Job Details

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and customer-focused Housing Complaints Officer to manage and investigate housing complaints across Stage 1 and Stage 2 processes. You will play a key role in ensuring residents receive fair, timely and transparent outcomes while helping the organisation identify service failures and drive continuous improvement.

The successful candidate will have excellent written and investigative skills, strong attention to detail, and the ability to manage sensitive cases professionally and empathetically.

Key Responsibilities

• Draft clear, accurate and timely acknowledgement letters for incoming housing complaints, setting out the complaints process, timescales and next steps.
• Accurately log, categorise and manage complaints within internal systems, ensuring all relevant information and supporting evidence is recorded.
• Conduct thorough Stage 1 investigations, reviewing case histories, tenancy records, policies, correspondence and other relevant evidence.
• Liaise effectively with internal departments, contractors and external stakeholders to obtain information and resolve complaints promptly.
• Prepare high-quality Stage 1 response letters that are clear, concise, empathetic and compliant with organisational policy and regulatory requirements.
• Take a customer-focused approach by understanding the impact of issues on residents and seeking fair, proportionate and practical resolutions.
• Manage Stage 2 escalated complaints, ensuring investigations are conducted with appropriate independence, objectivity and fresh consideration of the issues raised.
• Identify service failures, recurring issues, learning opportunities and areas for improvement during investigations.
• Produce detailed, well-reasoned Stage 2 responses that address all relevant points raised by the complainant and clearly explain decisions and outcomes.
• Ensure complaints and responses are managed within required deadlines and in accordance with internal procedures and relevant regulatory requirements.
• Handle Members’ Enquiries, including enquiries from MPs and councillors, ensuring responses are accurate, sensitive, professional and timely.
• Coordinate with relevant teams to obtain information and provide comprehensive responses and resolutions to Members’ Enquiries.
• Respond to Housing Ombudsman enquiries by preparing complete, accurate and well-documented case information within required timescales.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams to gather evidence and ensure information provided to the Ombudsman is accurate, transparent and supported by appropriate documentation.
• Demonstrate compliance with complaint handling procedures and clearly identify learning and improvement opportunities arising from cases.
• Maintain accurate records and ensure a consistently high standard of case management, correspondence and reporting.
• Handle confidential information appropriately and ensure compliance with data protection and confidentiality requirements.
• Promote early resolution wherever appropriate through active listening, empathy and constructive engagement with residents.

Skills and Experience

The ideal candidate will have:

• Experience handling housing, tenancy, customer service or corporate complaints, ideally within a housing association, local authority or public-sector environment.
• Experience investigating complaints and producing formal written responses.
• Knowledge of Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaint handling processes.
• Experience dealing with sensitive or complex customer cases.
• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to produce professional, structured and evidence-based correspondence.
• Excellent investigative and analytical skills, with the ability to review large amounts of information and establish the relevant facts.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and strict deadlines.
• Experience liaising with multiple internal teams, contractors and stakeholders.
• Understanding of customer service principles and the importance of empathy when dealing with residents.
• High levels of accuracy and attention to detail.
• An understanding of confidentiality, data protection and information governance.
• The ability to identify service failures and translate individual complaints into meaningful organisational learning.

Personal Attributes

We are looking for someone who is:

• Customer-focused and committed to achieving fair outcomes.
• Empathetic and professional when dealing with residents and sensitive issues.
• Highly organised, reliable and able to work to demanding deadlines.
• Analytical and thorough, with strong investigative judgement.
• An excellent communicator, particularly in written form.
• Diplomatic and collaborative, with the confidence to work across different teams.
• Accountable and objective, particularly when handling escalated complaints.
• Committed to continuous improvement and learning.

What You Will Bring

This role would suit a complaints professional who understands the importance of getting things right for residents, while also recognising that effective complaint handling is an opportunity for an organisation to learn and improve.

You will be expected to combine strong case management and investigative skills with excellent written communication, ensuring every response is accurate, transparent, appropriately reasoned and delivered within the required timescale.

Application Information

Working Pattern: Hybrid – Monday and Tuesday in the office; Wednesday, Thursday and Friday working from home.

Closing Date: Monday 31 August 2026 at 9:00.