Customer Escalations Executive

Responsible for accurately assessing, logging and allocating all incoming complaints in-line with associated measures and reporting. Manage a portfolio of business product/service related complaints in line with associated SLAs and regulatory timescales. Provide support to wider team with implementation of corrective measures and process reporting. Ensure adherence to the FCA DISP rules in own workload and through monitoring the team’s cases. Suggest potential process improvements/adjustments accordingly to Escalations Manager or Business Process Owner.

Actively advocate for effective complaint handling. Maintain own awareness of the complaint handling process and associated regulatory requirements. Provide consultative support to internal colleagues to improve wider business awareness of the complaint handling process.

Assess and assign incoming complaints to Escalation Executives in consideration of their key strengths and capacity (current workload).

Determine the correct handling rules based on regulatory requirements and internal process guidance and ensure that the complaint is accurately logged within the complaint system in accordance with the required workflow (i.e. regulatory, non-regulatory, FOS/BVRLA escalated complaints, Management Committee complaints)

Maintain excellent standards of call handling with internal and external customers - demonstrating ownership and responsibility of customer complaints whilst communicating in an inquisitive, empathetic and positive tone.

Handle difficult conversations with customers who may be considered as vulnerable in line with FCA regulatory requirements. Be able to identify vulnerability indicators such as mental capacity, ill health, financial distress, redundancy and adapt communication style/tone and your own actions accordingly.

Handle conflict during conversations with customers who may be irate or distressed. Demonstrate an ability to remain calm and pragmatic whilst adapting to the customer’s needs.

Impartially investigate product/service related complaints received from customers. Using financial information from the accounting system alongside information provided by the customer, determine the financial/material impact the complaint has caused to the customer. Decide and implement suitable corrective measures to customer complaints including payment of goodwill or redress, ensuring adherence to FCA TCF rules and consideration of business/commercial viability and guidelines.

Through application of Lean Six Sigma principles and tools such as "5 Whys", identify and accurately record the true root cause of complaints.

On a daily basis, monitor all complaints resolved by the Escalations team. Review the 'final response’ letter issued in resolution of the complaint. Determine and implement corrective actions promptly in the with FCA DISP rules (specifically DISP 1.4).

Calculate, raise and apply customer redress or goodwill credits and supplier compensation invoices.

Provide ad-hoc support to with business and team complaints reporting and analysis.

Communicate with customer appointed legal representatives (solicitors).

Ensure that all correspondence is written accurately, and to a high standard, in compliance with regulatory/legal requirements. Documents submitted in response to a complaint or legal claim made against the company are admissible in court and therefore the quality and accuracy of such documents is paramount.

Ensure adherence to business KPIs and FCA DISP Complaint Handling Time Limits.

At all times, ensure comprehensive record keeping, safe handling of customer data and accurate categorisation of complaint/root cause data.

Key responsibility that each Associate ensures that they are aware of and maintain on an ongoing basis a working knowledge of the regulations and business obligations that affect their role

Identify and act upon opportunities for customer loyalty, retention or uptake of additional products/services

Identify and recommend opportunities for improvements to the Complaints Handling Process and for improvements to the company or Third Party Supplier processes or systems by analysing the root cause of business complaints.

Identify opportunities to mitigate financial loss/detriment incurred by the Company or its customers.

Represent the voice of the Company’s customers throughout the business to create, and reinforce, a culture of customer centric decision making.

Champion a continuous improvement ethos within the Escalations team and across the wider business.

Purpose and subject of the interaction/communication with internal/external interfaces, negotiating mandate (e.g. What is communicated how to whom?)

The Advisor will have first sight of all complaints referred to the team by email via: customers; customer-appointed legal representatives; third party suppliers; and internal colleagues, and is responsible for providing consultative support to enable the correct handling of complaints.

Frequent communication with key functions such as Compliance, Legal and Finance is required to ensure that remedial measures are fair/appropriate, legally sound and financially correct.

Responsible for issuing formal written communication (letter/emails) to complaining customers in line with legal and regulatory requirements/considerations.

Education / Knowledge

GCSE level (or equivalent) - must include English and Maths.

Experience in a complaint handling role

Experience in a Financial Services or Regulated environment desirable

Excellent written/verbal communication skills

Evidence ability to manage conflict

Experience/knowledge of FCA regulation

Index Recruitment Ltd is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

"Due to the high volume of applications, we currently receive, we are unable to respond to all candidates. If you do not hear from a Consultant within 5 working days unfortunately you have been unsuccessful on this occasion"