***Internal Applicants Only***

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: £41,133 - £43,680

Contract Type: Full time Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 03/03/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): 05/03/2026

Reference: 2025

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

About the role:

Responsible for processing Stage 2 complaint investigations that require independent review, typically where a complainant remains dissatisfied with an earlier response. The role involves conducting thorough impartial investigations that examine what happened, whether processes were followed, and whether the organisation acted fairly and reasonably. This requires careful analysis of evidence, clear reasoning and a strong commitment to objectivity.

Working closely with service areas to gather detailed information, interview staff where necessary, and test the robustness of the initial response. Identify service failures, determine whether the complaint should be upheld, and recommend appropriate remedies and learning actions. Compiling responses that are transparent and defensible on how the conclusion was reached.

The role also contributes to learnings by identifying patterns, systemic issues, or areas for service improvement. Providing high-quality case summaries, presenting findings to senior leaders and helping services implement recommendations. Strong analytical skills, diplomacy, professional curiosity, and the ability to write clear, evidence-based reports are essential to success in this role.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

Manage Stage 2 investigations

Liaise with residents in person to understand reasoning for complaint escalation

Collect detail information from services.

Gather and analyse evidence

Produce high quality investigation reports

Work collaboratively with service areas

Promote learning and improvement

Support governance and reporting

Line management responsibilities

Qualifications and Requirements:

Extensive experience managing complex and sensitive complaints, ideally within a local authority setting

Proven track record of undertaking independent investigations, analysing evidence and producing high-quality written findings

Strong understanding of statutory and corporate complaints procedures, including timescales, escalation routes and reporting requirements

Knowledge of good complaint handling and expectations of bodies such as the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman

Advanced written communication skills and the ability to produce clear, structured, evidence-based responses

Ability to work autonomously and exercise sound judgement, and escalate risks appropriately.

Working knowledge of iCaswork an advantage

Terms and conditions:

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
Satisfactory declaration of interest;
As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Jo Tanner, Interim Head of Complaints at jo.tanner@walthamforest.gov.uk or 07817 953939.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.