Debt and Complaints Officer

Why Southwark?

At Southwark Council, we’re passionate about creating a fairer, cleaner, and more inclusive borough. Our Environment, Sustainability and Leisure department plays a key role in delivering Southwark’s priorities around climate change, air quality, and streets for people.

As one of London’s most diverse boroughs, Southwark is an exciting and dynamic place to work and our teams are at the heart of improving services for residents, visitors, and businesses. We’re proud to invest in our people and offer excellent opportunities for development, progression, and flexible working.

What You'll Be Doing

As a Debt and Complaints Officer, you’ll join our Parking Services and Network Management team, helping us deliver an efficient, fair, and high-quality service to residents and visitors.

You’ll investigate and respond to complex parking debt cases, complaints, and appeals often at the later stages of enforcement. This includes:

• Handling correspondence and appeals in line with legislation and council procedures.
• Managing cases referred to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) and liaising with Enforcement Agents.
• Attending adjudication hearings and preparing case evidence.
• Ensuring high standards of customer service, helping residents understand outcomes clearly and fairly.
• Supporting the continuous improvement of our service, identifying trends, and mentoring new team members.

This is a great opportunity to step up in customer service and case management, using your judgement and problem-solving skills to make fair, balanced decisions that have a real impact for Southwark’s residents.

What We're Looking For

We’re seeking someone with:

• Experience in parking enforcement, complaints handling, or debt recovery.
• A strong understanding of civil parking and traffic enforcement legislation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain accuracy under pressure.
• A customer-focused mindset, with confidence to handle difficult conversations and resolve issues effectively.

If you’re organised, resilient, and enjoy finding solutions, this could be the next step in your career.

Additional Information

• You’ll report to the Debt and Complaints Manager within the Parking Services and Network Management team.
• One role is permanent, and one is a 2-year fixed-term contract.
• We offer a supportive environment, hybrid working, generous annual leave, and a pension scheme.

Closing date; Sunday 16 November 2025

Interviews: W/c 24 November 2025

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interview schemes for specific groups of people. To qualify, you’ll need to meet the shortlisting criteria for the role as listed in the Person Specification, and declare that you meet with one of the following criteria in your application:

• Current or former member of the Armed Forces (including Reservists)
• Care leavers or currently in Local Authority Care
• A Southwark Council Redeployee
• If you have a disability or long-term health condition (as defined under the Equality Act 2010)

We’re an organisation that is passionate about our people and understand that the richness of diversity is essential to providing the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council wide commitment to tackle racial inequality via the Southwark Stand Together programme.

Attachments

• Click here to view the Job description and Person specification