Head of Customer Experience & Service – EXPIRED

Do you want to be part of a force for good, helping to make life better for customers & society in the moments that matter? At Hodge, we put people at the heart of our business and that means our customers, colleagues and communities. Hodge is a Welsh financial service provider that focus on commercial lending, and specialist residential mortgage markets. The company is unique in that it is 79% owned by the Hodge Foundation, a charity established in 1962 that awards grants to registered charities and is funded by the profits from Hodge. The purpose of this role is to ensure that our customers are provided the high level of service which Hodge is known for and is a key element of our DNA and offering.

The successful person will champion the customer both externally and internally, ensuring that in every activity undertaken at Hodge our customers are considered and catered for.

In support of this you will lead and coach a team of customer experience and service professionals to deliver and continuously improve the service offering through all stages of the customer life cycle.

The role holder is defined as a material risk taker under the SMCR, and is required to have CeMAP Levels 1, 2, and 3, along with the relevant experience to fulfil the key responsibilities. 

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coach service teams to create a positive customer focused environment working to ensure positive employee engagement scores.
• Ensure that customer calls and correspondence are being processed within SLA and to the right level of quality.
• Work with the CX team to embed changes to improve service levels.
• Motivate and coach teams to deliver and enhance customer service levels.
• Ensure that Customer Journeys are mapped, fully understood, and accessible across Hodge and are used as the basis for change projects to ensure we are taking a customer first approach.
• Provide reporting to evidence how our customers feel about the service and then use this to improve the levels of service with tangible MI to support.
• Define the channel strategy (app, online, call-centre, e-mail, web chat, post, etc.) and ensure that customers receive a holistic experience – especially in the moments that matter.
• Develop level 1, 2, and 3 process maps and documentation for each customer journey.
• Use the process maps to ensure that effective risk and control frameworks are in place.
• Ensure that processes are in line with all applicable laws and regulations. Work with risk to validate this position and act when changes are required.
• Ensure that active feedback is being tracked and collated (Voice of the Customer, External Certifications, Customer Focus Sessions, QA, Complaints, Audit Findings, etc.).
• Use the customer journey’s, process maps, and active feedback to optimize processes to improve customer and colleague satisfaction, remove failure demand, and reduce costs while maintaining service. Ensure that these changes are being embedded effectively, producing MI to show the impacts of each change.

What we need from you:

Essential Experience:

• CeMAP Level 1,2,3 or the commitment to gain this qualification within 1 year.
• Financial Services experience, ideally within mortgages.
• Strong experience managing Customer Experience.
• Previous experience as a material risk taker would be preferred.

Skills/Knowledge required:

• Team Leadership, coaching, and employee engagement.
• Customer Services.
• Operational Management.
• Customer Experience and process optimization.
• Senior Stakeholder Management and Engagement.
• Budget Management.
• 3rd Party Supplier Management.
• Mortgages and Savings, including Credit Collections.
• Complaints Management.
• Risk and Control Frameworks.

In return we offer:

• Based in Cardiff City Centre operating in a highly flexible Hybrid workspace.
• 28 days Holiday with the option to buy more.
• Private Medical & Health Insurance
• Company pension contribution up to 15%
• Subsidised Gym Membership.
• Extensive learning and development programme

• Generous, personalised benefits package
• 4 days on top of annual leave for community and charity work
• Flexible working options

Please be aware that should we pursue your application, all our Financial Services employees will be expected to complete background checks to assess suitability for employment, these include; a criminal record, identity, sanctions, adverse finance, fraud prevention and reference checks to comply with our regulatory requirements.

Hodge is an advocate of being an equal opportunities employer, We believe in promoting equality and diversity which is central to our lives today. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and recognises the value a diverse workforce brings to an organisation.

ESG and sustainability are at the heart of everything we do and serves as a reminder of the responsibility we have to our stakeholders, customers, colleagues and the communities we operate in to use our position wisely. We’re currently exploring different certifications available and have done an initial review of how we think we’d fare, as we see this as a real opportunity for Hodge given our social purpose.