Customer Complaints Coordinator - National

Location: Maidstone, Kent
Salary: £14.24 per hour
Contract Type: Temporary – 6-month contract
Working Hours: Full Time - 8.30 am to 5pm

Main Purpose of the Role

The main purpose of the Customer Complaints Specialist role is to ensure customer satisfaction by effectively handling and promptly resolving complaints in line with company policies, the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code and the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Regulations. This role exists to maintain and improve customer relationships, enhance service quality, and to provide timely and empathetic responses to customer concerns.

Our values drive how we work together to achieve our mission, and we explain our expectations in the accompanying Behaviours & Mandatory Accountabilities document.

• Provide a quality service to customers while identifying opportunities to improve customer satisfaction. Responsibilities may include processing complaints, dealing with complex queries, and investigating and resolving customer problems.
• Develop knowledge and understanding of the company policies and procedures and of relevant regulatory codes and codes of conduct to ensure own work and that of the wider business adheres to those standards. Obtain authorisation from a Team Leader or Manager for any exceptions from mandatory or standard procedure.
• Respond to advanced customer complaints including escalations promptly and appropriately; provide approvals in line with the customer complaints framework. Escalate appropriately where required.
• Set clear objectives for each complaint call or meeting; use standard materials to present information to the customer; and ask relevant questions to evaluate the customer's needs and concerns to identify and respond to areas requiring further information or explanation.
• Act as a first point of contact for resolving customer queries and complaints.
• Answer the telephone and assist customers or those making a broad range of complaints by email or mail or other means with any requests for information, directing more complex matters to colleagues as necessary. Initiate contact internally and externally on a regular basis to convey requests, provide instructions, or obtain information
• Resolve complex complaints and queries from customers by providing information on existing processes, policies and procedures, seeking guidance on the most complex issues from other internal stakeholders

Essential:

• Experience of managing and resolving complaints within a regulated environment, preferably housing-related
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to handle difficult conversations including sensitive issues empathetically and professionally.
• Advanced problem-solving and investigative skills to identify root causes and provide fair resolutions.
• Strong organisational skills, capable of managing a high caseload with accuracy and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in using CRM systems and familiarity with data protection requirements.
• Demonstrable experience of effective written communication in all written forms.

Desirable:

• Experience of handling complex complaint cases that have been escalated to industry regulators or Ombudsman services, preferably Housing-related
• Knowledge of industry-specific regulations and customer service best practices.

Please apply with your up-to-date CV and cover letter to apply for this role.