Housing Complaints Officer in Addlestone, Surrey

Aatom Recruitment is looking for Housing Complaints Officer on behalf of a Local Authority.

Job Title: Housing Complaints Officer
Contract Duration: 5 Months
Hours Per Week: 37

Work Pattern: Initially 5 days a week potentially moving to the option of up to 2 days a week WFH, subject to training and induction

Job Aim and Purpose:

• To coordinate and manage complaints relating to Housing Services in accordance with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.
• To support fair and thorough complaint investigations, ensuring compliance and timely resolution.
• To help identify learning from complaints and contribute to continuous improvement to Housing Services.

Main Objectives

• To ensure residents receive fair, accessible and customer-focused complaint handling services.
• Responsible for triaging and acknowledging complaints.
• Responsible for managing complaints through to completion, including assisting with investigations and draft responses as required.
• To support effective and timely resolution of complaints.
• To ensure reasonable adjustments are identified and provided for residents as required.
• To monitor adherence to Complaint Handling Code timescales and highlight areas of noncompliance.
• To help ensure complaint handling is compliant with the Complaint Handling Code and that complaint responses are of a good quality, so that escalation rates and referrals to the Housing Ombudsman are minimised.
• To promote learning from complaints and to contribute to embedding service improvements as a result of complaints made.
• To assist with staff training, improvements to processes and with embedding a positive complaint handling culture.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Use the case management system to acknowledge complaints about Housing services and keep accurate records.
• Track complaints through to completion, including assisting with investigations and draft responses as required by and in liaison with the stage 1 or stage 2 response Officer; and monitor delivery of agreed actions.
• To work proactively with colleagues in Housing Services and the Council’s contractors.
• Assist with ensuring that complaints are dealt with in line with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code at all times, including the timeliness and quality of responses, extensions to timescales, reasonable adjustments etc.
• Assist with complaint investigations by gathering evidence where required and reviewing records to establish facts and determine outcomes.
• Review complaint responses to ensure they are clear, evidence-based, empathetic and compliant with the Complaint Handling Code.
• Monitor complaint handling timescales and proactively escalate risks of delays.
• Liaise directly with complainants, advocates, contractors and other stakeholders to facilitate complaint resolution.
• Promote accessibility and ensure reasonable adjustments are identified and recorded throughout the complaint process.
• Coordinate responses to enquiries from the Housing Ombudsman and support investigations referred to the Ombudsman.
• Support the collection of accurate data and assist with the accurate record keeping of complaint outcomes, remedies, lessons le