Customer Service Administrator
Location: Bishopgate House, Darlington, DL1 5QE
Rate of Pay: £15.09ph, Weekly Pay
Working Hours: 37 hours per week – Monday to Thursday: 8:30am – 4:30pm – Friday: 8:30am – 4:00pm
Working Arrangements: Hybrid – 3 days per week in the Darlington office, 2 days per week working from home
Contract Duration: 3 months, with a possibility for extension

About the Role:
The Department for Education is seeking Customer Service Administrators to join the team at Bishopgate House in Darlington. These temporary roles support essential operations by providing high-quality administrative and customer service assistance to both internal and external stakeholders, including local authorities and schools.

Key Responsibilities:

• Act as the first point of contact for external customers (e.g. local authorities and schools), handling incoming and outgoing telephone calls.
• Manage high volumes of telephone communication, particularly during peak periods.
• Process Service Request Forms (SR Forms) submitted by external stakeholders, resolving queries or escalating them when necessary.
• Deliver an efficient, customer-focused Service Desk support service in line with departmental and Data Operations standards and procedures.
• Ensure all service delivery meets performance indicators, service level agreements, security requirements, and complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.
• Collect and process complex survey returns, analyse the source of data errors, and contact relevant data providers to obtain accurate information.
• Ensure data handling meets quality standards and timescales set by internal customers.

Essential Skills and Experience:

• Comfortable and confident handling high volumes of telephone calls.
• Strong administrative skills with a keen eye for detail.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (e.g. Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Good literacy and numeracy skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport and work collaboratively.
• Able to take ownership of tasks and follow through on commitments.
• Problem-solving mindset with resilience under pressure.
• Strong time management and organisational skills.
• Ability to produce high-quality work and support colleagues in achieving shared goals.

Home Working Requirements:
Applicants must have the facilities to work from home for part of the week. This includes:

• Secure and reliable internet access
• A private and comfortable working environment suitable for handling sensitive information (e.g. not a shared space)

How to Apply:
If you are proactive, organised, and thrive in a customer-focused administrative role, we encourage you to apply for this opportunity to support the vital work of the Department for Education.

Brook Street is proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant and as such, we guarantee to interview all candidates who are veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel, and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy.

As a Disability Confident Leader, and holder of the Gold Award status from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, Brook Street, as a supplier to the Public Sector Resourcing Framework (PSR), will offer you a guaranteed interview with a PSR Sourcer.

Should you identify as a candidate with a disability and/or as a veteran or spouse/partner of military personnel and meet all the essential criteria for the role, we encourage you to reach out to us via the Brook Street website. Here you will find a link to register your interest and state the role that you are interested in. We are committed to engaging with you.

In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses/partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, Brook Street will interview the best candidates from within that group.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are only able to contact candidates who have been selected to progress to the next stage of the recruitment process. If you have not heard from us within 1 week of your application, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion. We encourage you to keep an eye on our current vacancies and welcome applications for any future roles that match your skills and experience.

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