Our Values

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 

Our Values are:

About the team we are recruiting to

Customer Services is one of the largest departments in Coventry City Council and are the front face of the organisation.  We are usually the first port of call for customer enquiries across the council.  Our fast-paced telephone teams deal with thousands of calls and emails a week, we have a dynamic Customer Service Centre with around 2500 visitors a week approaching us for a wide range of enquiries from paying their council tax to seeking help to access services and dedicated support teams who process bookings, timesheets and general administration work for the whole organisation.

You may be based in one of several locations, we have a Customer Service Centre right in the heart of the city; Friargate – a large purpose built office by the train station along with several reception points across the city.

Joining Customer Services is a really good stepping stone into a long term career with the Council, depending on the role you are offered you will learn about other parts of the organisation

We want every single customer to have a positive experience when approaching the council and would welcome you being part of the team.

What is the job role?

Customer Services Ombudsman Liaison Officer – Grade 5, Fixed Term Contract for 12 months to cover a secondment, Full Time position

When a person has been through all stages of the Council’s complaints procedure and remains unhappy, they may ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to review their complaint. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman looks at individual complaints about councils and some other organisations providing local public services.

We have an opportunity to join a small team that manage the coordination and replies for formal complaints in the People Directorate – this covers areas like Housing, Childrens Services and Adult Social Care.

You will be a single point of contact for all queries, complaints and representations where the Ombudsman is involved.

You will need excellent customer, organisation and communication skills, both spoken and written and be able to guide a diverse range of customers throughout the complaint journey. You will need to build a professional and positive working relationship with elected members, senior managers and the Ombudsman.

You will need analytical skills to summarise data and statistics. You will be responsible for preparing reports for Cabinet Members, Management boards and committees.

Confidentiality is a key element of this role and some complaints may well be upsetting so a good level of resilience and teamwork is important. Every Local Authority is expected to have an Ombudsman Link Officer, an annual seminar is an event that you will be expected to attend to share best practices and understand policy changes.

Assessments will consist of a competency-based interview and a technical exercise to be shared in advance and talked through at interview.  Please note you will need Excel and PowerPoint to complete the technical exercise.

If you aren’t sure or have some questions, we’d be happy to talk to you, call Ilius during office hours on 02476 977643 for an informal conversation.

Keen to join the team? Please complete an application form, tell us about your previous experience and where you have used your skills to shine

Closing date 29th January 2023

Who are we looking for?

• Care about delivering an excellent service to every internal and external customer
• Excellent communication skills, confident in face to face, telephone and written activity
• Ability to support a diverse customer base
• Ability to deliver in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to respond to change positively
• To Be Flexible to the needs of the service
• Good IT skills
• An understanding of the range of services provided by the council.

For full details on the application process please read the attached document labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies

Coventry City Council