Customer Service Specialist

Job Description

Job Title : Customer Service Specialist
Job Category : Admin & Clerical
Location : County Hall, Somerset County Council
Hours Per Week : 37.00
Start Date : Immediate start
Start Time : 08:30
End Time : 17:30
Salary: £12.47

We’re looking for passionate Customer Service Advisors to join our award-winning Customer Contact Centre.

This is an exciting time to join us. Our team is growing, to support the Local Government reorganisation plan, whereby from 1 April 2023 the County and District councils in Somerset will be replaced by a new single unitary authority – Somerset Council. It’s a genuinely exciting time to join us as we work together with the four district councils to deliver the new council for Somerset.
These new Customer Service roles will ensure customers receive the same expert level support and guidance from day one of the new council and beyond,
The contact centre acts as the ‘front door’ for customers who have an enquiry about any one of the vast number of services provided by the Council. This means you will be the first point of contact for members of the public or professionals wanting advice, help or information over the telephone by email or digital channels. The role is incredibly interesting and rewarding, with enquiries including; Highways, Transport, Council Tax, Benefits, Housing, Waste and Recycling and many more.

If you join us, you will be expected to provide high quality customer service to everyone that contacts us. Our focus is on ensuring that each customer gets high quality advice, support or guidance and is spoken to with the care and respect they deserve. The nature of the work can be sensitive and emotive so we need people who are empathetic, calm, approachable, friendly and professional. The ability to listen and understand customer needs in order to advise on the next steps is essential.
We want our people to enjoy the work they do and so you’ll have plenty of support, lots of learning opportunities and a range of technologies at your fingertips to help with your everyday work and to support the customers you interact with.
The role could be based in one of our offices to suit your location in Taunton, Bridgwater, Yeovil and Shepton Mallet but may require travel (paid) to other local offices. Once trained, we support a hybrid working model where a balance of both home and office working (typically 2 days a week are welcomed, as long as you have appropriate home working areas suitable for dealing with confidential calls). Equally, if you prefer to be in the office more, that too is welcomed. Training periods are typically between 2 to 4 months.

These are permanent positions, 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday with current working shifts between 8.30am – 5.30pm

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?
We are looking for people who are exceptionally kind and helpful, who can show understanding and empathy, and who can confidently engage with people. Experience or knowledge of council services, telephony or customer service based work experience would be very valued but is not essential.
You can make a real difference and have a positive impact on people’s lives in this role. Your knowledge, patience and support will guide each customer with their query, finding appropriate solutions and resources that suit them and their circumstances and helping people to help themselves. The way we do things is underpinned by the four key values of Somerset Council; Customer Focus, Can do attitude, Care and Respect and Collaboration – we will be looking for these 4 things in you.
You’ll need resilience, flexibility, and an enthusiasm to learn about our services. You’ll also need a genuine passion for wanting to help, excellent communication and listening skills to understand the customers’ needs and confidence to learn and work with new system technologies.
We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you:
We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.
We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

What will I be offered in return?
We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:
• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more