Representations Officer LBS-008

Job Category : Environmental Services

Location : 160 Tooley Street, Southwark Council

Hours Per Week : 36.00

Start Date : Immediate Start

Start Time : 08:45

End Time : 17:00
Salary: : £19.94

Must have 6 months (or more) experience in dealing with Formal Representations and/or informal appeal made against the PCN (issued within London). Full understanding of TMA 2004 & RTA 1991 is required.

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

As a member of the Parking appeals and representations team, they deliver a timely and effective service for the Parking and Network Management team and the wider council. The post holder will be expected to produce work to a consistently high standard and to use their experience, knowledge and aptitude to weigh up the evidence in each case, whether it is a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), parking permit or parking control suspension and make balanced judgements.

Parking and traffic enforcement is crucial to delivering three of the council’s plans: Climate Change, Air quality and Streets for people. 

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

1.         To investigate and respond to all parking related correspondence, including formal and informal representations and appeals received as a result of enforcement of PCN issued to motorists.  This includes the external Environment and Traffic Adjudicators who sit at London Tribunals and make the final decision on any parking or traffic penalty in an adjudication hearing which evidence is presented by the officers to trained solicitors or barristers who are the adjudicators. 

2.         To ensure other parking enquiries are dealt with, in line with the statutory process and timescales, internal key performance indicators (KPIs), civil procedural rules (CPR 75) and the council’s communication procedures to deliver a high standard of customer services to the residents and visitors of Southwark.

3.         To attend external Adjudication Hearings and give evidence and prepare proofs of evidence as required preparing and determining a plan for any complex cases highlighted in accordance with the legislation.  

4.         To ensure that all incoming parking permit applications and parking control suspension applications are dealt with (including requests for further information) in line with the set time limits given by the appeals and representations managers.

5.         To answer phone calls in the specialist parking customer service centre, dealing with incoming emails, parking permits, parking control suspensions and Paybyphone services, resolving residents and visitors requests and issues in a timely and clear manner.  

6.         To accelerate and identify any themes and trends arising from representations, complaints and concerns to their line manager reporting and sharing case issues. 

7.         To manage and prioritise their own workload in response to changing demands from management. 

8.         To ensure that daily quality and quantity performance standards are met or exceeded and that correspondence conforms to the relevant quality, policy and legislative standards 

9.         To ensure that enforcement practices and required enforcement infrastructure complies with agreed procedures and standards and to take responsibility for reporting non-compliance issues to the appropriate teams. 

10.       To authorise the cancellation of and initiate refunds as a result of PCNs being cancelled, permit or suspensions ending before their expiry when required in accordance with the parking services policies.  

11.       To assist in the mentoring of new staff providing guidance and training on local parking policies, procedures and legislation. Providing advice and guidance on complex parking and traffic cases liaising with other internal or external bodies to resolve queries.

12.       To carry out other duties and tasks which may from time to time be required to meet the needs of the service and to deputise for the Appeals and Representations Manager in their absence.

JOB CONTEXT

Organisational Objectives: 

The council has a statutory duty to undertake parking and traffic enforcement and this role deals with the outcomes of managing the limited kerb space on the highway. 

Contributes to the delivery of the Council’s streets for people strategy, Climate change and Air quality strategies.

Delivering effective and cost efficient services to the residents and motorists of Southwark

Delivering high standards of customer service to the residents of Southwark. 

Formally reports to:    Appeals and representations manager

Excellent communication skills both in writing and verbally.

Knowledge of the civil parking and traffic enforcement legislation, parking adjudication processes and guidance.  

Knowledge of the back office process for enforcement of parking and traffic penalties.

EXPERIENCE

Proven experience in working in a customer service or administrative environment, having to compose formal correspondence.

Experience of analysing data to carry out investigations and to inform decisions using computer systems and databases.

Experience demonstrating a proven ability to work with contractors and officers in a penalty charge notice enforcement environment to deliver excellent customer service.

APTITUDES AND SKILLS

Ability to effectively prioritise and meet deadlines when faced with conflicting priorities with creativity, tenacity and enthusiasm.

Ability to work independently to meet agreed work plans, deadlines and required performance targets.

Ability to deal with a variety of correspondence and prepare written replies and reports.

Effective interpersonal skills and ability to represent the parking team with officers at all levels. 

Excellent customer service skills and confidence with both written and verbal communication delivering high quality customer outcomes.Ability to diffuse difficult situations and resolve conflicts.