Job profile for Complaints and Reviews Coordinator

Job Details

Job title: Complaints and Reviews Coordinator

Salary/Grade: Grade 5

Service: Housing & Community Services

Reports to: Head of Housing and Communities

Manages/Supervises: N/A

Job Purpose

The postholder will lead complaints handling, statutory reviews under section 202 of the Housing Act 1996 for homelessness decisions, and reviews of housing register decisions in line with the Allocations Policy.

Responsible for responding to MP and elected member enquiries across Housing and Community services, ensuring timely and accurate communication.

A key part of the role is to embed learning from complaints and reviews into continuous service improvement, supporting quality assurance and performance monitoring across Housing and Community Services; promoting a culture of excellent, customer focused service delivery.

Principal Accountabilities

  • Investigate and respond to Stage 1, 2 and 3 Housing and Community services complaints and resolve them at the earliest opportunity and within the required timescale. Conduct all investigations with an open mind and ensure that all issues raised by the complainant are addressed with reference to any relevant policies, legislation, and good practice where appropriate.
  • Proactively work with the Senior Management, Head of Housing and Community and all Mangers, legal representatives and colleagues within the Housing and Communities Service to ensure that the responsible Officers take prompt action to address any lessons learned from complaints to improve service delivery.
  • Promote a positive complaint handling culture across the Housing Service, raising awareness of all relevant policies and providing refresher complaints management training to teams as and when appropriate.
  • Proactively analyse complaints, reviews and customer feedback to identify recurring themes, emerging trends, systemic issues and opportunities for service improvement.
  • Undertake quality assurance of complaint handling and review decisions, identifying opportunities to improve quality, consistency and customer experience.
  • Translate learning from complaints and reviews into clear recommendations and preventative actions, working with Housing managers and officers to address root causes and reduce repeat complaints.
  • Identify and promote internal and external good practice, supporting the development and implementation of improved processes, procedures and service standards across Housing Services.
  • Record all complaints received on a complaints database, together with all relevant documentation and produce a live dashboard, monthly and quarterly performance reports.
  • Work to resolve complex service requests raised by customers and to ensure that where appropriate customers understand the Council’s complaints procedure.
  • Collaborate with colleagues in managing the behaviour of challenging and persistent complainants in accordance with the Council’s policy on dealing with unreasonably persistent complainants and unreasonable complainant behaviour.
  • Provide and coordinate reasonable assistance to customers who are vulnerable and who may have support needs.
  • Conduct statutory homelessness reviews under s.202 Housing Act 1996, ensuring compliance with legislation, Homelessness Code of Guidance, case law, and Council policy.
  • Undertake reviews of housing register decisions, including eligibility, banding, and priority assessments, in line with the Allocations Policy, Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996, case law and the Allocations Code of Guidance.
  • Prepare decision letters with clear reasoning and reference to relevant legislation, guidance, and policy.
  • Consult with legal services where necessary and represent the Council in any subsequent appeals or challenges.
  • Maintain accurate records of all reviews and outcomes for audit and reporting purposes.
  • Develop a thorough working knowledge of the systems used within the Housing Service for document storage and other aspects of service delivery.
  • Work across the Housing Service with officers at various levels including directors, heads of service, senior managers, team managers and elected members.
  • Undertake any other tasks as directed by Senior Management and the Head of Housing in the Housing Service.

Corporate Accountabilities

  • To take responsibility for maintaining own health and attendance.
  • To support, contribute and comply with quality and governance procedures as directed by management.
  • To apply and actively promote the principles of the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy in all areas of employment and service delivery.
  • To apply and actively promote the principles of the Council’s Safeguarding Procedure in all areas of employment and service delivery.
  • Any other duties as required to support the business, including maintaining business continuity and during civil emergencies. All staff may on occasions be called upon to support the Council to deal with emergency situations affecting the community we serve. In the event of an emergency or a rehearsal for such an event, you may be required to attend at times and at locations outside of the normal hours and duties of the post and to adopt duties directed by the Chief Executive or their nominated representative for the duration of the emergency.
  • Any other associated duties detailed by Head of Service or his representative.
  • To advise Line manager if, at any time, the above duties and responsibilities cannot be performed.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

(Tested at application and interview stage)

Experience and Qualifications

Essential

  • Experience of providing services and assistance to a diverse customer group of customers, including vulnerable people, using different channels, including email and telephone, in a busy customer-facing environment.
  • Working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages (Word, Excel, Outlook).
  • Substantial experience of delivering services to customers.
  • Experience of driving business and performance improvement.
  • Experience of complaint handling.
  • Excellent information gathering and analysis skills to understand whether policy and process has been followed correctly.

