Job title Assessor – Utilities
Reporting to Managers – Utilities
Responsible for No line management responsibility
Starting salary £23,088
Salary scale Entry £23,088 - Mid £23,750 - Max £24,300 per annum
Hours 37 hours a week (Part-time hours will be considered)
9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4:30pm on Fridays
Contract Permanent
Work base Hybrid work pattern with a mixture of office (Cobourg House, Plymouth) and home working once you have achieved initial training (this usually takes approximately 8-10 weeks). Full-time office working is available if needed.
The team
We are recruiting for 7 Assessors to join a new Assessor Team to support our customers on our Utility Warehouse project alongside our existing administrators, advisers and caseworkers. This project is part of the wider Utilities department where we’re currently a team of 77 people across four energy provider projects. The wider organisation includes around 170 staff, 40 volunteers, and 30 line-managers.
The role
The Gateway Team are the first point of contact for Utility customers referred to Citizens Advice Plymouth by their Utility provider. This role is fully telephone based, with a mix of office and remote working. It can sometimes be a challenging role, but you will be fully trained and supported, working as a part of an approachable and supportive team in a rewarding environment to provide the best possible service to people across England, Wales, and Scotland. The role is 37 hours a week (9-5 Monday-Thursday and 9-4:30 on Fridays) on a permanent basis. Part-time hours will be considered. The start date for this role will be July 2024, with interviews likely to be week commencing 3rd June 2024.
We support a wide range of people to find a solution for their debt circumstances. It’s the Assessor’s role to manage the referral and contact clients by phone, email, or webchat as first contact with the service. An Assessor is there to establish what the client needs and plays a vital role in the client experience as the first contact people have with us. You will complete initial assessments with clients as well as following up on their experience with us.
An Assessor must ensure that all relevant information is collected efficiently and accurately. We aim to progress the client’s referral as far as we possibly can on the initial contact and minimise the number of times they need to contact us. This is achieved by completing in depth exploration and providing tailored information where appropriate and booking in with either a Debt Adviser or Caseworker for an appointment if needed.
Training: Full training will be provided. During your initial classroom training and on-the-job learning, you will be working at our city centre office at Cobourg House. When you have been signed off to work independently (this usually takes 6-8 weeks), this role will have a hybrid work pattern, with a minimum of 4 days a month in the office at Cobourg House, 32 Mayflower Street, Plymouth. You will be expected to be able to attend the office as requested and at short notice if required.
What we’re looking for
The successful candidates will need excellent customer service and IT skills and be confident in using the telephone to assess complex issues. You will be resilient and able to assess people’s problems sensitively and compassionately through the phone, webchat and email referral pathways.
You will be comfortable managing and supporting others during times of crisis, including clients who may be suicidal, and you will be able to manage difficult and emotional conversations well. Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, are essential, as is the ability to effectively communicate with our clients with a non-judgmental approach.
You will be able to competently use a range of Office 365 programs and keep case recording systems up to date accurately while still communicating with your client accessing the service. You will also have excellent organisational skills to be able to prioritise your workload well to achieve performance-related objectives.
You will have good boundaries and understand the importance of confidentiality in our work and be able to maintain this. You should enjoy working as part of a busy, motivated, and supportive team and be able to adapt well to changing priorities. You will be flexible to support the service where needed at short notice to cover absence.
We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination. We encourage and welcome applications from suitably skilled candidates from all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from candidates who are disabled, or people from Black, Asian, and other racially minoritised backgrounds, as these people are currently underrepresented at Citizens Advice Plymouth. We also actively welcome applications from LGBTQ+ candidates.
You will thrive on working with a diverse range of people and be open-minded, approachable, and non-judgmental. You will take an empathetic and compassionate approach to clients to find solutions to the problems they are facing.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to
Disability Confident.
