Correspondence and Appeals Officer

3 months contract with an East London based Local Authority Job Summary: ·          To provide effective and efficient customer support and service, within the Parking Service, with specific reference to the consideration of and response to written enquiries, representations, appeals or statutory declarations received from members of the public in relation to Penalty Charge Notices. Key Duties/Accountabilities: ·          To provide effective, efficient and high-quality customer care service to members of the public. ·          To consider objections to parking and moving traffic enforcement action in accordance with the relevant legislation, regulations, traffic orders, the ALG Code of Practice and Newham’s policies on parking. Consideration of such objections shall require using judgement to make decision on continued enforcement, including assessment of any mitigating factors. ·          To control and respond to correspondence in a timely manner, ensuring that both council and legislative deadlines are met. ·          To understand and implement the various sections of all relevant parking legislation and Council policy, and to maintain a working knowledge of these. ·          To assist with local IT applications, such as Excel, Word and parking-specific systems. ·          Interface directly with external and internal customers to manage delivery priorities, issues and challenges. ·          To assist with the compilation of statistics ensuring that they are available for management as and when required. ·          Promote and adopt new ways of working according to need to ensure consistently high quality, cost effective and timely service delivery, being adaptable in response to unplanned priorities. ·          To undertake training as may be required, to ensure that current parking policies are understood and legislative or policy changes are anticipated. ·          To provide customers with accurate information on parking policies, explaining decisions made and the impact of any legislation, regulations or traffic orders in a clear and simple manner, ensuring that all correspondence is compiled in accordance with best practice and in an empathetic Plain English style, where the correspondent is made to feel their concerns or complaints have been properly considered. ·          To prepare case summaries and evidence for appeal hearings and to attend personal appeals sessions at the Environment and Traffic Appeals Service, or at local or County Courts to represent the council and present the council’s case as may be directed by line management. ·          To liaise with legal services, to determine case law and precedent as may be applicable to each appeal or statutory declaration filed, and to attend court and provide evidence when required. ·          To deal with complex or difficult telephone or face to face enquiries on all aspects of Parking Control and to comply with Council's Telephone Code of Practice. ·          To authorise the cancellation of penalty charge notices and to initiate refunds of payments on penalty charge notices and clamp and removal cases in appropriate circumstances, in accordance with the relevant legislation, traffic orders, regulations and the formal cancellation policy document, and in accordance with the stipulated timescales. ·          To ensure that all faults, difficulties and failures in computer hardware are promptly reported to appropriate support service and that remedial action is progressed. ·          To identify potential areas of abuses in respect of parking matters and to ensure that preventative systems are in place to prevent losses to the Council, including liaison with other authorities and the Metropolitan Police. ·          To provide the highest level of customer care, ensuring that enquiries / representations from the public are dealt with helpfully, courteously and efficiently. ·          To ensure that cases that require site visits are dealt with in a timely fashion, and that personal site checks are carried out where appropriate. ·          To carry out training and mentoring of new or agency staff, including work allocation and quality checking as may be necessary. ·          To undertake project work such as reconciling invoices sent by service providers, providing a dedicated point of contact for customers, uploading batches of work to the parking system for allocation, dealing with and deciding on applications for permit refunds and liaising with service providers to deal with exceptions. ·          To use and assist others in the use of information technology systems to carry out duties in the most efficient and effective manner. ·          To achieve agreed service outcomes and outputs, and personal appraisal targets, as agreed by the line manager. Additional information to note: ·          Hybrid working with 1 to 2 days per week in the offices. ·          Driving License preferred but not essential. ·          This post is subject to a [standard/enhanced] DBS check. ·          The post holder will be required to work some evenings, weekends and occasional public holidays in order to meet service requirements and in order to ensure appropriate representation of the Council with residents, the Mayor and elected members, and external bodies. The closing date for this position is Friday 13/09/2024.