Counter Assistant

Our client, a large Public Sector Organisation requires a Counter Assistant based in Ballymena

Role: Counter Assistant

Location: Ballymena

Hours of work: 37 hrs per week,

Hourly Rate: £13.26

LOCATION OF POST:

Ballymena

Job Purpose:

To deliver excellence in customer service at the counter acting as a customer advocate across a comprehensive range of housing services. Counter Assistants will be expected to understand and capture the issues raised by our customers visiting our offices in order to provide appropriate advice and assistance including ensuring the customer request is passed, when appropriate, to other Housing Executive officers or signposted to other external agencies.

MAIN DUTIES

This will include a range of duties, which may include:

CAPTURING CUSTOMER CONTACT

Counter Assistants will be required to accurately capture information on systems including the customer's contact details, the nature of their request and what action has been taken, including if it has been passed to another officer/department in the Housing Executive.

UNDERSTAND CUSTOMER REQUESTS

Counter Assistants will be required to collect information to understand a customer's need before taking appropriate action.

ADVICE, ASSISTANCE & SIGNPOSTING

Counter Assistants will be required to:

Provide Basic advice on:

• housing benefit and universal credit enquiries
• accounts and arrears enquiries including taking payments
• repair requests and follow up on outstanding repairs on the customer's behalf
• housing solutions and support in relation to making applications or providing updates on existing applications
• estate management and/or community issues
• properties available on choice based lettings
• planned maintenance schemes/ planned programmes within the area

Providing assistance with:

• reporting a repair [including for NIHE tenants recording the repair on HMS]
• provision of documentation to the customer, for example, proof of receipt of Housing Benefit, copies of letters from the Housing Executive etc
• form filling, for example choice based lettings interest forms
• reporting ASB

Signposting & Passing Customer Requests to Other Officers/Departments:

If the Counter Assistant can, they should resolve customer queries in the first instance. However should they be unable to provide resolution at first point of contact they should;

• ascertain when a customer query needs to be dealt with by another officer/department and whether this requires immediate face to face/verbal contact or simply the information passed on, ensuring it is complete and accurate before doing so.
• provide contact details or make appropriate enquiries for customers to other external agencies, for example for council services

RECEIPTING INFORMATION

Counter Assistants will be required to receive, check (for completeness and accuracy) and appropriately receipt and record information submitted by customers at the counter. This may include, application forms (Housing Benefit, Housing, Grants etc), supporting evidence, photographic identification etc

OTHER DUTIES

Counter Assistants will be required to provide cover arrangements within their office and to undertake other relevant duties, as may from time to time be required.

REQUIREMENTS:

Candidates must:

• Hold a BTEC National or equivalent Professional or Technical qualification plus at least one year's relevant general administrative experience

Or

• Have five GCSE "O" Levels, or equivalent qualification, plus at least two years' relevant general administrative experience.

To be shortlisted for this role all applicants MUST meet the essential criteria.

Successful candidates may need to apply for an Access NI Certificate with Staffline regardless of if you already have a valid certificate.

If you are interested, please upload your CV to the link provided.