Central Housing Complaints Team Leader PO3

? To oversee the day to day management of the Central Housing Complaints team (3 Senior Complaints Officers), ensuring that the Housing Services Complaints Handling Procedure is effectively delivered.
? To oversee and manage a complex caseload of complaints and Member/Mayoral enquiries within the Central Housing Complaints Team and provide comprehensive, effective and efficient complaints administration support across Housing Services.
? To ensure that housing complaints are handled professionally and effectively in a timely manner.
? To be the main point of contact for complainants throughout the investigation.
? To collate and analyse all sources of customer feedback, with a view to identifying performance and service delivery improvement themes.

MAIN AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

The post holder will have lead responsibility and accountability for the following:-

? To lead, manage and take overall responsibility and accountability for the work of the Central Housing Complaints team, ensuring that services provided are continuously monitored and reviewed so that they are of the highest quality and responsive to local needs.
? Ensuring that all incoming complaints and Member/Mayoral enquiries are swiftly allocated by the Senior Complaints Officers to the right people in the right service areas so that the issues raised can be investigated as quickly as possible.
? Ensuring that the Senior Complaints Officers are implementing the key stages of the Housing Services Complaints procedure, particularly making phone calls to the resident at the start of the process and keep them updated on the progress of their case.
? Monitoring the progress of complaint and enquiry investigations, and escalating them where necessary, so that service standard deadlines are met and ensuring that effective records are kept on the Council's complaints system.
? Reviewing draft responses submitted for approval by the Senior Complaints Officers and signing off on them in a timely fashion, ensuring that they meet the required quality standards.
? Preparing regular and high quality complaints performance reports for Housing Services management teams.
? To be the main internal point of contact for complaints and enquiries, liaising with operational and senior colleagues to ensure that responses are delivered in a timely manner.
? To ensure that comprehensive, accurate and up to date records of all complaints and enquiries are maintained at all times on the Council's complaints management system.
? To be pro-active in the development of good relations across the Council departments and this may involve attending meetings, to update on complaints.
? Support the Performance & Complaints Improvement Manager in maintaining key relationships with stakeholders, senior management and customers.
? To ensure that the Council's policies and procedures relating to customer complaints and enquiries are followed and adhered to.

STRATEGIC THINKING AND PLANNING

? To advise the Performance & Complaints Improvement Manager on strategies for service improvements, service development and the achievement of Council, departmental and customer objectives.
? To ensure that effective performance management arrangements are in place to achieve strategic outcomes, performance targets, improvement and business plan objectives, ensuring translation of strategic aims into practical and achievable plans

MANAGING SERVICES

? To work in a customer focussed manner, ensuring all face to face or other communications put the customer first.
? To organise work processes to deliver on time, on budget and to agreed quality standards.
? To actively consider new and innovative ways of doing things recognising and promoting the positive benefit of change to improve services and achieve goals.
? To ensure that the work carried out by the functions for which the post holder is responsible is in accordance with required Hackney Council standards and standing orders, legal requirements and national and local objectives and that adequate monitoring and auditing processes are in place.

COMMUNICATION

? To communicate in a confident, authoritative and assertive manner that is in line with established policies, practices and priorities of Hackney Council and maintains and enhances its credibility.
? To communicate effectively with residents wishing to discuss their complaints with a manager.
? To communicate effectively with officers across the Council in order to ensure the effective delivery of the Housing Service Complaints procedure.
? To write reports for internal discussion and external publication.

LEADERSHIP AND THE MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE

? To ensure staff within the service area are aware of standards, expectations and timescales and to establish clear lines of responsibility and accountability building trust, good morale and teamwork.
? To inspire and motivate others to achieve; acknowledge achievements and use constructive criticism when warranted, to help people to learn from mistakes and provide support to improve performance and achieve objectives and goals
? To manage the overall service in a manner that promotes equality of opportunity and collaborative working within staff teams; ensuring that staff are aware of the requirement to deliver non discriminatory services and to promote greater equity for disadvantaged groups

POLITICAL SENSITIVITY AND PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS

? To understand the wider context in which the team operates, particularly with regard to the diversity of Council housing residents., "Any further detail: Housing is a top priority for Hackney. The Council is responsible for the homes of a significant proportion of residents living in the borough, representing approximately 23,000 tenants and 9,000 leaseholders. It is imperative that the array of services that we provide to both tenants and leaseholders are of a high quality and resident focussed. A key part of achieving this will be the delivery of a complaints process that encourages tenants and leaseholders to tell us what they feel we are doing wrong so that we can try to put it right and improve services. With this in mind, we are seeking to recruit a Team Leader for our Central Housing Complaints team, which coordinates complaint handling across the whole of Housing Services and is responsible for driving performance and improvement.
In this role, you will be responsible for:
- Ensuring that all incoming complaints and Member/Mayoral enquiries are swiftly allocated to the right people in the right service areas so that the issue can be investigated as quickly as possible.
- Ensuring that our Senior Complaints Officers make phone calls to the resident at the start of the process and keep them updated on the progress of their case.
- Monitoring the progress of complaint and enquiry investigations so that service standard deadlines are met and ensuring that effective records are kept on the Council's complaints system.
- Preparing regular and high quality complaints performance reports for Housing Services management teams.."

? Significant experience of working within Housing, either within a local authority or a housing association.
? Detailed knowledge of the services provided by housing organisations and the way in which service provision is structured.
? Working knowledge of the Housing Ombudsman Service's Complaints Handling Procedure would be desirable.
? Experience of working in a Complaints/Customer Services team environment to deliver high quality responses in a timely fashion.
? Previous experience of working in a team leader role.

Skills and Abilities

? Ability to coordinate and plan the workload of both yourself and the Central Housing Complaints team.
? Ability to manage, coach and develop officers within the Central Housing Complaints team.
? Ability to manage conflicting priorities in a pressurised work environment subject to frequently changing circumstances in order to meet deadlines.
? Ability to work independently and within teams and to take responsibility for quality and quantity of work effectively.
? Ability to use initiative, problem solve and respond proactively to issues and concerns
? Ability to develop effective working relationships with a range of both internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
? Excellent written and oral communication skills.
? Ability to communicate on complex matters and difficult situations, requiring persuasion and influence
? Ability to review, analyse, summarise and interpret data; draw conclusions and make appropriate recommendations; write reports; and give verbal presentations.

Hackney Council Requirements

? Commitment to Hackney Council' core vision and values.
? Commitment to a culture of learning, development and empowerment across the organisation.
? Wholehearted commitment to the principle of achieving equality of opportunity and celebrating diversity.
? Commitment to team working.

NB: All employees are expected to adhere to the Council's Diversity & Equality and Health and Safety Policies.