The role
As the Specialist Service Office Manager, you will be at the heart of overseeing and driving the performance of the customer resolution teams, ensuring the smooth handling of enquiries, complaints, and service-related issues across key council services. The role will involve managing high-volume communications, including calls and emails, covering areas such as repairs, environmental services, and member enquiries. The role is instrumental in ensuring that every touchpoint reflects the highest standards of service, supporting the council’s strategy to enhance customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Working closely with the Head of Specialist Services, you’ll play a critical role in developing and implementing a robust performance management framework. This framework will measure and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the customer-facing teams, ensuring statutory and contractual obligations are met. The information generated will be key to driving performance improvements, enhancing both individual and team outputs, and ensuring compliance with relevant procedures and legislation.
In this role, you’ll lead a team responsible for delivering essential front-line services. From managing recruitment and staff development to overseeing budgets and quality assurance, your leadership will directly influence the council’s approach to customer and exchequer services. You will be the driving force behind operational improvements, ensuring that processes are streamlined, compliant, and geared toward continuous improvement.
Your influence will extend beyond internal teams, as you maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders, partners, and service providers. Collaborating across departments, you’ll ensure that services are consistently delivered to a high standard, fostering effective partnerships that support the wider goals of the council, including anti-poverty and homelessness strategies.
With a focus on quality assurance and service excellence, you will be responsible for ensuring that the performance of the resolution teams is continuously monitored, evaluated, and enhanced. By embedding lessons learned from feedback and quality performance measures, you’ll ensure that both staff and services are continuously evolving to meet the needs of the community.
Key responsibilities:
• Lead and manage customer resolution teams, handling enquiries, complaints, and service-related issues across key council services like repairs and environmental services.
• Provide strategic advice and guidance on improving performance and ensuring compliance with statutory obligations, driving overall service excellence.
• Develop and implement a performance management framework to measure and enhance team and individual productivity, ensuring high standards are consistently met.
• Oversee and support staff recruitment, training, and development to maintain a skilled and motivated team.
• Collaborate closely with council partners, stakeholders, and service providers to ensure seamless, high-quality service delivery across the board.
• Implement a quality assurance strategy to maintain compliance with legislation and council policies, ensuring continuous improvement in service operations
How will you make an impact as our Specialist Service Office Manager?
Your leadership and expertise will drive the performance of key customer-facing teams. To thrive in this role, you will bring:
• A relevant degree or equivalent professional qualification, with ongoing personal and managerial development.
• Proven experience in successfully leading teams, managing resources, and delivering performance-driven outcomes.
• In-depth knowledge of customer service and exchequer processes, including performance analysis and reporting.
• Strong understanding of local government legislation, statutory requirements, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, capable of influencing and collaborating at all levels.
• Expertise in developing and implementing strategies, policies, and quality assurance processes.
• The ability to identify risks, streamline operations, and enhance service delivery through performance management.
• Experience in managing large-scale budgets, ensuring financial efficiency and operational compliance
This role offers a unique opportunity to make a real impact on service delivery, where your leadership and vision will shape the future of customer and exchequer services for the council.
Additional details:
We will only consider applications from internal candidates, that are current employees or agency workers on an active assignment.
Please note this role is fixed term 6 months. We encourage any internal staff to gain agreement from their substantive line manager if considering this is as a secondment opportunity.
About Southwark Council:
Southwark Council is 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 such as The Shard, The Tate Modern and Borough Market along with many 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.
Benefits and more information:
In return for all your hard work, skills and experience, you will receive:
• A competitive base salary (pro rata for part time staff)
• Strong supportive senior management team
• Regular one to one supervision
• Professional development & training opportunities
• Clear career development pathways
• Agile and flexible working arrangements
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Season ticket and cycle loans
• Annual Leave starting at 29 days per year, increasing to 37 (with length of service) (pro rata for part time staff)
• Wellbeing programme
• HSF Health plan and eye care scheme
• EAP employee assistance programme, confidential counselling and support
• Social clubs and staff groups
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
Recruitment timetable:
Closing Date: 06/10/2024 at 23:59
Interview Date: 22/10/2024
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
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