Complaints Team Leader - Durban at Huntswood

Job Responsibilities:

Line Management

• People management responsibilities, this will include Completion of Appraisals, 121s, Absence and Performance Management, coaching and feedback
• Work with the Complaints Manager to ensure that caseloads are allocated intelligently, and effectively managed within the department, using effective delegation as necessary.
• Through effective performance management of the team and strong leadership, ensure the overall agreed Moneybarn SLAs and Regulative SLAs are achieved.
• Highlighting where there is potential for SLA breeches to the relevant departments and Risk and Compliance
• Actively encourage and assist the team in developing and maintaining effective working relationships with Brokers, Suppliers and Internal Moneybarn Departments.
• Managing the team to ensure that complaints are thoroughly investigated, accurate information is recorded, and decisions are consistent.
• Responsible for recruitment, selection and on-boarding of new team members, including oversight and creation of tailor-made training programs to suit individual needs.
• Responsible for the team progression through Competency Frameworks and achievement of team and individual objectives
• Regular review of quality of customer communications and complaint outcomes, to ensure consistency within the team.
• Manage the team to promptly process compensation, redress, or goodwill adjustments in line with the internal interdepartmental procedures.

 Oversight and MI

• Actively identify trends from both MI and feedback from the team, making informed decisions and offering solutions to challenges facing the team.
• Take ownership for resolving business wide issues related to effective service, working with other departments to ensure that resolutions are implemented and evaluated, to improve issues.
• Identify areas of the business that are causing concern as a result analysis of root cause information gathered on complaints and provide on-going feedback to the Complaint Manager on the findings.
• Awareness of the cases referred to FOS, working with the FOS Case Manager to identifying any changes within their arbitration process, which impacts on our previous thinking.

Quality Management

• Accountable for ensuring effective controls of Summary Resolutions Letters and Final Response Letters ensuring accuracy and fairness of the outcome, in line with the agreed Competency Framework, and carry out risk-based sampling to ensure that these controls remain effective
• Accountable for identify and documenting risks and maintaining effective controls to ensure successful First Line of Defense within own area.
• Providing input as part of the Monthly Control meetings, COWG meetings, KPI and Complaints Committee
• Ensuring that all procedures and work instruction are up to date, approved and embedded within the team.
• Decision making authority for Customer Redress, Compensation and Goodwill up to an agreed set limit
• Respond to trends identified through audit function, proposing, and implementing solutions.
• Attend and arrange in house meetings as appropriate to provide feedback to the business on complaints.
• Stay abreast of any changes in legislation that directly affect Moneybarn and its customers, ensuring that the Complaint Officers are conversant with same, so that they are fully equipped to carry out their role.
• Coach direct reports to ensure Continuous Improvement in terms of complaint handling, identifying training needs and working with the CM, QA and the L & D department to address these needs

Stakeholder Management

• Act as the escalation point for complex complaints, for Customers, Suppliers, Brokers, Internal Departments and the Financial Ombudsman’s Service
• Negotiation of outcome for complex complaints, involving multiple stakeholder
• Use own judgement to recommend Customer outcomes outside of the normal business procedures, where the situation warrants
• Communicate the key issues in complex situation complaints to a variety of stakeholder, with differing levels of knowledge and expertise

Job Requirements:

• Minimum of Matric or NQF 4 qualification 
• Strong complaints handling experience in the banking/insurance industry
• High standard of English both written and verbal
• Excellent customer service, communication and interpersonal skills 
• Ability to manage difficult customers, and act as escalation point for complex complaints
• Confident in negotiating win-win solutions for customers, Suppliers, Introducers and the business
• Ability to prioritise own workload and that of the team
• Ability to demonstrate professional resilience and adaptability
• Ability to gain positive engagement from others where difficult decisions are made
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of FCA regulations
• Previous experience of managing people
• Previous experience of conducting employee appraisals and performance management
• Leadership abilities, to be able to both motivate the team and manage team performance to ensure high quality standards across all activity
• Stakeholder management experience

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience of managing a team within a Complaints or Backoffice Function
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of FCA regulations, full product knowledge and how legislation affects the business and our customers

Skills Required:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Leadership skills
• Coaching and mentoring skills