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Director of Customer Service
Could you be our next Director of Customer Service?
Contract: Permanent
Working hours: Our permanent hybrid policy will see us all working at least four days in the office across the fortnight.
Salary: circa £130,000
Reporting to: Chief Operating Officer
London docklands and an office in Coventry
As demands upon us have grown ever more complex, we now need a far stronger centralised Customer Service function. Working closely with Casework directorates, this director level role will report into our Chief Operating Officer and will crucially lead and evolve our Customer Experience and Quality strategies.
The Director of Customer Service will have oversight for our operational customer contact functions as well as our Customer Experience, Quality and Knowledge teams and will be accountable for enabling high quality casework and driving improved customer service.
Working with our Executive Board, the Director of Customer Service will use customer data to ensure we keep our service promises by using insight to understand and improve the speed and quality of the customer journey and outcomes. They will work with the Independent Assessor to implement any feedback from the annual report and will develop and lead on all strategies and frameworks relating to customer service and overall quality.
To succeed in this role, you’ll need to demonstrate that you have worked successfully within a senior leadership team, ideally in a large organisation that prides itself on customer service excellence. You’ll have substantial experience of translating strategy into delivery to create increased efficiency and effectiveness and you’ll be able to work with ambiguity, whilst still applying a ‘big picture’ approach to insight. This is a challenging and influential senior role, working with all levels, across every function in the organisation to improve service for our customers today and influence the direction of the services for the future. The right applicant will need to demonstrate the ability to build strong internal and external relationships by influencing, engaging and being a positive role model.
Key responsibilities
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Producing the Customer Service narrative, internally and externally, regarding our performance which will include Board pack contributions
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Development and implementation of the Customer Experience, and Quality strategies including agreeing priorities and establishing adequate systems for ensuring that appropriate levels of governance and compliance are in place
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Embedding a customer service culture across the organisation
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Developing and ensuring that insight informs activity so we can be sure we are focused on the right things for our customers. Sharing key information across the organisation to help drive this
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Representing the Ombudsman as the prime point of contact for all Customer experience, matters both internally and externally with key stakeholders and regulatory bodies
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Providing effective leadership guidance and support to the executive and board of directors
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Ensuring there are independent audit reviews and reporting regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of Customer Experience, Quality and Knowledge practices across the organisation
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Playing your part as a director to continuously evolve our culture, behaviours, and ability to improve service to our customers
To be considered for this role, you’ll need to show us that you’ve got the skills and capabilities. You’ll have to meet the following minimum criteria:
Minimum Criteria
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Proven, relevant experience of developing strategy, leading and improving Customer Experience and overall service in an operations environment
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Demonstrable ability for organisational improvement and a passion for achieving excellent customer satisfaction, with tangible results to talk about
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From previous senior leadership roles, you will be able to demonstrate ability to:
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work effectively at Executive and Senior management level
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lead, motivate and develop a team, bringing vision to life
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empower with accountability
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be an excellent communicator - making sound and rational arguments, adapted to the audience as necessary
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proactively manage key stakeholders with competing priorities
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be resilient in the face of adversity
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lead and solve organisation problems through proven problem-solving
Desirable Criteria
We would also like you to have the following skills:
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Knowledge of the financial sector and the regulatory context would be desirable
Why Financial Ombudsman Service?
Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it wasn’t for their amazing efforts, ideas and commitment we wouldn’t be able to make a difference that we do today. So, we offer an attractive, competitive salary and flexible benefits to suit them.
Here’s a list of some of the many benefits and perks you can get for working with us:
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25 days holiday entitlement, with the option to buy extra or sell days
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Generous pension
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Employer provided benefits such as Private medical insurance, virtual GP, Critical illness cover, Life assurance cover, to name a few
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Choice of voluntary benefits including Technology scheme, Cycle to work scheme, Will-writing service amongst others
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Employee Assistance Programme
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Extensive opportunities for personal and career development
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Fully equipped on-site gym open 24 / 7 (London office only)
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Extensive Well-being resources including on-site therapists (London office only)
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Beautiful and bright London office looking over the Thames and near to mainline stations
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Our Coventry office is 2 minutes’ walk from the main station
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Our employee led networks do fantastic work in educating and raising awareness across a range of experiences and support us in being an inclusive employer and a great place to work. You can get involved, too!
How do I apply?
Please upload (as one document) your CV and a statement answering the following question in no more than 500 words.
“Taking into consideration the minimum criteria, in your own words, please highlight why your experience makes you the right candidate for the role”.
Applications need to be fully completed (including the statement) and uploaded by 11:59pm on Sunday 4 June.
Applications will be reviewed throughout this period.
Please note, applications that do not include a statement, will not be considered.
Should you be successful at application stage, you’ll be invited to a telephone interview with a member of the Resourcing team. Telephone interviews will be held w/c 5 June.
Should you be shortlisted, you will be asked to complete assessments and a session with a psychologist w/c 12 June. Followed, by an in-person interview w/c 19 June. Likely to be either 21 or 22 June. The interview will include a presentation and competency based interview questions.
Due to high application numbers this advert may end earlier than the date specified.
A full job profile is available on request and will be provided to candidates shortlisted to the first stage of the assessment process.
We’re proud to be an inclusive employer
We view diversity as fundamental to our success and welcome applications from underrepresented groups across all communities.
We’re committed to being a great place to work– attracting and developing people from the widest possible range of backgrounds. We want everyone to perform at their best and feel able to be themselves. We understand that if we’re diverse and inclusive, we’ll better understand different perspectives, which is fundamental to our job resolving financial complaints.
We welcome applications from Black and other ethnic minority candidates, and female candidates, for all positions and particularly so for senior leader positions as they are under-represented within the Financial Ombudsman Service at this level.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. This means that we will put disabled candidates entering under the scheme through to the next stage of the recruitment process should they meet the minimum criteria for a role. A minimum criterion needs to be measurable from reviewing a candidate’s CV/supporting statement. Exceptions may apply if due to the volume of applications we are not able to interview all eligible candidates who qualify under the scheme. If you would like to speak to a member of our team about any reasonable adjustments you need, please email hrsupport@financial-ombudsman.org.uk and let us know your preferred method of contact.
Find out more
Check out below channels to find out more about everyday life at the Financial Ombudsman Service – and don’t forget to follow us while you’re there!
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LinkedIn: Financial Ombudsman Service
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Our careers page: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/who-we-are/join-us
Good luck with your application!