Date as postmark

Dear Applicant,

Thank you very much for showing an interest in the position of Part Time Customer Adviser at Rhondda Housing Association – I hope you find the information in this pack useful. If you think you’ve got the skills, experience and ability to undertake the role of Part Time Customer Adviser, we’d love to hear from you.

We are well established – we formed in 1979 and continue to go from strength to strength. We are a community based housing association working in Rhondda Cynon Taf in the heart of the South Wales Valleys. We manage 1,700 homes and provide supported housing for vulnerable community members.

As a small social landlord we focus on quality of life and regeneration by working with local people to increase opportunities and foster strong, vibrant communities. We are so much more than a housing provider – we have a strong focus on developing both homes and communities. But, we don’t let that detract from our focus of being a responsible landlord and maintaining properties to the highest possible standards.

The Customer Advice team is right at the heart of the Association and is the first point of contact for our tenants and partners. Providing a friendly but highly professional service the team covers a diverse range of tasks and as such requires people with a strong Customer service background, positive outlook and the ability to multitask and deliver under pressure.

We’ve included information in this pack which we think will help you to decide whether or not your next career move could be to RHA. However, if you have any unanswered questions about this exciting role, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Stephen Langton on 01443 424200.

Good luck with your application,

Annalisa BeavanHousing Services Manager

Contents

1. Letter from our Housing Services Manager

2. Advert

3. Useful Information

4. Job Description

5. Person Specification

6. Total Reward

7. Organisation Chart

8. Our location

9. Application form (separate download)

Advert

Customer Advisor (Part time 16 hours)

No agencies please, CV’s will not be accepted.

Circa £18,000 pro rata (£7,890 actual)16 hours a week. Monday & Tuesday, Fixed term to September 2019

182.5 hours (25 days) annual leave entitlement up to a maximum of 219 (30 days) after 5 years, plus statutory holidays (pro rata for part time role)

We are looking for a confident, organised person, with a positive approach to join our busy Customer Advice Team. You should have substantial experience in customer care, with a maintenance background and have experience in dealing with the public by telephone.

The Customer Advisor is the first point of contact for the Association and will need to be able to communicate effectively and professionally on all levels with team members, customers, other Association staff and partners. You will provide accurate and timely responses where required and ensure that all relevant information is recorded on our Customer Relations Management software.

The willingness and ability to alternate between tasks is key to this role, to ensure that the diverse functions required of the Association are fully met and that we provide a first class customer service at all times.

For an informal discussion about this post please contact Stephen Langton (Senior Customer Advisor) on 01443 424200

If you are interested in applying please visit our website www./rhondda.org/working-with-us/vacancies,

or alternatively

Email jobs@rhondda.org for an application pack

Closing date: midday on Friday 28th September 2018

An Assessment Day will be held on Wednesday 17th October 2018

Useful Information

Your Application

Thank you very much for downloading an application pack for the post of Part Time Customer Advisor. In this pack you’ll find plenty of information about the role, including a job description and person specification. The person specification is a key document as this tells you what we’re looking for in our recruitment, and also how we’ll be testing each of the criteria.

Important Information – Completing the Application

Please review the criteria in the Person Specification in full. When completing the personal statement and it is imperative that you to address each essential or desirable section in turn. Please make sure that you give us examples of your experience to date – this may be from your past work experience, or perhaps through voluntary work you’ve done. We may not consider your application unless the essential criteria examples are provided.

References

We ask for references that cover the last three years’ of your employment, so if you have had more than 2 jobs in that period, we’ll need additional referees. These can be provided on a separate sheet.

Personal Details and Equality Monitoring

Before we shortlist, your personal details and Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form are separated from your application form. This is because we want to make sure that candidates are shortlisted on their knowledge, skills and experience alone.

Closing Date and Shortlisting

The closing date for this post is midday on Friday 28th September 2018. Because of the tight timescales involved, we will not be able to accept applications after this time.

The Selection Process

For this post, we will be running an assessment centre on Wednesday 17th October 2018.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title Customer Advisor (Fixed Term 03/09/2019)

Report to Senior Customer Advisor

Department Housing Services

Salary Circa £18,000 pa

Purpose

To deliver a friendly, professional and accurate advice via the telephone, email and in person, ensuring that our agreed corporate standards are met.

To provide accurate advice to tenants on all aspects of housing related enquiries, signposting appropriately where necessary.

To provide a diverse and responsive administrative support service to the Housing Services Team.

To develop an expertise in diagnosing reported repair issues, accurately determining works required prior to raising orders.

To provide a diverse and responsive administrative support service to the Assets and Maintenance Team.

The Customer Advisor will communicate effectively across the Housing Services, Maintenance and the wider teams within RHA to ensure that all tenants receive a timely and accurate response where required.

