Location: London with significant remote working
Programme: Supported Hiring into interim, full time and part time roles
Start date: Flexible
Applications are now closed
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) is working in partnership with the Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) to set up a new dispute resolution service. As part of this project CEDR is partnering with Women Returners to offer interim, full time and part time opportunities in a number of roles for professionals who have taken an extended career break. Successful candidates who have taken a career break for 18 months+ will receive return to work coaching from Women Returners, internal mentoring, a buddy, and focused training to support your return to the workforce.
The BBRS (www.thebbrs.org) is a new non-profit organisation that has recently been set up to resolve disputes between eligible small and medium sized businesses and participating banks. It has been established in response to the commitments made by the banking and finance industry following the Simon Walker Review, which identified the need for an independent service to resolve historical and current complaints that have not previously had access to independent review. The BBRS will deliver an accessible and transparent service, giving eligible businesses the opportunity to have their complaint heard and reviewed independently.
Opportunities Available
There are a number of opportunities available for roles related to front line case handling and operational positions that all relate to CEDR’s work as the provider of dispute resolution services to the BBRS and its wider dispute resolution activity.
Customer Champion
As part of the BBRS process all bank customers will be allocated a Customer Champion who will be the main interface between the customer (who will generally not have any legal representation) and the BBRS. Their priority will be to guide customers through the process of taking their complaint to a Case Assessor who will have the power to make a determination on it. While they are not advocates, the Customer Champions will support customers at every step of the process and will be supported by Case Handlers who will back them up by way of setting out the details of complaints and collating supporting evidence from the customer. Their combined input will be part of what makes BBRS different as a service, ensuring a real degree of care and personalisation.
CEDR is looking for candidates with:
- Strong listening skills, including the ability to demonstrate empathy;
- Resilience and the ability to handle difficult conversations and work with vulnerable individuals;
- High standard of writing – professional plain English;
- Mediation skills are desirable (although for the right candidate, CEDR can provide training);
- Legal qualifications are not required, although candidates will need to demonstrate that they are familiar with the business challenges faced by small and medium sized businesses; and
- Clearly independent – former bank employees are unlikely to be acceptable to SME customers.
Case Handler
Case Handler’s will work closely with Customer Champions as a team. The Handlers role will be to compile the case file that will be submitted to the bank during the case assembly and response phase, and ultimately to the Case Assessor who will make the final determination on the dispute. This will require the review of files submitted by the customer, preparing the information in a logical structure and drafting a submission of the issues the customer wishes to submit to the Case Assessor.
CEDR is looking for candidates with:
- A combination of good organisation and written communication skills, including the ability to write in professional plain English;
- Individuals who have worked in a para-legal or other case assembly role; and
- Familiarity with the business challenges faced by small and medium sized businesses.
Head of Services
The Head of Service is a senior management role who will be responsible for ensuring the smooth operation of all the services CEDR will be providing to BBRS. They will work closely with a counterpart at the BBRS and report to CEDR’s Director of Dispute Resolution Services. To be considered for this role, you will need to offer extensive experience at senior management level within a multi-channel customer services environment, including a track record of implementing service improvement initiatives.
CEDR is looking for candidates with:
- At least 10 years’ experience working in Dispute Resolution or similar field;
- Previous experience in running teams of 25 or more;
- A minimum of 5 years’ management and operations experience, including change management;
- Project management skills and ability to ensure deadlines are met without supervision;
- Experience with use of case management systems;
- Great attention to detail, with impeccable verbal and written English skills; and
- A legal qualification, training as a mediator and/or experience of working as an adjudicator or arbitrator in the consumer field would be advantageous.
Quality Assurance Adjudicator
After completion of in-house training, the successful candidate will undertake individual adjudications across a range of industries, acting at all times with full independence and integrity so as to produce consistently fair and reasonable decisions based on the law, the evidence and the facts in the circumstances of each case. In addition, the role involves supporting the Adjudicator team in the effective delivery by our panel of c150 ADR Officials of adjudication and arbitration outcomes to a very high level of excellence. Adjudication is a quasi-legal function and the role will require the successful candidate to become skilled in the areas of law that relate to our work across multiple industries. The successful candidate will be a hardworking and driven legally qualified professional. While experience is not required, preference will be given to those who have completed the academic phase of their professional training and can demonstrate an interest in ADR.
CEDR is looking for candidates with:
- A law degree;
- Excellent written and grammatical skills with a high attention to detail and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely;
- Ability to prioritise and multi task under pressure to tight deadlines;
- Solid problem-solving skills; an ability to identify, risk assess, propose and apply solutions to issues in real time;
- Good team worker who supports colleagues across the organisation;
- Strong IT skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Office packages and the ability to learn new systems and processes as required; and
- A professional manner and the self-confidence to deal with senior client contacts.
Personal Attributes
Along with the professional experience listed above, CEDR is looking for candidates with the following attributes:
- You will be a team player that can provide the initiative, drive and flexibility that working in a small organisation requires
- Strong decision-making skills
- Excellent listening and empathy skills for customer facing roles
- Good interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal
- A methodical approach to work with a strong focus on accuracy
Why CEDR?
CEDR is one of the worlds’ best known mediation and alternative dispute resolution services. Its mission is to reduce the impact and cost of conflict by providing society with skills and solutions for effective dialogue, and to bring about sustainable change.
To achieve this, CEDR operate in four main ways:
- Promoting mediation through events, schemes and services.
- Providing dispute resolution for individuals, businesses, and other organisations.
- Training mediators – to date, we’ve trained over 5,000 mediators worldwide.
- Offering consultancy to organisations to help prevent and resolve conflict.
CEDR’s workforce consists of circa 70 staff based at its London headquarters; however, since the COVID19 crisis the organisation has been working largely remotely and intends to embrace flexible working permanently. Its workforce is dynamic and diverse, working on the basis that the organisation is only as good as the people who work there, CEDR’s values of humanity, integrity, transformation, independence and tenacity run through everything we do, both externally and internally. CEDR is a place where individual ideas and contributions are not only valued but actively encouraged, the workforce are driven and dedicated to the company mission (Better conflicts, better outcomes, better world), and people are at the heart of the organisation, working collaboratively and building strong relationships along the way which stand the test of time.
How to Apply
Please submit your CV and cover letter stating the role you are interested in to Annmarie Savill recruitment@cedr.com. Please include that you found out about the role via Women Returners.
You can find out more about these opportunities by visiting CEDR here.
Closing date for applications is Friday 18 September, 2020.
For any questions regarding the roles, please email recruitment@cedr.com