Skills & Knowledge

Essential Knowledge

  • Working knowledge of current homelessness law, policy, and practice
  • Good understanding and knowledge of housing allocations law, policy, and practice.
  • Understanding of the wider context of Housing.
  • Understanding of local government, political context, and democratic process.
  • Understanding of Equality and Diversity and how this affects service delivery, especially regarding vulnerable customers.
  • In-depth knowledge of homelessness legislation, particularly s.202 review requirements.
  • Strong understanding of housing allocations law, including statutory guidance.

Desirable

  • Knowledge for housing-related activities.

Essential Skills

  • Ability to identify areas for improvement in all housing service areas and supporting processes.
  • Work with a degree of flexibility and collaboratively across the Housing Service.
  • Take a methodical and objective approach to the investigation of complaints and to manage their time effectively and efficiently.
  • Customer focused.
  • Confident and assertive.
  • Strong analytical skills to identify service improvement opportunities from complaints and reviews.
  • Excellent communication skills for responding to MPs, members, and customers in writing and verbally.
  • Ability to interpret and apply complex legislation and policy in decision-making.
  • Skilled in drafting clear, legally robust decision letters.

Competencies

(Tested at interview stage)

Communicating Effectively

Demonstrate the effective use of the range of communication methods available: written, spoken, electronic, and use these methods in appropriate ways suitable to the context and situation

  • Present spoken communication in a polite, friendly and respectful manner seeking to ensure mutual understanding
  • Listen well and seek clarification and understanding, avoiding jumping to conclusions or making assumptions
  • Present information and ideas in a clear and understandable way which avoids jargon
  • Seek to understand the communication needs of colleagues and customers, being mindful of equality issues and the diverse needs of the range of people we work with
  • Choose the most appropriate method of communication for the situation, seeking to avoid using one fixed style or approach

Performing Efficiently and Effectively

Promote good performance, developing clear, structured and efficient ways of managing workload and delivering results.  Staff should challenge themselves and others to perform well, and to adhere to the Council’s performance management systems

  • Ensure that all work carried out by you is in line with business and service plans and supports the overall aims and ambition of the Council
  • Plan your workload effectively, reporting achievements and problems to appropriate managers and project leaders
  • See tasks and objectives through to completion
  • Approach challenges with drive and enthusiasm
  • Strive for continuous improvement in your work and manage your learning and development to enable you to perform to the best of your ability
  • Create novel solutions to improve services and ways of working and challenge conventional practices
  • Seek out income generating opportunities and efficiencies and aim to provide more for less to achieve the best possible value and high standards of service delivery
  • Be enthusiastic about the Council’s services and look for opportunities to promote and sell them

Using and Managing Resources Efficiently and Effectively

Demonstrate the effective and efficient use of the full range of resources used in and by the Council including time, finances, staffing, equipment, information, materials, buildings, etc.

  • Take responsibility for managing your time, seeking efficient ways to carry out your work, maximising your output and minimising wastage
  • Use and acquire materials effectively and efficiently minimising wastage, recycling where possible, and striving for cost effectiveness
  • Seek out ways to improve the use of resources

Engaging with the Customer

Understand the needs and requirements of their customers, to provide excellent customer service, and to involve customers in the improvement of services

  • Provide a helpful and friendly service to customers, both internally and externally
  • Take responsibility for following up on enquiries and solving customer issues
  • Make efforts to fully understand the customer’s needs and avoid assuming that “we know best”
  • Ensure that you have a full understanding of the needs and requirements of the customer
  • Seek feedback from internal and external customers on the effectiveness and efficiency of the service you provide

Working well Together

Actively foster good working relationships with colleagues and customers in order to collectively achieve the Council’s direction and ambition

  • Co-operate and work well with colleagues at all levels of the organisation, seeking collective responsibility for the achievement of goals
  • Demonstrate consideration and respect for other’s feelings and opinions and avoid judging and making assumptions
  • Maintain positive working relationships with external contacts in order to maintain the reputation of the Council
  • Seek to actively solve problems and avoid passing the issue on to others or leaving the problem unresolved
  • Demonstrate self-awareness of your style of working and develop flexibility and adaptability in order to work well with others

Other conditions

  • This position does not require a DBS check 
  • This position is not politically restricted

Job profile updated
November 2026

Values and behaviours

Our values and behaviours are an integral part of who we are; they are the guiding principles that should inform how we work together, support each other and make decisions.

Our organisation thrives on the dedication and passion of its people and it’s important that we embody these values and behaviours and they become a part of our organisational DNA.

Our vision

We will be ambitious, support each other and work together in new ways to achieve outstanding results

Our core values

We value everyone

  • We respect, recognise and support our people, residents and businesses
  • We listen to each other, understand and treat everyone fairly
  • We care about our people and appreciate the unique qualities in us all

We work together

  • We respect, recognise and support our people, residents and businesses
  • We work as one team, recognising everyone's contribution
  • We build strong relationships and partnerships to deliver better outcomes

We are flexible

  • We embrace change and new ways of working
  • We are adaptable, open to new ideas and focus on solutions
  • We aim to constantly improve, and we are not afraid to challenge the status quo