Manager – Complaints and Manager – Contact Centre
Hours: 37 hours per week
Overall team / department purpose
The Customer Services Team provides support, advice, and guidance to prospective and existing customers on all services across the business. They provide first point of contact resolution where possible and escalate enquiries to the correct teams. It consists of:
The Contact Centre Team is responsible for receiving all inbound customer and other stakeholder enquiries and resolving the majority at the first point of contact. They deal with enquiries, over the telephone, via email, chat, and social media interactions. Any queries that cannot be resolved will be escalated to the appropriate team across the group.
The team are also responsible for outbound campaign calls for other areas across the business in line with business requirements.
The Complaints Team is responsible for managing all customer complaints across the business. Their role is to ensure that all complaints are investigated, and responses provided within agreed targets. They ensure that all complaints are dealt with in line with the Housing Ombudsman requirements.
Key role priorities
* This role is responsible for leading, managing, developing, and maximising the performance of the overall Customer Services function for the Group.
* Ensuring the provision of effective and innovative strategies and consistently high-quality customer focused services which meet the needs and expectations of all customers and are aligned with the Group’s Vision, Values and Corporate Plan.
* Ensuring that regulatory and statutory requirements are met.
* The holder is required to demonstrate that the Group can demonstrate compliance and best practice to the Executive Team, Board, and stakeholders across the remits of Contact Centre and Complaints.
* As a member of the Group’s Director’s Team, the holder is expected to proactively contribute to operational planning, decision making and strategy implementation across the Group.
Key working relationships
* The role holder directly manages the Manager – Contact Centre and Manager – Complaints and is required to provide those role holders and the whole function with effective leadership, guidance, and support. This includes ensuring these functions continually have the capacity, skills, and commitment to support achievement of all Groupwide objectives.
* External to the Group, the role holder is required to liaise effectively with external agencies, advisors and other stakeholders and organisations as appropriate and to represent the Group at high level in a broad range of settings.
* As a Director of the Group the holder is expected to provide peer leadership and challenge across functions to drive overall Group performance.
Main duties & responsibilities
* The role holder directly line manages the Manager – Contact Centre and Manager – Complaints to provide those role holders and the whole function with effective leadership, guidance, and support. This includes ensuring these functions continually have the capacity, skills, and commitment to support achievement of all Groupwide objectives.
* Develop a high-performing team, acting as coach, guide, leader, and supporter of all team members, particularly via direct reports but also with broader functional influence.
* External to the Group, the role holder is required to liaise effectively with external agencies, advisors and other stakeholders and organisations as appropriate and to represent the Group at high level in a broad range of settings.
* Support the Executive Director in the provision of an overall strategic approach to Customer Insight in line with overall Directorate and broader Group objectives.
* Ensure policies and processes are continually developed in line with legislation, regulation, and best practice.
* Ensure risk, control and performance are embedded within the functions and managed, monitored and reported in support of the business objectives.
* Identify and develop strategic external relationships that will enhance the provision of the function’s activities.
* Responsible for financial planning, budgeting, and financial reporting of functional budgets in line with the Group’s Financial Regulations.
* Appoint, manage, and ensure the effective use of any external agencies or advisors.
* Effectively represent the business - attending meetings, conferences, and events as appropriate.
* Translate business strategy and priorities into functional and operational plans and business improvement initiatives through to delivery across our business, in particular this involves agreeing roadmaps for delivery to drive effectiveness and efficiencies across our business.
* Manage the provision of regular reporting to Executive and Board level through the most effective use of relevant management information.
* Completes any other tasks as commensurate with the level and nature of the post as delegated by the Executive Director.
Key measures of success
* Achievement of strategic and operational objectives for the overall function.
* Implementation of all Internal Audit recommendations within agreed timescales.
* Customer feedback can be benchmarked with the best service providers both inside and outside of the sector.
* Evidenced outcomes from continuous improvement activity.
* Function meets and strives to exceed performance measures in place based on financial targets, reflecting value for money assessments and ongoing improvements in financial results.
* Continual development of the function’s capability and capacity as measured by customer satisfaction/engagement and other performance management data and customer/stakeholder feedback.
* Service areas each have business plans and clear strategic bridges in place to ensure they are best aligned to achieving customer excellence and supporting wider business priorities and outcomes.
* Statutory and regulatory compliance is continually achieved.
Livving our values
Livv’s a place with opportunities to grow. We believe in empowering you to make a positive impact in your own unique way. Our values embody what matters to us and show what it means to be Livv, together:
Making a difference daily
We invest in our people, our customers and in the creation of a fairer society.
Positively open
We’re open to feedback at all times, as we strive to deliver a first-class customer experience.
Forging the right way
We’re creating an inspiring road which others will want to follow.
Together as one
Our teams work on another level of cohesiveness to enable us to deliver better outcomes.
Each one of us
- listens to our customers and makes their needs a priority
- is committed to equality, diversity and inclusivity
- takes a flexible approach and works where we’re needed
- follows health and safety guidelines to keep ourselves, colleagues, and customers safe
- helps reduce risks by proactively communicating any potential issues to our line managers
- protects sensitive information by safeguarding customer, colleague and third-party data
- is guided by our policies, procedures and social aims
- is dedicated to continual learning and taking ownership of our personal and professional development.
Person Specification
E - Essential criteria / D - Desirable criteria
Education & Qualifications
Degree level qualification or significant equivalent social housing experience (E)
Relevant accredited housing qualification or prepared to work towards (E)
Experience
Experience of leading multiple teams in a challenging and target driven environment (E)
Evidence of excellence in customer service and delivery of complex services (E)
Accomplished at delivering performance improvement within a complex, regulated environment (E)
Skills, knowledge & ability
Knowledge and understanding of working in a regulated environment (E)
A strong understanding of the issues and challenges facing the social housing sector (D)
An effective communicator with a proven ability to engage with and build positive relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders (E)
Personal characteristics
Customer focused (E)
Driven to achieve results (E)
Good planning, organising and time management skills (E)
Other
Flexible approach to hours worked and location (E)
Must be able to travel independently (E)
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