Customer Relations Manager

This is a fantastic opportunity to lead a high-profile, council-wide service at the heart of how Lincolnshire County Council listens to, learns from and responds to our residents. As Customer Relations Manager, you will lead our corporate complaints and customer feedback service, ensuring that concerns are handled fairly, sensitively and in line with statutory requirements - but more than that, you will help us turn feedback into learning, improvement and better outcomes for people who rely on our services. You'll be joining a supportive, experienced Business Support leadership team, working at pace with senior leaders, elected Members and frontline services to resolve issues early, improve customer experience and strengthen trust in public services across Lincolnshire. About the role This is a senior and influential role with responsibility across all Council services, including Children's and Adult Social Care. You will:

• Fulfil the statutory role of Complaints Manager for the authority, ensuring compliance with legislation, regulations and the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Complaint Handling Code
• Lead and develop a skilled customer relations team, setting clear standards for quality, empathy and timely resolution
• Oversee corporate complaints, statutory social care complaints, MP enquiries, Ofsted-related complaints and representations
• Work closely with senior managers, Corporate Leadership Team, Members, Legal Services and external bodies to resolve issues quickly and proportionately
• Use insight from complaints, compliments and feedback to identify trends, spot risk early and support service improvement
• Produce clear performance reporting, including the Council's annual complaints report, and present findings to senior audiences, Scrutiny and Audit
• Act as the Council's point of contact with the Ombudsman, ensuring high-quality responses and embedded learning
This role offers genuine scope to influence culture, embed learning and help shape how the Council continuously improves the way it serves residents. About you You will be a motivated and principled professional who is passionate about delivering fair, accessible and high-quality outcomes for customers. You will understand the impact that effective complaint handling and customer feedback can have on people's confidence in public services, and you will be driven by a desire to resolve issues well, learn from experience and help services improve. You will bring experience of working with complex, sensitive or contentious issues, using sound judgement, empathy and clear communication to build trust and reach proportionate resolutions. You will be comfortable navigating challenging situations, explaining difficult decisions clearly and sensitively, and working at pace while maintaining accuracy and professionalism. Experience of complaints handling, mediation, customer relations or dispute resolution in a public-facing or regulated environment would be particularly valuable. You will have the confidence and credibility to work constructively with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior leaders, elected Members and external bodies. You will be able to analyse complex information, identify patterns and risks, and translate insight from complaints and feedback into practical learning that improves systems, processes and customer experience. As a leader, you will be committed to developing and supporting others. You will value collaboration, reflective practice and continuous improvement, and you will be keen to foster a positive, inclusive team culture that puts customers at the centre of everything it does. Knowledge of statutory complaints frameworks, particularly within children's and/or adult social care, is desirable. However, we recognise that not every strong candidate will meet all criteria on day one. If you bring the right attitude, values, drive and commitment, we will provide training, support and development to help you grow into the role and succeed. Above all, we are looking for someone who wants to make a real difference - for our residents, our services and our organisation. Why join us? At Lincolnshire County Council, you'll be part of an organisation with real purpose - supporting children, families, adults and communities across a large and diverse county. We offer:
• The chance to make a visible, meaningful impact on how services respond to residents
• A supportive leadership culture that values learning, innovation and professional expertise
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Opportunities for professional development and regional networking
• A role where your work genuinely improves services, outcomes and trust in local government
If you are passionate about excellent customer experience, effective complaint resolution and using insight to drive improvement, we would love to hear from you., We have embraced new ways of working and hybrid working will be a feature of this role. You will be given a nominated contractual work base and you will be required to commute to this work base when necessary. Working arrangements regarding hybrid working will be discussed as part of the appointment process. Our technology platform and equipment is very good enabling you to connect and collaborate remotely. We require that you have in place good connectivity, and we will discuss during the recruitment process if support with this is needed. Our values - collaborative, adaptable, eco-conscious, supportive, and responsible - guide everything we do. We're looking for candidates who share these values and bring them to life in their work, helping us build strong teams and make a real difference in the communities we serve.