Complaints Officer

Reference number: 369628
Salary: £31,863 - £34,381
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Contract type: Permanent
Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time
Location: Northern Ireland, West Midlands (England)

Job summary

We are looking for a Complaints Officer to join the Regulatory team and manage a portfolio of complaints and enquiries, supporting the OEP’s regulatory function to assess and investigate allegations of non-compliance with environmental law.

The Office for Environmental Protection (the OEP) mission is to protect and recover the environment. Created by the Environment Act 2021, our role is to hold Government and public bodies to account. The OEP does this in several ways including reporting on progress against environmental targets, advising on changes to environmental laws and receiving complaints from the public which can lead to us taking enforcement action.

This role sits within the Regulatory Directorate, which is responsible for delivery of key functions as set out in the Environment Act. These are monitoring, investigating, and enforcing the implementation of environmental Law, and advising the government on the development of Law and other matters relating to the natural environment.

With a total staff of just over 80, we are a small, dynamic, friendly and flexible organisation covering both England, Northern Ireland, and environmental matters reserved to the UK government. We offer flexible working arrangements, high profile, dynamic work and the chance to have an impact on improving the state of the environment.

To find out more about the OEP, what we do, who we are and our current work, visit the OEP website.

The OEP is a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra which means it operates independently from Defra and is not part of the UK Civil Service. Our employees are public servants.

Job description

The OEP Complaints and Investigations team prioritises, manages, and investigates complaints about alleged breaches of environmental law by public authorities. The team is responsible for handling complaints in an efficient manner and for assessing in accordance with the OEP enforcement policy all eligible complaints to determine the most appropriate course of action for the OEP to take. This may include robust negotiations with public authorities to agree solutions and resolve compliance issues.

The advertised role sits within the Complaints function, which oversees the development, maintenance and application of the OEP’s complaints handling procedures, and takes the lead on determining whether complaints meet the eligibility criteria to allow further consideration by the OEP, as set out in the Environment Act 2021. The complaints team are also responsible for assessing eligible complaints to determine whether or not there is evidence of a failure to comply with environmental law, and if so, would it meet the OEP’s thresholds for seriousness and prioritisation. The initial assessment of cases deriving from complaints will be handled primarily by the Complaints team, with the Investigations team advising and providing support as needed. The Complaints and Investigations team work closely, cooperatively and flexibly, agreeing priorities and resource allocations across all their areas.

As such the successful candidate will be competent in taking appropriate action in relation to a wide range of complaints and enquiries received by the organisation. This may include engaging with public authorities and complainants directly to confirm that the OEP are the most appropriate organisation for their queries, liaising with other OEP departments to ensure an appropriate response, or supporting the wider C&I team with the assessment of complaints. The Complaints Officer will be expected to manage and record information received in accordance with our policies and procedures, and support with servicing Freedom of Information requests from the public.

The role holder will

• Determine the eligibility of complaints submitted to the OEP to confirm whether they are within the OEP’s remit and produce high quality written assessments explaining and documenting the rationale behind the decision.
• Prioritise complaints and enquiries, and support investigations into serious cases being carried out by Senior Complaints and Investigations Officers.
• Provide excellent customer service to members of the public who have submitted complaints and enquiries, providing timely updates, managing expectations, and signposting customers to the relevant public authority where appropriate.
• Work with the legal team and other specialist teams as necessary to inform complaints triage and assessment.
• Ensure the case management system is kept up to date with all correspondence on complaints, enquiries and cases they are handling.
• Help with continuous improvement identifying areas where the case management systems and complaints procedures could be improved to aid customer service and team efficiency.
• Service requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations that relate to the Complaints and Investigations team.
• Display flexibility to assist with wider OEP project work where necessary, in support of the OEP’s mission to protect and improve the natural environment.

The above list of job duties is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £31,863, Office for Environmental Protection contributes £9,230 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. 

Leave and Flexible Working

The OEP offers 25 days annual leave rising to 30 days over 5 years for all new entrants.

Additional paid leave is available where necessary to cater for a variety of situations including, but not limited to, family-related leave, volunteering days, exam and study leave, public duties and trade union activities. In addition, we offer a generous enhanced maternity leave, parental leave and shared parental leave policy.

The OEP is supportive of flexible working and has a flexible working policy to allow for variations in individuals’ working hours where this is compatible with business need.

Staff Wellbeing

Staff wellbeing is extremely important and the OEP strives to provide access to numerous resources to aid the wellbeing of its employees.

Current initiatives include:

• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing free and confidential 24/7 telephone advice and guidance to support employees with both personal and employment issues. This may include personal wellbeing, career development or legal matters such as landlord/tenant disputes.
• Access to an Occupational Health Service to provide a range of support services to help with the way you feel at work. Access to trained Mental Health First Aiders and wider Defra Group mental health first aid network and resources.
• Free access to Headspace, a mindfulness, meditation and sleep app.
• Access to a Financial Wellbeing Portal.
• Free eye tests and a contribution to glasses/lenses if required for VDU use.

Salary Sacrifice, Discounts and SmartTech Benefits

All employees have access to the STaR, Reward Gateway an online platform providing access to hundreds of discounts, offers and cashback options with well-known retailers. They offer a SmartTech scheme, a Cash Healthcare plan and numerous other benefits and services.

Location and Office Attendance

All OEP roles are based in Worcester and/or Northern Ireland. This role is based in either Northern Ireland or Worcester.

Criminal Record Check

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service or Access NI on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing us (email address available on application page) stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Closing date: Apply before 11:55 pm on Wednesday 2 October 2024.