Senior Customer Service Advisor(Ref: 81581)

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Grade:    EO    Salary range (depending on location):    

National – £27,223 to £28,613

Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.
Location:    

Birmingham, Bristol or South Tyneside
Directorate:    

Case Management     Team:    Customer Service Team

Working Pattern:    

The post is supported by the MOJ flexible working policy and includes colleagues who work flexibly, remotely (as part of hybrid working), part time or as part of a job share etc.

If you are applying for a part time role, please note that in order to meet business demands we need cover for a minimum of 25 hours and to cover 4 days of the week

The Legal Aid Agency
We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). We provide civil and criminal legal aid and advice in England and Wales to help people deal with their legal problems.  
Our people are at the heart of achieving excellence. Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service. 

Our LAA commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
The LAA is committed to diversity and inclusion and we positively promote flexible working, including job shares. 
We will consider all applications on merit regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, religion, ethnicity, preferred working pattern and except for exceptional circumstances your working location. 

As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months. 

If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.
 
Case Management
The Case Management department is the delivery function of the Legal Aid Agency and our staff ensure that each year 600,000 new clients are able to access the justice they require, and that their providers are fairly remunerated for the delivery of the legal aid. With over 800 staff based across 11 sites we deliver services for those facing both criminal and civil legal problems.

Customer Service Team
This team is based across two of our sites in Birmingham, Bristol and South Tyneside, they are our front-line connection to Solicitors and the public on Civil Legal Aid. This team is essential in providing service to some of the most vulnerable members of the public either directly or through legal professionals. 

Job Summary
To provide exceptional levels of customer service by answering incoming calls, dealing with customer correspondence, responding to customer complaints and complex queries. Providing support and feedback to colleagues to ensure quality standards are maintained and customer interactions result in appropriate solutions.

Key Responsibilities:
•    Communicate effectively with all customers, including providers of Legal Aid (Solicitors & Advocates), members of the public and other stakeholders. 
•    Resolve an agreed percentage of queries at first point of contact.
•    Manage own call time and after call work time effectively to ensure that these are within agreed tolerances. 
•    Provide a referral point for more complex calls / queries. Take personal ownership of all contact, ensuring successful resolution.
•    Carry out quality control on calls and feedback the results to colleagues to enable improvements.
•    Identify areas for improvement and set up necessary corrective action, including group training and development sessions.
•    Take an active role in promoting consistency. 
•    Review, develop and improve guidance and processes. Make suggestions for best practice in all areas of work covered by the team.
•    Identifying trends on errors, delays and duplication of effort and work to reduce the number of calls from providers through education.
•    Deal effectively with a full range of customer complaints and capture customer feedback, using this feedback to improve what we do.
•    Plan resources to deal with the expected level of calls and other work for the team and provide accurate statistical data.
•    Take a leading role in meetings and champion collaborative working with a variety of teams.
•    Ensure all data is processed accurately, securely and in accordance with LAA data security guidelines.

Essential Knowledge, Experience and skills    

•    Ability to communicate clearly and effectively using questioning and active listening to fully understand and provide a ‘right first time’ resolution to customer queries / calls.
•    Effective organisation and prioritisation own workload including time taken on calls.
•    Ability to handle difficult calls and callers whilst maintaining the expected standards.
•    Work cooperatively with others to ensure adequate staffing on customer service telephone lines at all times.
•    Ability to gather and analyse call data for forecasting and management reporting.
•    Ability to work with minimal supervision and as part of a team.
•    Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, dealing with both external and internal stakeholders
•    Excellent customer service skills including handling complex situations and dealing with uncertainty.
•    Ability to interpret and apply guidance and regulations

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and skills    

•    Knowledge of Civil Legal Aid
•    Ability to lead meetings and facilitate discussions to encourage collaborative working.
•    Knowledge of Continuous Improvement techniques

Assessment approach 
To apply complete an application based of the following behaviours:

•    Communicating & Influencing
Communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing. Take time to consider the best communication channel to use for the audience, including making the best of digital resources and considering value for money. Interact with others in an enthusiastic way. Express ideas clearly and with respect for others. Listen to and value different ideas, views and ways of working. Respond constructively and objectively to comments and questions. Handle challenging conversations with confidence and sensitivity.

