The role
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the OPPD Contact Team for Customer Support Officers. The Contact Team is a busy front line team in Adult Social Care in Southwark and is the first point of contact for many of our residents. We aim to empower and connect our residents, using strength based approaches, promoting self-resilience and preventing the need for long term support.
The main duties of the role are to undertake the following tasks:
- Answering telephones and managing our inbox, providing a friendly, prompt and informative service.
- Undertaking screening assessments – to determine the likely needs of our residents, identifying the need for Occupational Therapy and Social Work interventions.
- Providing information and advice in order to connect our residents to community services.
- Ordering suitable equipment to help people at home and prevent their needs escalating.
- Identifying and escalating safeguarding concerns.
The team is currently staffed by Customer Support Officers (CSOs), 2 Occupational Therapists, 1 Occupational Therapy Assistant Practitioner, 3 Social Work Deputy Team Managers, and a Team Manager.
About Southwark:
We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.
At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities. Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.
About You:
You will have excellent customer service and communication skills, both written and verbal. You will be empathetic, sensitive and a good problem solver. You will have good IT skills and be able to process and input information at a good pace. You will be resilient and able to communicate with people experiencing distress, confusion, or anxiety in a calm and supportive manner. You will know when to ask for to help but are confident working independently. Ideally you will have previous experience working in social care and some understanding of the sector and the policy frameworks that we operate within.
Additional salary details
Additional Information:
- You will need 5 GCSEs of grade C and above, including English and Maths
- The job is full time. You will be expected to work in the office every day when manning the telephones, but there will be the option to work from home part of the week on other weeks.
- A DBS required
- If you would like to discuss this job opportunity further please contact James: James.Surry@southwark.gov.uk or 020 7525 3189
Benefits and more information:
https://jobs.southwark.gov.uk/why-us/
Recruitment timetable
Advert Closing Date: 11.59pm on the 22nd November, 2023
Interview Date: W/C on 4th December 2023
Guaranteed Interview Scheme
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:
- Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
- Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
- If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
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