
Head of Customer Engagement
Surrey County Council
Woking, Surrey£73,317 per annumPermanent36Closes: 2026-06-18
Job Introduction
We are committed to the development of our workforce.
This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council
. We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all.
This permanent role has a starting salary of £73,317 per annum, based on a 36 hour working week.
We support hybrid working with the right balance. We come together in person for 2 days per week on average and support working from home the rest of the time.
We have a great opportunity to join our CFLL Customer Engagement team as a
Head of Customer Engagement
.
Our Offer to You
26 days’ holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years’ service
Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
A generous local government salary related pension
Up to 5 days of carer’s leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents
About The Role
This is a key leadership role with responsibility for CFLL customer engagement. You will lead a diverse service, bringing together customer relations, user voice and participation functions to ensure a consistent, high-quality approach to complaints management, feedback, engagement and participation.
You will oversee statutory complaints services, ensuring compliance with legal frameworks and council policies, while modelling a solution-focused, outcome-driven approach to resolving concerns and improving the experience of residents. You will lead the development and delivery of our User Voice and Participation work, ensuring that children and families are actively involved in shaping services and influencing service delivery and performance.
A key part of the role is driving system learning and service improvement. You will ensure that intelligence from complaints, feedback and engagement activity is translated into insight, informing planning, performance management and quality assurance across the directorate.
This role carries some line management responsibility as you will lead and develop teams and functions across customer engagement and advocacy, providing clear leadership, direction and support to deliver high-quality services.
Your Application
In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills, experience and align with our behaviours:
Significant senior leadership experience in customer engagement, complaints or related functions within a complex organisation
Strong knowledge of statutory frameworks relating to children’s services, complaints, FOI and subject access requests
A proven ability to develop and deliver strategy, drive service improvement and embed new ways of working
Experience of leading diverse or complex teams and managing budgets effectively
Strong analytical skills, with the ability to translate insight into tangible service improvement
Excellent communication, influencing and partnership-working skills at senior level
Experience of leading through change, with strong organisational and political awareness
To apply, we request that you submit a CV and personal statement outlining your suitability for the role.
Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description & Our
Life at Surrey handbook
to get an insight into working at Surrey.
The job advert closes at 23:59 on the 18
th
of June with interviews planned to follow.
Contact Us
Please contact Luke Entwistle for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.
An enhanced DBS ‘Disclosure and Barring Service’ check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) check will be required for this role.
Local Government Organisation (LGR)
Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to new unitary councils in April 2027. Your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of these new councils, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.
Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents! Please see more information here:
Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council
Our Commitment
We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.
Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we’re committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.