Highways Customer Officer

Job Introduction

The starting salary for this role is £32,512 per annum based on a 36-hour working week. This is a 12-month fixed term contract/ secondment opportunity.

We are excited to be hiring a new Highways Customer Officer to join our fantastic team. The team is based in Merrow (Guildford) but as a Highways Customer Officer you will be required to work across the entire county. 

A vehicle (manual gearbox) is provided for work only use. You will also be required to work from local offices, it is likely you will work from home one day per week therefore hybrid working is applicable. 

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days’ holiday or your existing entitlement as internal staff. 
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer’s leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the Team

You will be one of a team of 14 Highways Customer Officers along with two Senior Highways Customer Officers. The team has a vast range of prior skills, experience and positions to their current role. The team has been being created since November 2021 and has a can-do proactive attitude. 

About the Role 

We are looking for a Highways Customer Officer (HCO) who will undertake a range of highway related works, including going out in response to customer calls for service daily you will have proactive conversations with Surrey residents and key stakeholders daily.

Enquiries may involve conducting site suitability surveys for vehicle crossovers, tree and shrub concerns, or other highway issues such as defect and highway safety inspections. HCOs are responsible for managing their own workloads and ensuring customer response times are met.

Work will include a mixture of office work and visits to sites and customers throughout the year. The work split is likely around 75% out on site and 25% office/home based. You will be required to work in an open office environment on a weekly basis to ensure close relationships and working bonds are maintained with other service teams. 

Shortlisting Criteria

This job is suited to a huge variety of past careers, as examples we have HCO’s who were previous armed forces personnel, emergency service workers, lectures, hospitality managers, telecoms engineers, engineers, customer service officers, civil enforcement officers etc. 

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:

• A good standard of spoken communication and personal presentation, and be able to have robust and sometimes difficult conversations face to face with customers
• A good working knowledge and ability to use IT equipment and Microsoft Office suite such as Word, Excel, Outlook
• A working knowledge and interest or experience in Highway Works
• Experience of providing excellent customer service, both remotely and in a face-to-face environment
• Ability to manage workloads and deal with conflicting priorities
• A full UK manual driving license and a willingness to travel around the county, when necessary, a vehicle will be provided for these journeys and left at your place of work overnight
• To have answered all the preset questions fully.

Contact us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.

For an informal discussion please contact David Morgan or Richard Paton by telephone on 0300 200 1003 or via email at david.morgan@surreycc.gov.uk or richard.paton@surreycc.gov.uk. 

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 16 May, with interviews likely to follow during the week commencing 19 May.

Our Values

Our values are as important as our abilities and shape who we are as an organisation. Discover more about our values. 

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description. Our Life at Surrey handbook provides insights of the culture at Surrey and how as a valued employee, you can help shape our Council. 

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where: 

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application 
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. 

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.