Senior Complaints Officer in South East

About the Role

We are currently recruiting for an experienced Housing Complaints Officer to support a busy housing service in delivering a high-quality complaints handling function. This is an excellent opportunity for a customer-focused professional with experience investigating housing-related complaints and delivering fair, evidence-based resolutions.

The successful candidate will manage a caseload of complaints, working closely with residents and internal stakeholders to ensure concerns are thoroughly investigated, responses are issued within agreed timescales, and opportunities for service improvement are identified.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and investigate housing complaints from receipt through to resolution.
• Act as the main point of contact for residents throughout the complaints process.
• Gather evidence, review case information and liaise with relevant service areas to establish facts.
• Draft high-quality complaint responses that are clear, accurate and customer-focused.
• Ensure complaints are handled in line with organisational policies, procedures and regulatory requirements.
• Work collaboratively with housing teams to identify appropriate remedies and resolutions.
• Maintain accurate complaint records and update relevant systems.
• Identify trends, recurring issues and service failures from complaint investigations.
• Produce reports and contribute to lessons learned exercises to drive service improvements.
• Support the organisation in delivering excellent customer service and resident satisfaction.
• Handle sensitive and complex customer interactions professionally and empathetically.
• Monitor performance against complaint handling targets and deadlines.

Essential Requirements

• Previous experience handling complaints within a housing association, local authority or social housing environment.
• Strong knowledge of complaint investigation and resolution processes.
• Excellent written communication skills with the ability to produce detailed and professional responses.
• Experience managing a varied caseload and meeting strict deadlines.
• Strong organisational and analytical skills.
• Ability to build effective relationships with residents, colleagues and stakeholders.
• Confidence handling challenging conversations and resolving customer concerns.
• Good understanding of housing services and resident-focused service delivery.

Desirable Experience

• Knowledge of the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.
• Experience handling both Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints.
• Experience identifying complaint trends and recommending service improvements.
• Familiarity with housing management systems and CRM platforms.

What We're Looking For

We're keen to speak with proactive and empathetic professionals who are passionate about delivering excellent customer service and achieving positive outcomes for residents. You'll be a strong communicator, an effective investigator and someone who can balance customer needs with organisational requirements to reach fair and practical resolutions.