Complaints Assistant

PURPOSE OF THE JOB Complaints Assistant Scope of Role Complaints Assistant

The Waste Adviser is the primary point of contact for public complaints and enquiries within Street Environment Services, handling resident and business contact directly through iCasework and the Council’s other customer contact platforms.

The postholder investigates and resolves complaints and enquiries personally: understanding what a resident or business is reporting, working directly with operational staff and crews to establish the facts, and communicating the outcome back to the complainant clearly and in plain English. The postholder also provides front-line advice and engagement on waste and recycling, correct presentation, increased recycling and reduced contamination.

The postholder communicates directly with Councillors on constituent enquiries relating to the service, and provides input into the Council’s responses to correspondence from MPs.

As a postholder within the transformed Street Environment Service, the postholder is responsible for reporting performance against objectives and issues within their remit to the Senior Service Administration Officer, with whom they will maintain regular liaison on a basis agreed between them. Key aspects of the role include:

• Providing focused, professional input to the service area, delivering the Council’s vision, values and ways of working in partnership with others; leading by example and maintaining high standards at all times.
• Personally contributing to the plans and strategies for the service area, and taking responsibility for their contribution to the team’s collective delivery of these plans and strategies.
• Attending team meetings and management meetings on a pattern agreed with the Senior Service Administration Officer, at which performance, delivery and budget are monitored and reviewed on a consistent basis across the service.
• Monitoring their own progress against agreed objectives and KPIs, and asking for support as necessary to meet those objectives.
• Achieving results through the effective delivery of their priorities, as agreed with the Senior Service Administration Officer, and identifying and discussing any development needs.
• Ensuring the effective deployment of financial resources in the service area, monitoring spend and reporting any issues to the Senior Service Administration Officer.

• Act as the primary handler of public complaints and enquiries for Street Environment Services, managing cases from first contact through to resolution using iCasework and the Council’s other customer contact platforms.
• Analyse and understand each complaint or enquiry, asking the right questions to establish exactly what has gone wrong or what the resident or business needs.
• Investigate complaints and enquiries by working directly with operational staff and crews, checking round and collection records, and gathering the evidence needed to establish the facts.
• Work with the appropriate service team to agree a realistic, deliverable resolution, and see the case through to a clear, timely response.
• Communicate outcomes to residents and businesses clearly and in plain English, explaining what has happened, what will be done, and by when.
• Communicate directly with Councillors on constituent enquiries relating to the service, providing clear, accurate and timely responses.
• Provide input into the Council’s responses to correspondence from MPs, drafting the factual and operational content for more senior sign-off.
• Maintain accurate case records throughout, ensuring the Council meets its statutory and corporate complaints-handling timescales.