Customer Service Officer (Housing) Hybrid

Location: Lyndhurst
Salary: £14.48 per hour
Contract: Full-time, Permanent
Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Visa Sponsorship: This role does not offer eligibility for visa sponsorship.

Working Hours

The standard working hours are:

• Monday to Thursday: 8:30am - 5:15pm
• Friday: 8:30am - 4:45pm

Shift patterns and flexibility will be discussed during the interview

The Role

We are looking for a professional, friendly and customer focused Customer Service Officer (Housing) to join the team in Lyndhurst.

The successful candidate will be the first point of contact for customers accessing Housing Services, providing an efficient, high quality and comprehensive information and advice service to members of the public, council employees and elected members.

You will be responsible for handling a wide range of customer enquiries through various communication channels, including telephone, face to face and online/web based services.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide a first class customer service through a range of communication channels, including telephone, face to face and web based enquiries.
• Provide accurate information, assistance and guidance to customers regarding housing enquiries, using your knowledge and experience and accessing relevant information when required.
• Process customer payments, including cash, credit and debit card transactions.
• Record and respond appropriately to customer comments, compliments and complaints in line with agreed procedures.
• Deal with transactions for internal customers, including bookings.
• Undertake daily reconciliation duties as appropriate.
• Provide cover and support for colleagues within the team when required.
• Monitor and be aware of service performance indicators.
• Identify personal training and development needs and make recommendations to your line manager.
• Contribute to the continuous development of the Customer Services Team and Business Support Hub by assisting with the review and development of procedures alongside senior colleagues.
• Adapt to new technology and changing ways of working to support the delivery of high quality customer services.
• Undertake any other duties reasonably requested by the line manager, in line with the grade and responsibilities of the post.

Essential Skills and Experience

The successful candidate will have:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience working in a customer service environment.
• A good general education, including GCSEs or equivalent in Maths and English at Grade C or above.
• The ability to deal confidently and effectively with a wide range of customer enquiries.
• A polite, friendly and professional approach, with the ability to remain firm and confident when required.
• Experience handling cash transactions and processing credit and debit card payments.
• Excellent typing and data entry skills, with the ability to input information quickly and accurately while taking details from customers over the telephone or face to face.
• The ability to adapt to changing technology and new systems.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Experience of working effectively as part of a team.
• A flexible, supportive and positive approach to working with colleagues.
• The ability to maintain accuracy,