There will be a requirement for flexibility between roles within the team to ensure that our business needs are fully met and that we provide a first class customer service at all times.

Main duties

1) Acting as first point of contact for all incoming telephone calls, emails and visitors to our office. Dealing with queries at source, where possible, working with colleagues to resolve the issue in a timely and professional manner.

2) Ensure that the General Data Protection Regulation principles are followed in line with Rhondda Housing Policies.

3) Ensuring that all contacts and relevant subsequent actions are logged on our Housing Management system.

4) Providing up to date and accurate advice or information to tenants, signposting to relevant agencies and stakeholders where appropriate.

5) Accurately diagnosing repair orders to ensure high levels of efficiency when ordering required works. Ensuring that any rechargeable works are identified, confirmed with the tenant and an arrangement for payment agreed.

6) Working closely with the Finance team, to ensure accurate work orders are recorded on the system and that information is updated and closed in a timely manner where required

7) Completing a diverse and responsive range of administrative tasks to support the function of the Housing Services and Maintenance teams. For example mail merges, printing, taking minutes, photocopying, scanning, filing and updating the housing management system.

8) Attend meetings and take minutes as requested.

9) Provide cover for the reception, as and when required, to ensure that we offer consistently high levels of customer service

10) Capturing up to date profiling information at point of contact and updating the Housing Management system.

11)To carry out any other duties required commensurate with the role, as requested by the Senior Customer Advisor and/or the Housing Services Manager.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

FACTORS CRITERIA ESSENTIAL (E) / DESIRABLE (D)

Education; Training and Experience

Experience of working in a busy customer service environment.

E

Relevant work experience in a customer facing role where keyboard skills have been utilised daily.

E

Experience in dealing with maintenance enquiries and repairs.

E

Experience of using telephone and Customer Relationship Management systems.

E

Experience of financial transactions D

Knowledge, skills and abilities

Knowledge and understanding of effective customer care

E

Ability to confidently utilise housing management IT software to analyse data and manage rent account information.

D

Ability to take initiatives and to resolve problems

E

Ability to remain calm under pressure and deal sympathetically with distressed, agitated or irate tenants

E

Knowledge of and a commitment to good practice relating to equality and diversity. EGood awareness of key issues within the housing sector and the ability to keep up with change.

D

Ability to prioritise workload E

Strong telephony skills E

Touch-typing and keyboard skills E

Able to extract information from customers, and record relevant points accurately.

E

Ability to manage conflict and difficult situations

E

IT literate including in Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.

E

FACTORS CRITERIA ESSENTIAL (E) / DESIRABLE (D)

Personal/Attitude

Positive, with a pro-active approach to work EBe customer focused with experience of dealing with customers in a polite, friendly and positive manner

E

Reliable flexible and responsive with the ability to react to changing customer service demands

E

Be non-judgemental and recognise individuals, with individual needs and requirements

E

Good interpersonal skills to develop and maintain good working relationships

E

Willingness to learn and undertake training to improve service delivery

E

Willingness to follow customer queries to their completion

E

A strong communicator and ability to influence others

E

High level of professionalism and integrity E

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENTSilver Investors in People Award

Personal Development PlanFull support for professional

qualifications relating to your role or development in the AssociationOngoing support for continued

professional developmentSupport for you to attend professional

seminars and conferencesPayment of professional subscription

Annual appraisal and reviewAnnual Away Day

THE WORKPLACEModern Office environment

Staff Participation GroupStandard week is 36.5 hours

Annual colleague opinion survey so you can have your say

Can do cultureNon-smoking environment

Free drinks at workOpportunity to take part in charity and

fun eventsWellbeing at work programme,

including discounted gym membershipStaff Social Club & funded Christmas

Party

BENEFITSFlexible working framework 25days annual leave up to a

maximum of 30days plus statutory holidays (pro rata for part time staff)

Access to 1/60th CARE pension Scheme plus death in service of 3 x

Annual SalaryOccupational Sick Pay scheme that

gives up to 6 months full payPermanent Health Insurance (subject

to policy requirements)Enhanced Maternity Pay

Paternity Leave that gives up to 2 weeks leave on full pay

Free, confidential counselling serviceBUPA health checks every 2 years

Cycle to Work scheme

Total RewardWe’ve developed an attractive Total Reward Package to make sure that we attract, motivate and retain the best

people.

Chief Executive

Director of Finance & Resources

Director of Housing Services

Maintenance Manager

Maintenance Team

Housing Services Manager

Neighbourhood & Income Team Customer Advice Team

Our Office

9 Compton RoadTonypandy

Rhondda Cynon TafCF40 1BE