Customer Services Graduate

• Customer Services Graduate Role Profile
• Disclosure Questions

It’s all about our customers and this role will learn about the complex lifecycle of our customer (resident/tenant) journey with us. At Orbit we put our customers at the heart of everything we do. So why not join us in learning all aspects of our customer services function.

About Orbit … who we are

Orbit is one of the UK’s foremost housing groups creating thriving communities within a growing portfolio of over 44,500 affordable and social rent homes largely throughout the Midlands, East and South of England. We manage a portfolio of high quality, sustainable homes to over 100,000 customers in differing stages of life, from first timers to enhanced supported living. For over 50 years we’ve been a force for positive changes, particularly during the country’s continuing housing and residential challenges.

We place our customers at the heart of what we do, continually invest in our communities and creating great places to live, work and play. We work hard, collaboratively with our partners to answer the varied needs of our society supporting our customers’ happiness, health and wellbeing. Our vision is to lead in building thriving communities, and we believe everyone is entitled to a good quality home that they can afford in a place that they are proud to live. We’re proud to be part of our communities and give back over £5 million each year back to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

So if want an Early Careers programme that takes your future very seriously, helping you do everything from attending a Board meeting to getting some impressive qualifications then look no further … Welcome to Orbit.

Our Graduate Programme 

We see our graduates as leaders of the future - so we invest a lot in our two-year Graduate Programme – and in you. Whatever team you join you’ll rotate through a series of placements – often spending a rotation in a relevant team outside your division too.

Variety and influence 

As well as getting lots of responsibility in your day-to-day role, we’ll help you explore the whole of Orbit and a growing sector that is tackling some of today’s biggest social challenges.  You’ll have opportunity to visit building sites, independent living services, witness the positive impact that our community investment initiatives deliver as well as meeting our executive team and even going to a board meeting.

A big strategic project

You’ll join our other graduates who also start in September to tackle a big strategic project together.  Our former Graduates have been researching how we can cut fuel poverty and improve our strategic asset management in one stroke, with new technology solutions. Working with teams across Orbit, they’ve been analysing costs, appointing suppliers and running pilots, so that they can give their final recommendations to the Board.

The role

We are currently looking to recruit a Customer Services Graduate who will be based at our  offices in Coventry. This role will provide a firm foundation for a successful career in Orbit including all fundamental processes, systems and ways of working within the Customer Services function. You will have a series of placements in other departments in order to understand how the business operates as a whole, as well as internal and external training to include both technical competencies and leadership/management development. The rotations we have planned have been designed to provide you with the full customer journey experience we offer here at Orbit.

In the first year of this unique Programme, the Graduate will undertake placements in the following areas will illustrate the journey of our customers:

• Your first placement will be in our Customer Service Centre (CSC). This is the central point of the business where we receive all incoming calls from our customers which is made up of different teams, ie. Complaints and Resolutions. During this placement, you will also be inducted into Orbit.
• Followed by Lettings. The Lettings team are responsible for all functions associated with allocating and letting our homes, including mutual exchanges. This includes customer’s ending their tenancies, working with colleagues in Property Management and Property Services to manage empty homes and working with our colleagues in the Tenancy Sustainment team, local authorities and other external partners to allocate and let homes to new customers. Their job is to ensure we let the right homes, to the right customers ensuring a sustainable tenancy and minimising rent loss.
• Followed by Income. Income have the responsibility for collecting our rental income, which is in excess of c£190m pa which is essential to enable us to continue to deliver on our vision of leading in building thriving communities. These activities include ensuring we comply with the legal requirements connected to rents; Collection of Sundry debts, consistently applying banking regulations around Direct Debit and remaining wholly compliant with the Consumer Credit Act; undertaking audits of the data integrity of our tenancies; and keeping up to date with, and responding to, welfare reform and sector changes.
• The final placement in your first year of the programme will be in Tenancy Sustainment. This team focus on early intervention and prevention to enable our customers to have a ‘better day, every day’. The team works using a coaching ethos and is made up of tenancy/employment coaches and work closely with the tenancy underwriter function within lettings to ensure we are housing the correct customers within our properties.

In the second year of the programme, you will have two rotations in Tenancy Services and Customer Experience.

• The Tenancy Services This team is split into two different areas so you will spend time in our Community Safety & Anti Fraud (CSAF) where you will understand and learn Orbit’s role in tackling and addressing Anti-social behaviour, Domestic abuse, Hate incidents, Multi agency public protection arrangement (MAP), Safeguarding and Tenancy Fraud.

You will then spend time in our Tenancy Review Team where you will understand and learn Orbit’s role in tackling and addressing Breach of tenancy, Assignments successions and name changes, Deceased customers, Evictions and tort notices, New customer settling in visits, Non access, Tenancy audits and Fixed term tenancy and mortgage rescue reviews.

·         The Customer Experience Team. This team strive to enhance the customer experience with Orbit. This is done by interrogating current processes throughout the organisation and investigating new innovative ideas to evolve them. They are responsible for a few different things which include channel development, complaints, temporary and short term moves, data analysis, innovation and change. They also act as the Voice of the customer and use key themes and trends to discover opportunities for the business to improve their service whilst also flagging risks we need to address.

At the end of the 2 year programme, the postholder will transfer into a permanent role within one of the above areas dependant on business needs.

Through a combination of training, work shadowing, project work and mentoring we will provide the requisite professional and technical skills to develop into a successful manager and leader.

What we offer

The scheme is a two-year placement starting in September 2021. We will be proactively working with you throughout the two-year programme to secure your permanent role with Orbit for the end of the two year programme. We invest a lot in your development through the two years and endeavor to offer every Graduate who meets the required standards a permanent role, subject to business need.

We enable people from every background to achieve their career ambitions, giving them the support, benefits, training and environment they need to thrive at work. You will receive a robust company-wide induction on top of a local induction with your peers. We see our Graduates driving innovation and change and using their ideas to help shape our future. 

You will have access to coaching, mentoring, a buddy, the opportunity to study for a qualification which is linked to your role and attendance at external events (e.g. conferences). Not only that but we will enrol you on our in-house management development programme; you will have regular reviews and 121s with your line manager alongside a unique Personal Development Plan.

We offer an excellent flexible benefits package including private medical insurance, discounted dental insurance, gym membership discount, generous holiday entitlement (starting at 27 days plus bank holidays) and pension scheme.  Salary will be £26,000 per annum rising to £27,000 in Year 2.

Can I apply 

We ask that you have achieved or expect to achieve a minimum 2:2 degree in a related subject for example Business Studies or Customer Services. We need you to share our values and demonstrate that you can use your initiative. We are looking for people that are naturally curious about improving the way things work and happy to work with others to do so.  If you are ambitious, driven, and relish the idea of working for a well-respected organisation in a sector that provides a valuable service to the community, then apply today.

To apply please submit your CV and a Supporting Statement which must evidence why you are interested in the role and why we should consider your application.

Please be aware of the following key dates:

Closing date for receipt of applications: ­­­­­­­­ 7^th March 2021

Virtual interviews are to be held via Microsoft Teams on: 19 March 2021
Start date: September 2021

You can find lots more information regarding early careers on the careers section of the Orbit website.