About the job

Job summary

Are you a focussed individual who loves to produce top quality work?

Do you have exceptional time management skills?

Is great customer service important to you?

If so, this is an exciting and varied opportunity, that will allow you to manage your own workload and work collaboratively with a variety of people, we'd love to hear from you!

Job description

The Public Liaison Officer - Correspondence is required to respond to customer correspondence within ten working days of receipt; managing their own workload, they will assess, log and investigate complaints and enquiries before drafting a quality reply to prevent escalations, processing refunds, rebooking where necessary. They will liaise with different departments and test centres in order to do this, speaking to customers and colleagues on the phone/Teams and by email where appropriate.

They will gather information from our Testing And Registration System (TARS) to recommend payments for and process out of pocket expense claims within our guidelines, before writing to customers to notify them of the outcome, keeping the claims log up to date throughout.

The post holder will take part in team meetings and contribute to the staff engagement plan where possible; working closely with colleagues in a team environment to ensure that a consistent level of service is delivered, looking for continuous improvement opportunities. You may also be asked to perform additional tasks on an ad-hoc basis, such as collating and producing information for management.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to;

• Draft replies to customer complaints and enquiries; making effective decisions and taking any appropriate action. Ensure the message and quality of the response is correct, taking on board any changes or feedback from managers.
• Adopt Clear DVSA values in written correspondence to ensure clear, concise and easily understandable responses are provided to customers.
• Liaise with colleagues from Corporate Office and Operational staff where necessary, identifying and avoiding reasons for escalations/ICA referral, and help to achieve the target of responding to 90% of correspondence within 10 working days.
• Analyse and collate information provided by the subject matter expert (SME) to ensure that responses are accurate, and information is handled appropriately and securely. 

For more information about the role and responsibilities please see the attached Candidate Pack.

Person specification

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills are pivotal to this role to assist with the providing of guidance and robust recommendations to customers.
• Your exceptional engagement and relationship building skills will enable you to influence and challenge, but also support the work of the rest of the team when necessary. 
• You have exceptional decision-making skills and are able to quickly provide feedback based on evidence presented.
• You have effective planning, organising and time management skills.
• You have the ability to manage and filter your workflow, as well as organise and prioritise workload to maximise productivity.
• You are someone who is passionate about delivering great customer service, you will be keen to contribute to the continual development and enhancement of the service provided. 

Additional Information

The role may require travel to the other main DVSA administrative sites for team meetings, training and cooperative working where required.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement, for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 32 hours per week, to be worked over five days per week.

For this role you will be attached to one of our core locations in Nottingham, Newcastle, Bristol or  Swansea where presence at one of these sites will form part of the working arrangements agreed with you. We operate a hybrid working model with the expectation that you will spend a minimum 60% on a DVSA site or on official business giving you greater flexibility about where and when you work. DfT workplace attendance expectations were updated in recruitment campaigns on 17 November 2023.

About Us

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) helps keep Britain moving, safely and sustainably. 

 

We do this by helping people through a lifetime of safe and sustainable journeys, helping them keep their vehicles safe to drive, and protecting them from unsafe drivers and vehicles. 

We’re working hard to:  

• make roads safer
• improve services for our customers
• make road transport greener and healthier
• harness the potential of technology and data
• grow and level up the economy

We’re committed to giving all our colleagues purpose, professionalism and pride in what we do. We work in supportive, diverse and inclusive teams where everyone is valued. You can grow, develop and progress, and make a real difference to society. 

Visit the Department for Transport careers website to read more about the great opportunities and benefits of working at DVSA.  

Benefits

• An environment with flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance
• Exceptional pension with an employer contribution of an average of 27%
• Generous Annual Leave - 25 days holiday, increasing by 1 each year of service, up to 30
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday 
• Latest IT and Tech devices 
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues
• Excellent learning and development tailored to your role including paid apprenticeships up to Masters level
• Wide range of discounts schemes on high street names
• Employee assistance program for health and wellbeing 
• Cycle to work scheme and Gym membership offers
• For more information see visit our careers page

 

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

How to Apply  

As part of the application process you will be asked to provide a CV and Personal Statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

For your Personal Statement, please provide detailed evidence of the following:

• Your experience of having utilised your written and oral communication skills
• Your experience of when you have demonstrated good decision-making skills
• Your experience of effective planning, organising and your time management skills
• Your experience in the use of IT systems, such as Microsoft Officer and SharePoint

Your personal statement will be limited to a maximum of 1000 words.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include:

• an interview

The sift is due to take place 5th & 6th March 2024.

Interviews are likely to be held W/C 18th March 2024.

This interview could be conducted via a video interview, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

We’ll try to meet the dates we’ve set out in the advert. But there may be occasions when these dates will change. We’ll give you plenty of notice of any important dates.

If you would like to find out more about what it’s like to work for DVSA and how to apply, we will be holding virtual sessions to find out more. Please click here to secure your place at one of our upcoming events.

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the candidate pack as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.