18395 - Tier 1 Complaints Officer

Role: Tier 1 Complaints Officer

Business: Office of Public Guardian (OPG)

Location: Nottingham (Embankment House) and Birmingham (Victoria Square House)

Grade: EO (Executive Officer)

Salary: £29,303 - £31,061

Contract Type: Permanent

Minimum Hours: 22.50

Organisational Overview

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) protects people in England and Wales who may not have the mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, such as about their health and finance. We are an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), set up in 2007 following the introduction of the Mental Capacity Act of 2005.

OPG is responsible for registering lasting powers of attorney (LPA) and enduring powers of attorney (EPA) and supervising deputies who are appointed by the Court of Protection.

OPG is a fantastic place to work offering a range of development opportunities. The OPG is a disability confident employer and is committed to developing a supportive and inclusive environment that reflects the diverse community we serve.

OPG is currently delivering an ambitious transformation programme. This will change the way we provide services and help us meet the growing needs of our users, partners and our stakeholders. It will make sure our users experience a better level of support and will help us to respond to the changing needs of society. Transformation will ensure we can better support adults at risk and create high-quality services that are accessible and affordable.

Team Overview

You will be part of the Tier 1 Complaints Team, dealing with customer complaints which will be received into our inbox from all areas of Power of Attorney Services (PoAS). The complaints will be made by both customers and professionals. You will be allocated work and will investigate and try to resolve the issues by liaising with relevant business areas. You will be expected to produce work to a high standard, manage your own workloads and ensure complainants are responded to within tight deadlines. You will need to attend the office at least 40% of your working week (equates to 2 days if full time) in line with the MOJ mandate, as you will have paper files and correspondence to process.

Duties and Responsibilities

Job Description – Complaints Officer – EO

Key responsibilities include but are not restricted to the following:

Investigate and respond to complaints within 10 working days adhering to personal targets.
Ensuring personal stats are accurate and submitted on a daily basis.
Ensuring database and Sirius are updated once complaint has been completed.
Ensuring events and comments are detailed providing a full explanation of the issue, actions undertaken and resolution.
Ensuring all paperwork is actioned in a timely manner and returned to responsible area/keeper once complaint has been resolved.
Action payments and fee waivers according to set processes.
Following a response being drafted and sent, provide feedback to relevant business areas to ensure the reasons for complaints are resolved.
Ensure that teams are aware of any problems, which may have led to the complaint in the first instance as part of the continuous improvement process.
Provide liaison via dedicated SI-POCs to all business areas.
Support teams across POAS in drafting responses to difficult enquiries where appropriate.
Liaising with teams across OPG including legal, information assurance, and policy teams to help resolve complaints, seeking up to date and relevant information to strengthen complaint responses. This may also include collaborating with colleagues in supervision and investigations where a joined-up approach is required to provide a full and informed response.
Investigate and draft responses to security breach complaints in line with GDPR and regularly liaise with IA on ICO complaints.
Provide advice via email, on the phone or in person on how best a complaint should be handled, to include information on quality, content, handling strategy etc. including Birmingham and Nottingham Offices.
Draft responses for Tier 1+ complaints on behalf of senior leaders, as well as submissions to Ministers and provide assistance to independent Ombudsman enquiries.
Work with teams such as the Quality Analyst team to provide complaints data to assist with ongoing customer focused work and priorities.
Line management responsibilities in line with OPG/MoJ policies and procedures.
Ensuring MI stats are completed daily according to business needs.
Ensuring monthly stats and data requested from other business areas are submitted accurately and on time.
Ensure NIPA log is created and submitted on the allotted day each week.
Supporting the digital transactions unit by adhering to the banking rota.

Agreed Expectations

The successful candidate will be expected to work from their base location on a weekly basis in line with current Civil Service requirements, outside of any reasonable adjustments. You will need to attend the office at least 40% of your working week (equates to 2 days if full time) in line with the MOJ guidelines.

Skills & Qualifications

Essential Skills

Excellent communication skills (Written and oral) – Lead criteria
Ability to interpret information and make informed decisions – Lead criteria
Previous experience of complaints handling. – Lead criteria
Ability to organise and prioritise workloads.
Familiarity with Microsoft Office Applications.
Ability to empathise with customers.

Desirable Skills

Knowledge of Lasting Powers of Attorney