Corporate Complaints Officer

East Suffolk Council: East Suffolk House, Melton, and/or Riverside, Lowestoft
£32,578 to £35,570 per annum
Band 5 (SCP 18 to 23)
37 hours per week
Permanent

East Suffolk Council is an exciting place to work and a great place to make a real difference to people’s lives, delivering vital services to a quarter of a million people across East Suffolk. We currently have an exciting new opportunity to join the East Suffolk Council's Policy, Performance and Risk Team as a Corporate Complaints Officer.

We are looking for a proactive and customer-focused Corporate Complaints Officer to be part of a dedicated team that is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the council's customer feedback process. This varied role involves coordinating complaints and ombudsman enquiries, providing expert advice and training to colleagues, analysing complaint trends to drive service improvements, and helping to embed a positive complaints culture that delivers excellent customer outcomes across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Working as part of a small team you will play a key role in co-ordinating East Suffolk Council’s customer feedback and complaints processes, ensuring complaints are processed professionally, fairly, and in line with council policy, Ombudsman requirements, and best practice standards.
• The role involves coordinating Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints, supporting high-quality investigations, monitoring performance against service standards, and ensuring agreed actions are implemented.
• You will co-ordinate and respond to enquiries from the Housing Ombudsman service and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) ensuring responses to enquiries in a timely manner.
• As part of a team you will provide training, support and templates to complaint responders to ensure they are aware of the principles of how to conduct resident focused complaint investigations.

You will need:

• A highly organised and customer-focused professional with experience in complaints handling, dispute resolution, and delivering excellent customer service.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to manage sensitive and complex issues tactfully, diplomatically, and with empathy.
• The successful candidate will be able to work independently, manage competing priorities, analyse performance data, and produce clear reports and presentations for a range of audiences.
• Experience of investigating and resolving escalated complaints, maintaining accurate and confidential records, and using IT systems and Microsoft Office applications to a high standard.
• A good understanding of local government, regulatory requirements, and customer-focused service delivery is desirable, along with the confidence to challenge processes and influence positive outcomes. If you do not strictly meet the essential criteria but feel that your experience evidences competencies in these areas then you are encouraged to apply.