Complaints Manager

We have a great opportunity for an experienced Complaints Manager to join Freebridge as our senior operational lead for complaint handling! You'll have the authority to resolve disputes fairly and promptly, and the influence to turn complaints into real improvements across the organisation. If you're passionate about customer experience, service improvement and ensuring customers' voices drive positive change, we'd love to hear from you!

Our Freebridge Community Housing goal is to provide affordable, safe, and quality homes for current and future generations, for those who need a place to call home. Freebridge was set up in 2006, to receive the transfer of the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk’s housing stock. We now have over 7500 properties across West and North Norfolk, in addition to building new homes for social and affordable rent, and to support those who want to move into shared home ownership. We’ve had numerous achievements, including delivering our customers' promises and bringing homes to the Decent Homes Standard, affording our customers a much better quality of living. At Freebridge, we live by our values: Belong, Own It, Think Customer, One Team One Purpose, and Be the Change.

Outline of key responsibilities...

• Owning end-to-end delivery of our two-stage complaints process, ensuring all complaints are investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction within Code timescales, and that customers receive a consistently professional service
• Personally leading the most complex, high-profile or high-risk complaints, including Stage 2 escalations, MP and Councillor correspondence, and cases with serious reputational or financial exposure
• Identifying and implementing best practice in complaints and correspondence handling, supported by processes that help the team work effectively and efficiently
• Leading and developing a team of three Complaint Handlers and a Senior Complaint Handler, who takes responsibility for Stage 2 complaints and provides quality assurance on the team's Stage 1 work
• Coaching front-line teams on first-time resolution, and identifying and supporting their training and development needs in complaint handling
• Acting as our key operational contact for the Housing Ombudsman, responding to information requests and managing the relationship on day-to-day casework
• Ensuring complaint handling and redress orders, including all Housing Ombudsman determinations, are fully actioned, complied with and evidenced
• Chairing our Lessons Learned Group, undertaking deep-dive root cause analysis on complaints within scope of the Lessons Learned Framework, including all Housing Ombudsman maladministration determinations
• Owning the quality, accuracy and consistency of complaints recording, ensuring data and management information are fit for purpose to support performance reporting, trend analysis and regulatory returns
• Undertaking root cause analysis on complaints more broadly, to identify development areas and drive the improvements needed
• Support the production of annual complaints performance and service improvement reporting for senior leaders and the Board
• Monitor complaint trends, systemic issues and organisational risk, driving improvements across services
• Manage complaint-related compensation and redress in line with delegated authority arrangements
• Act as a source of advice and expertise on complaint handling best practice across the organisation

We are looking for someone who has...

• Experience working at a senior level, designing and delivering an excellent customer complaints culture and processes that support the right outcomes for customers every time
• Experience operating with autonomy and influencing senior stakeholders, including at Executive level
• A working knowledge of the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code
• A sound understanding of data quality and management information principles
• Experience chairing multi-disciplinary or cross-departmental groups, and holding action owners to account for delivery
• Experience leading and developing a high-performing team, ideally within social housing or another highly regulated environment
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends and drive service improvements

What’s in it for you?

At Freebridge, we’re appreciative of our team and you can enjoy the following benefits from joining us, among many more:

• An Annual Salary of: £44,000
• Generous Holiday Leave: Enjoy 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays, increasing to 30 days after 5 years of service
• Exclusive Employee Discounts: Access amazing deals through our Reward Gateway
• Comprehensive Leave Policies: Enjoy 6 months full pay for maternity leave and 2 weeks full pay for paternity leave
• Health and Wellbeing Support: Access physio and counselling services, along with an employee assistance programme
• Charitable Leave: One day per year to volunteer for a cause you care about
• Discounted Gym Membership: Stay fit with discounted membership at Alive Leisure
• Pension Scheme: A great pension scheme with generous employer contributions (up to 12%)

Diversity & Inclusion:

Diversity is key to our values and culture. We create a workplace where every voice is heard and respected, embracing diverse perspectives to drive innovation. Our inclusive environment empowers colleagues, ensuring equal opportunities for all. We don’t discriminate against employees or potential employees based on protected characteristics. We’re happy to accommodate reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process to enable you to perform your best. As part of this commitment, we also offer accessibility tours for candidates to help ensure an inclusive and welcoming experience from the outset.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.