Customer Service Front Office

Salary: Band 5, £28,689 - £29,859 (Please note it is Northumbria Police policy to appoint at the beginning of the band)

Location: South Shields Police Station

Hours/Contract: 37 hours per week (front office is open 7 days a week and the successful candidate will work a shift pattern that includes both weekdays and weekends)

Contract: Permanent

The role

Here at Northumbria Police, we think our region is amazing! It takes a great deal of people from different backgrounds, with diverse skills and experience to serve our force area effectively, think you have what it takes to help us make a difference? This could be the perfect time for you to join us in our Communications Department as a Customer Service Front Office.

As a Customer Service Front Office employee, you will provide exceptional service in all external customer interactions, aiming to resolve queries at first contact whenever possible. Offer professional advice and effective signposting.

As the first point of contact for the public, handle face-to-face, telephone, and digital communications, including making outbound calls when necessary. Responsible for identifying and assessing information in accordance with THRIVE guidelines.

What you’ll do

• Ensure that the public enquiry desk is open at the times advertised to the public.
• Engage effectively with external customers through various formats (face-to-face, 101, digital contact), quickly building rapport and using a creative problem-solving approach to understand and respond to customer needs.
• Handle enquiries from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, face-to-face, telephone, online, email, and voicemails within the time specified by any agreed service levels and adhering to quality standards.
• Create incidents/events reported in person, via telephone, or online using ASPIRE/STORM and applying THRIVE.
• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of procedures, including those of partner agencies, to deal effectively with all customer contact such as property enquiries, complaints, incident and crime progression, as well as other miscellaneous general enquiries.

What you’ll bring

• Understanding of THRIVE.
• Experience of an organised approach in line with concise documents and note taking.
• Ability to record information in a timely manner.
• Ability to use judgement, initiative and creativity, to resolve situations and provide positive solutions.
• The ability to communicate clearly, concisely and timely at all levels.
• Evidence of excellent communication & interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrate a professional and proactive approach to customer service.
• A good understanding of managing customers’ expectations.

We know it's important for you to feel that you're not only part of a great team, but part of a community. We welcome applications from suitably qualified people from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Harnessing these differences creates a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, and their talents are fully utilised. Appointments are based on merit alone.

Just so you know

Candidates with priority status will be given precedence for this role over other applicants.

Our application form will help us understand how your work, education and life experience has prepared you for the role of a Customer Service Front Office with #TeamNP. To help support your application research what makes us tick here at Northumbria, the role you’re applying for and the values and behaviours that contribute.

The recruitment process will consist of the initial application form followed by a face to face interview. Just so you know, you can save your application and come back to it any time prior to the closing date on the advert.

We are proud members of the Business Disability Forum, working together to improve the lives of disabled employees. As a Disability Confident Leader, we are committed to offering an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role. In cases of very high application volumes, we may prioritise those who most closely meet the criteria, applying the same fair approach for all candidates.

If you tell us that you have a disability, we can make adjustments to support you through the recruitment process (for example we can arrange extra time for tests or provide a sign language interpreter) You can get in touch with us via [email protected] for any support regarding the application process. Please provide us with plenty of notice so we can ensure your visit goes smoothly.

Use of AI in Applications: At Northumbria Police, we embrace innovative technologies to enhance our recruitment process. We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While AI can be a valuable resource, we encourage applicants to ensure their submissions accurately reflect their personal qualifications, experiences, and skills. Our selection process includes thorough evaluations to verify the authenticity and suitability of all applications. We value genuine and thoughtful responses that showcase your unique strengths and perspectives.

If your application is successful, we’ll ask you to complete a Recruitment Vetting (RV) form, therefore you must be a resident of the UK for a minimum period of 3 years to ensure vetting checks can be successfully performed. A job offer will be dependent upon vetting clearance, medical information, and references.

Terms of appointment

This is a permanent subject to a six-month probationary period.

If you are successful in your application, you will have a six-month probation period with us where you will be unable to apply for any other post advertised internally or externally.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.