•    Making Effective Decisions
Take responsibility for making effective and fair decisions, in a timely manner. Analyse and research further information to support decisions. Talk to relevant people to get advice and information when unsure how to proceed. Explain how decisions have been reached in a clear and concise way, both verbally and in writing. Demonstrate the consideration of all options, costs, risks and wider implications, including the diverse needs of end users and any accessibility requirements.

•    Managing a Quality Service
Work with customers to understand their needs and expectations. Create clear plans and set priorities which meet the needs of both the customer and the business. Clearly explain to customers what can be done. Keep colleagues and stakeholders fully informed of plans, possibilities and progress. Identify common problems that affect service, report them and find possible solutions. Deliver good customer service which balances quality and cost effectiveness.

•    Working Together
Develop a range of contacts outside own team and identify opportunities to share knowledge, information and learning. Show genuine interest when listening to others. Contribute to an inclusive working environment where all opinions and challenges are listened to and all individual needs are taken into account. Ensure it is clear that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable. Offer support and help to colleagues when in need, including consideration of your own and their wellbeing. Change ways of working to aid cooperation within and between teams in order to achieve results.

When submitting an example of a behaviour remember to include the situation, what you did and why, and what was the outcome / result. 

Please note that if we have a large number of applications will we do an initial sift on Managing a Quality Service behaviour.
Interview / assessment Process

If you are successful through the application stage, you will be invited to an interview via Microsoft Teams where you will be assessed against Strengths relevant to the role and some or all of the following Behaviours: 

•    Communicating & Influencing
Communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing. Take time to consider the best communication channel to use for the audience, including making the best of digital resources and considering value for money. Interact with others in an enthusiastic way. Express ideas clearly and with respect for others. Listen to and value different ideas, views and ways of working. Respond constructively and objectively to comments and questions. Handle challenging conversations with confidence and sensitivity.

•    Making Effective Decisions
Take responsibility for making effective and fair decisions, in a timely manner. Analyse and research further information to support decisions. Talk to relevant people to get advice and information when unsure how to proceed. Explain how decisions have been reached in a clear and concise way, both verbally and in writing. Demonstrate the consideration of all options, costs, risks and wider implications, including the diverse needs of end users and any accessibility requirements.

•    Managing a Quality Service
Work with customers to understand their needs and expectations. Create clear plans and set priorities which meet the needs of both the customer and the business. Clearly explain to customers what can be done. Keep colleagues and stakeholders fully informed of plans, possibilities and progress. Identify common problems that affect service, report them and find possible solutions. Deliver good customer service which balances quality and cost effectiveness.

•    Working Together
Develop a range of contacts outside own team and identify opportunities to share knowledge, information and learning. Show genuine interest when listening to others. Contribute to an inclusive working environment where all opinions and challenges are listened to and all individual needs are taken into account. Ensure it is clear that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable. Offer support and help to colleagues when in need, including consideration of your own and their wellbeing. Change ways of working to aid cooperation within and between teams in order to achieve results.

•    Your Experience of implementing or championing Diversity and Inclusion  

Shortlisting is planned for week commencing 18th December 2023

Interviews are planned for week commencing 8th January 2024

If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact Rachael Pratt – Rachael.pratt@justice.gov.uk 

Complaints procedure

If you have any complaints about this recruitment activity, please share your concerns by emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk initially. We aim to respond to any complaint within 10 working days. 

If you are dissatisfied with our response, we will forward your complaint to the Civil Service Commission, an independent body, for review.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Job contact :

• Name : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com
• Telephone : 0845 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com