Senior Complaints Officer

**About us**

Lampton Community Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of the London Borough of Hounslow and is established as a business that has a social heart with a commercial head that delivers outstanding services across the Borough. It is made up of three distinct service business areas:

- Coalo that delivers first class repairs, maintenance, and facilities management.
- Recycle360 that delivers refuse, recycling, and commercial waste.
- Greenspace360 that delivers horticulture, conservation, and parks maintenance.

We are recognised as delivering outstanding services and placing the customer at the heart of all that we do. We are an innovative and entrepreneurial organisation that has an exciting strategy to grow our business and client base even further and in doing so, we can create even more profit with purpose for investment back into public services.

**Role**: Senior Complaints Officer

**Reporting To**: VoCC Manager

**PURPOSE OF ROLE**
- To provide customer focused and efficient specialist administrative support for the Complaints Team.
- To deliver a wide range of both routine and more complex administrative tasks within the Complaints Team, to support the effective and efficient delivery of services within Residential Services.
- To support the accuracy, maintenance, and development of data and information systems in response to changing needs and to ensure effective implementation and review.
- To coordinate administrative functions relating to non-statutory pre-stage 1 complaints and corporate Members and Councillor enquiries, Complaint Stage 1, Stage 2, Housing Ombudsman, Freedom of Information (FOI), EIR (Environmental Information Regulations) and Subject Access requests (SAR).
- To identify and resolve tenant related complaint problems that may delay improvement programs.
- To ensure that the Hounslow Housing Customer Care and Equalities Policies and procedures are carried out.
- To liaise with tenants, leaseholders, consultants, contractors, planners and other agencies throughout major and minor improvement programs.

**Summary of Responsibilities and Personal Duties**:
**General Administrative Support**
- Receive and manage other incoming and outgoing contacts, internal and external.
- Create and maintain accurate records and files. Maintain and update customer information on systems.
- Obtain necessary customer documents, consents, as required.
- Prepare cases, files and related documents for approval and review.
- Collate, distribute documents or materials as required.
- Provide basic information on individual services, processes or legislation/procedures and signpost to other sources of information (including relevant officer or service).
- To promote a ‘Customer First’ approach with internal and external customers at every opportunity
- To work with key stakeholders to improve service quality whilst promoting creative and innovative ways of solving operational challenges and by doing so ensuring services delivered meet the needs of our community.
- To work with the operational and planning staff of Residential Services and where appropriate other Departments, customer satisfaction is meet and expectations are managed.
- To Work with relevant stakeholders on tenant issues for Responsive Repairs, Minors Works, Contracts, Planned Ground Maintenance and LBH.

**Service Specific Support**
- Receive and co-ordinate FOI’s/EIR’s/SAR’s requests for the service, liaising with corporate services to obtain the information requested, within the statutory timescale. Advise on routine exemptions, referring to manager for more complex decisions.
- Respond to and manage general enquiries.
- Research incoming complaints and enquiries, preparing background information and further details for discussion with manager, to decide how cases should be handled.
- Create, maintain, and update information on the service complaint tracker spreadsheet and to liaise with supervisors, contractors, LBH staff on multiple property complaints issues and ensure updates are placed on the tracker report.
- Update and circulate weekly case trackers to managers within the Residential Services. Chase up overdue complaints, Councillor and members enquiries and FOI’s/EIR’s/SAR’s.

**Other Duties**
- Ensure that highly sensitive information is dealt with appropriately and the services is delivered in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998
- Carry out the duties of the post with due regard to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy and core values.
- All employees are required to participate in the Performance Evaluation Scheme (PES) and to undertake appropriate training and development identified to enhance their work.
- All employees are required to comply with the Council's Health & Safety policies and procedures at all times, taking due care for themselves, colleagues and members of the public.
- Assist in carrying out the Council's Environmental Policy within the day-to-day ac