Apprentice Customer Service Advisor

Summary

The Customer Service Advisor is a key role within the business, acting as first point of contact for our customers, covering a range of queries from paying rent to reporting repairs, dealing with sensitive issues. The post will be based at our new re-furbished head office in Coalville, Leicestershire.

Wage

£22,222.20 a year

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Training course

Customer service practitioner (level 2)

Hours

7hrs per day between 8.00am - 6.00pm, Monday - Friday (Annualised hours contract, meaning shift patterns are given in advance).

35 hours a week

Start date

Sunday 1 June 2025

Duration

1 year 6 months

Positions available

2

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you’ll do at work

An excellent opportunity has arisen for an apprentice to work for emh in the Customer Services Centre, based in our Coalville office. This varied and exciting role will enable you to develop a wide range of skills and experience in a crucial area of the business. The Customer Service Advisor is a key role within the business, acting as first point of contact for our customers, covering a range of queries from paying rent to reporting repairs, dealing with sensitive issues, treating each customer with respect and consideration. No two days are the same, you will learn ‘on the job’. We don’t use scripts so you will need to be empathetic, professional and be at ease with technology.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

To deliver front line customer services effectively over all our multi media channels. These include telephone, e-mail, web, text phone and SMS.
To employ a high standard of customer care in all customer contacts, internal and external.
To provide administrative support as required.

In particular to:
Handle all multi media queries, and resolve them promptly in a helpful, respectful and courteous manner. Providing a tailored service for our diverse customer base.
Interpret repair queries and respond within set guidelines including instructions to contractors.
Tenant arrears – sending standard letters as generated by Orchard in accordance with Income management policy. Providing advice, including welfare benefits, updating our records, liaising with relevant officers and making appropriate agreements to repay.
Deal with lettings queries as appropriate for the LA region.
To keep accurate records of involvement and action taken and to ensure that all records, computerised and manual are kept up to date.
To contribute positively to the CSC team to ensure effective operation of the CSC, which also includes the Customer Experience Team.
To communicate/liaise with other departments, offices and external bodies to ensure the efficient, professional and effective provision of services.
Promptly refer calls that cannot be dealt with to the appropriate member of staff. Maintain regular and effective liaison with group based staff.
To undertake administrative duties as requested. Examples would include, word processing, data input, post, photocopying, faxing and stationery management.

Leadership and Corporate Responsibilities

Work effectively with other team members to meet deadlines and provide excellent customer service.
Maintain strong links and working relationships with internal customers.
Promote and lead by example on equality, diversity and inclusion.
Contribute to improving and implementing new/revised processes.
Ensure adherence to data security and protection policies and processes.

Special Instructions:

To uphold the vision and values of the emh group and emh homes.
To take individual responsibility for ensuring that a continuously improving and effective professional customer service is delivered.
To ensure a safe working environment in accordance with Health and Safety Regulations.
To attend fire drills and staff meetings.
To attend training events as required.
To maintain an awareness of current instructions circulated by staff meetings, departmental and head office bulletins, circular letters or by verbal or written information given by your Responsible Officer.
To respect the confidential nature of personal information.
To recognise and promote emh group’s Equality and Diversity Strategy.

Full training will be provided in all areas to meet with the apprenticeship programme.

Where you’ll work

Memorial House
Whitwick Business Park
Coalville
Leicestershire
LE67 4JP

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

College or training organisation

P.T.P. TRAINING LIMITED

Your training course

Customer service practitioner (level 2)

Equal to GCSE

Course contents

Use a range of questioning skills, including listening and responding in a way that builds rapport, determines customer needs and expectations and achieves positive engagement and delivery.
Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, along with summarising language during face-to-face communications; and/or
Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate communication skills, along with reinforcement techniques (to confirm understanding) during non-facing customer interactions.
Depending on your job role and work environment: Use an appropriate ‘tone of voice’ in all communications, including written and digital, that reflect the organisation’s brand.
Provide clear explanations and offer options in order to help customers make choices that are mutually beneficial to both the customer and your organisation.
Be able to organise yourself, prioritise your own workload/activity and work to meet deadlines.
Demonstrate patience and calmness.
Show you understand the customer’s point of view.
Use appropriate sign-posting or resolution to meet your customers needs and manage expectations.
Maintain informative communication during service recovery.

Your training plan

This training plan has not been finalised. Check with this employer if you’ll need to travel to a college or training location for this apprenticeship.

Requirements

Desirable qualifications

GCSE in:

English (grade 4 and above)
Math's (grade 4 and above)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
IT skills
Attention to detail
Organisation skills
Customer care skills
Problem solving skills
Administrative skills
Logical
Team working
Initiative
Non judgemental
Patience

Other requirements

It is important that the successful candidate can respect the confidential nature of personal information and privacy. This is an office-based job role. It is a very busy environment. This post is subject to DBS clearance.

About this company

With 22,000 homes, emh is one of the largest providers of social housing and care services in the East Midlands, working across 50 local authority areas. Diversity and inclusion sit at the heart of emh’s social ethos, driving its mission to ‘Improve Opportunities for People’. We invest in communities by tackling homelessness initiatives, providing financial inclusion support, involving residents in shaping services, as well as building high quality homes for rent and shared ownership to meet the diverse needs of our local communities. We are proud of our 1100 colleagues who make a difference for our residents every single day. We are committed to investing in our colleagues with continuous learning and development opportunities to develop and nurture talent to promote professionalism in service delivery. This includes apprenticeships and postgraduate programmes. A job with us is challenging, stimulating and rewarding. We offer a friendly, open environment and encourage professional development among all our employees.

https://www.emh.co.uk (opens in new tab)

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

It is expected that upon completion of the apprenticeship there may be an opportunity to remain in a full-time position within customer services or progress further within the organisation onto a suitable pathway.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

P.T.P. TRAINING LIMITED

PTP Recruits

ptprecruits@ptp-training.co.uk

01922651100

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000317892.

Apply now

Closes in 30 days (Friday 30 May 2025 at 11:59pm)

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