Job Title: Customer Service Assistant
Contract Type: Permanent
Salary: £24,266.13 (£26,655.15 is achieved after 12 months successful performance in the role)
Working Hours: Full Time – 35 Hours
Working Pattern: Monday to Friday
Location: West Bromwich
If you share our values and are excited about making a significant impact at Riverside, please ensure you attach a current CV and covering letter. At Riverside we recruit to potential not just on skills and experience, so we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all the essential criteria on the job description.
The difference you will make as a Customer Service Assistant
You will work as part of a team delivering high quality, cost-effective, face to face comprehensive housing and telecare service, resolving the service requests of customers of Riverside and Sandwell Council Tenants. The role will require you to deal with all service enquiries to Riverside through a variety of media (phone, text, email and web) and diagnose and order repairs including liaison with contractors and guiding customers through simple processes to resolve issues themselves.
To work as part of an administrative team delivering a wide range of functions such as allocations, administrative support including lettings, repair logging and complaints.
Role model Our Riverside Way values and work closely with other teams to ensure that services meet our aspirations, and that our customers trust us to deliver on our commitments. Drive the continuous improvement of the customer experience, while relentlessly reducing waste and improving value.
Finally, you will assist the provision of housing management, and asset services within the PFI contract, and fulfil contractual obligations, targets, and performance standards.
About you
We are looking for someone with:
- Excellent communication skills
- Strong customer service skills
- Experience of working in a busy office environment
- Addition of new staff members and removal of former employees.
- Generate weekly lone worker reports.
Why Riverside?
At Riverside, we’re a housing association with a difference – enhancing the everyday for all our customers. For 90 years, we’ve been revitalising neighbourhoods and supporting communities by providing the homes they need to live full, fulfilling and rewarding lives.
We have a portfolio of over 75,000 affordable residential and retirement homes across the UK. Our work ranges from homelessness services to social care, employment support to retirement living, and we need the best people on board to help us.
Working with us, you’ll enjoy:
- Competitive pay & generous pension
- 28 days holidays plus bank holidays
- Flexible working options available
- Investment in your learning, personal development and technology
- A wide range of benefits
Diversity and Inclusion at Riverside:
We are inclusive. At Riverside, we value diversity in all its forms. We foster a workplace where all individuals are respected, empowered, and heard. Our commitment to inclusivity drives our success and enriches the lives of our customers and colleagues.
Riverside is a Disability Confident Employer and operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for any applicant who declares they have a disability. If the applicant meets the minimum requirements for the role (as set out in the role profile and/or person specification) they will be guaranteed an interview
Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment.
Role Profile
- Deal with all service enquiries received, at the front cashier desk. Ensure customers queries are dealt with or passed to the relevant officer.
- You will be based at Harvills Hawthorn Fields Neighbourhood Office, 5 days a week. Hours of work are: Monday-Friday 8.45am till 4.45pm
- Diagnose and order repairs including liaison with contractors and guiding customers through simple processes to resolve issues themselves, identification of rechargeable repairs through appropriate questioning, explanation of policy and passing to the Income Team for payment, identify repairs under defects and provide advice and order under specialist database.
- Provide information and respond to enquiries on planned and cyclical maintenance programmes specific to individual property or location.
- Maintain and administer office records and systems for complaints, commencement and termination of tenancies in accordance with Riverside procedures.
- Liaise with a wide range of internal and external partners with regard to specific areas of service delivery such as repairs and maintenance, gas servicing, planned works contractors and debt recovery providing advice and assistance and if required referral for more detailed assistance.
- Support the repairs maintenance team in logging repairs, arranging gas service inspections and administrating certificates on the MRI system.
- To be able to use a wide range of IT packages such as Microsoft word, excel and spreadsheets and to be able to maintain various databases and IT packages.
- To provide a range of administration duties such as post, stationery, filing, EDMS, flexi system and general office duties.
- Support the activities of all PFI projects, having an understanding of the day to day operations, assisting with problem solving, providing ad-hoc support and attending meetings,
- Be able to minute take, as the need arises.
- Co-ordinating internal and external communications on behalf of the management team.
- Responsible for administering and ensuring compliance with Health and Safety legislation within the PFI’s offices together with other regulatory obligations, assessing risk and putting in place relevant control measures.
- Organise travel arrangements, training events, conferences and public relations events.
- To have willingness to undertake office fire warden and first aid duties.
- Support the Projects Supervisor in collation and reporting of performance data and any ad-hoc projects and audit.
- Support other administrative staff across the PFI as directed to ensure adequate cover for Asset Management and Housing Services administration.
- Carry out daily check regarding disaster recovery equipment and materials.
- Manage Lone Worker system including.
Other Duties
- To provide a high quality, customer-orientated service championing “The Riverside Service Style” practices.
- Constantly review work outputs, setting improvement targets and appraising individual performance.
- Participate in the work of the team, encouraging innovation.
- Undertake personal development and training as necessary to keep up to date with legal, political, financial and other developments in the fields of housing and customer service
- To ensure compliance with Riverside’s Equality and Diversity policy, in respect of employment and service delivery.
- Ensure that all data is compliant with legislation and policies relating to data quality
- To actively promote Riverside locally.
- To ensure that health & safety requirements are met in accordance with Riverside’s policy and procedures and statutory requirements.
- Any other relevant duties as required by the designated manager.
Person specification
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential
- Excellent communication skills
- Strong customer service skills
- Experience of working in a busy office environment
Desirable
- 5 GCSE’s grade C or above / equivalent
- Excellent computer skills including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and Internet Explorer
