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Investigator (Coventry)

Make a positive difference to financial services

Contract: Permanent

Working hours: full time (35 hours pw) and part time (28 hours pw)

Salary: £31,238pa (full time), £24,990pa (part time)

Reporting to: Ombudsman Manager

Location: Friargate, Coventry

Start date: 16th September 2024

O ur permanent hybrid policy sees us all working at least four days across a fortnight in the office.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that plays a vital role in UK financial services. Every day we help resolve disputes between consumers, or small businesses, and their financial service providers.

The complaints we deal with vary. A customer might be having trouble with their bank account, struggling with payday loans, think an insurance pay out isn’t fair, or be worried about their mortgage.

If we believe a customer hasn’t been treated fairly, we’ll ask the business to put things right. If we think the business isn’t at fault, we’ll explain why. The decisions we make have a huge impact: they can be life-changing for individuals, and they provide insights which are useful for financial businesses.

By joining us as an Investigator, you’ll play a key role specifically in consumer credit products. Each case and each customer are different. No two days are ever the same and sometimes the work is challenging. But it’s a job that makes a real difference and you’ll be rewarded with generous benefits as well as job satisfaction.

Key responsibilities

As an Investigator new to the role, you’ll spend up to six months in our academy getting the training you need to make fair and reasonable decisions confidently. After that, you’ll work as part of a team, supported by an Ombudsman Manager, managing your own caseload and prioritising your work.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Investigating complaints about consumer credit products

• Managing your caseload effectively to reach targets

• Managing relationships with our customers – both consumers and financial businesses

• Examining evidence to get to the heart of each complaint

• Weighing up all sides of a story and assessing the relevant rules and regulations to make fair and reasonable decisions

• Communicating with empathy – listening carefully to both sides, asking the right questions and using sound judgement, and

• Communicating your findings clearly, explaining what you think and why through a clear and structured written response

Person specification

You’ll be a self-starter who can prioritise tasks and work well independently. You’ll have great people skills and an analytical, problem-solving mind.

You may have experience in customer services, sales or retail, in a legal/paralegal role, or have worked in casework, claims or investigative work for another public agency.

Essential Criteria

• Demonstrable experience working in consumer credit related products

• Experience making fair and balanced decisions, where you must articulate your thinking clearly

• Excellent communication skills, including a talent for listening and explaining things in clear language as well as good written English

• Experience providing excellent customer service with people who may be angry or upset

• Problem solving and finding constructive solutions

• Strong administrative skills and the ability to prioritise your workload

• Experience of working to meet targets or service level agreements

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge of financial products

• Relevant qualifications within consumer credit

• Experience in decision making or analytical roles for example, legal, paralegal, casework or claims

Why the Financial Ombudsman Service?

We’re a UK-wide service, with strong values and a diverse workforce, where you can be your authentic self. We’re committed to being a great place to work and to recruiting people from all backgrounds. So, as well as a competitive salary, we offer a great package of benefits, including:

• Core benefits including generous pension, life assurance, critical illness cover, income protection, personal accident cover, private medical insurance, virtual GP

• Optional benefits including childcare vouchers, travel insurance, technology scheme, cycle to work scheme, dining and lifestyle memberships, dental cover

• Holiday entitlement of 25 days, with the option to buy or sell extra days

• Discounts on your everyday shopping, from groceries and petrol to household goods and gift vouchers

• An Employee Assistance Programme offering professional support with legal, health and money issues

• Opportunities for personal and career development

Find out more about our work culture on our website, where we also have a dedicated careers page. You may also find it useful to check our LinkedIn page and Instagram.

How to apply

Go to the Financial Ombudsman Service careers site. Upload your CV, which should highlight relevant skills and experience and explain any gaps in your working life. Use the supporting statement box to demonstrate how you meet the minimum criteria. If you get through the initial screening round successfully, we’ll invite you to an online assessment.

Please bear in mind that we may close the application window for this role earlier than the date specified if there’s a large number of applications.

Proud to be an inclusive employer

Reflecting the communities, we serve helps us provide the best service to our customers. Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our success, so we welcome applications from women and other under-represented groups. As part of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter, we welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority candidates.

We’re proud to be a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader. This means that we will put disabled candidates through to the next stage of the recruitment process as long as they meet the minimum criteria for a role. (Exceptions may apply if we have so many applications, we can’t interview all the candidates who qualify under the scheme.)

If you’d like to speak to us about any reasonable adjustments you need, please email hrsupport@financial-ombudsman.org.uk and let us know your preferred method of contact.

You can find out more about our Diversity and inclusion strategy and plans on our website where you can also read our 2022 Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing report .