Temporary - Customer Service Representative Senior - Electronic Communications

Minimum Qualifications
Education and/or Equivalent Experience:

• Graduation from an accredited high school or equivalent, plus four (4) years experience in billing, credit counseling, and customer service.

Licenses and Certifications Required:

• None.

Notes to Applicants
Serve as Austin 311 point of contact with other departments/divisions. Provide assistance to customer service representatives with difficult calls. Respond to complex customer requests, reach and process corrections to service requests. Receive escalated inquiries from customers and complete research required to resolve customer issues. Handle the Austin Energy outages process during off business hours. Provides 24/7 monitoring for systems utilized in the contact center. Provides leadership, work assignments, evaluation, training, and guidance to others in command center during overnight hours.

This position will lead and train others working in the 311 Call Center, reporting to System Operations under 311.

Employment Application:

• The City of Austin employment application is an official document; incomplete applications will not be considered.

• Please be sure to detail on the application all current and previous employment that you wish to be considered as part of your qualifications.

• The Employment Record should be complete with job titles, employment dates, job duties, functions, and responsibilities for each position held. Your application must include an explanation and dates of unemployment. Starting salary will be based on overall relevant experience from your application.

• Resumes will not be accepted and statements such as “see resume” will not be accepted. You may use “N/A” for fields that are not applicable.

• Please note that Austin Energy may close the job posting at any time after 7 days from the date of the initial advertisement. Once the job posting has closed, applications cannot be changed.

Assessments:

• Your skill level in some of the competency areas for this job may be assessed through skills testing.

If you are selected as a top candidate:

• Verification of your education (which may include high school graduation or GED , undergraduate and/or graduate degrees) will be required. You must provide proof of education from an accredited organization/institution.
• If you are identified as a top candidate and are in the military or a veteran, you will need to provide a copy of your DD-214 prior to confirming a start date.
• This position requires a criminal background investigation.

Work Schedule:

• This position is categorized as Essential Personnel with the City of Austin. Essential staff are required to work during emergencies or bad weather if they are scheduled to work and, in some cases, when they are not scheduled. Essential employees ensure the continuance of key operations for the City of Austin.
• Work hours may include after hours, holidays, and weekends.
• Shifts may change according to departmental needs.
• Employee may be required to work additional hours outside of regular work schedule.

Critical:

This position has been designated as a Critical Employee position. Critical Employees are considered necessary and vital and supports activities that impact City or department operations. This work can be done while at a designated work site or while working at an alternate work location. Critical employees who are able to work at an alternative work location are required to do so. Schedules may be modified, and employees may be reassigned to another area during extraordinary situations or emergency conditions to provide essential services.
Pay Range
$25.40 - $30.10
Hours
Must be able to work any combination of shifts starting between 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday-Saturday. Shifts are rotating shifts of eight and ten hours.

Austin 311 is 24×7, weekends and evenings will be required.

This position is considered critical and will require working outside of the regular schedule and core business hours.
Job Close Date 09/20/2024 Type of Posting External Department Austin Energy Regular/Temporary Temporary Grant Funded or Pooled Position Not Applicable Category Professional Location 1520 Rutherford Lane Austin, TX 78754 - Hybrid Preferred Qualifications
Preferred Experience:

• English/Spanish Bilingual.
• Professional experience in a customer service environment.
• Experience using client relations management software such as Motorola PremierOne.
• Experience tracking and monitoring service requests for customers.
• Experience working in a Government/Municipal 311 Contact Center.
• Experience conducting written correspondence with external and internal contacts.
• Experience with handling customer escalations on a daily basis.
• Leadership experience in a team environment

Duties, Functions and Responsibilities
Essential duties and functions, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following. Other related duties may be assigned.
Answers complicated customer requests or inquiries concerning services, products, billing, and equipment. Resolves customer issues with one call resolution. Prepares cases for support services and other city departments. Processes corrections to customer accounts. Extracts data from city databases and create reports. Coordinates mailings to customers. Maintains and files all generated service requests. Receives by email, fax, or phone, frontline and escalated inquiries from customers, contractors, and other city departments requiring research, support preparation and reporting. Verifies customer accounts and active services using various databases and software applications. Researches customer account information and history to explain services, charges, and adjustments. Logs customer complaints, creates and updates service requests, and routes to the appropriate department(s) and/or personnel.

Responsibilities - Supervisor and/or Leadership Exercised:

• May lead and train others.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Must possess required knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience and be able to explain and demonstrate, with or without reasonable accommodations, that the essential functions of the job can be performed.

• Knowledge of basic accounting and billing procedures.
• Knowledge of city practice, policy and procedures.
• Knowledge of good customer relations practices.
• Knowledge of credit collection practices.
• Skill in oral and written communication.
• Skill in handling multiple tasks and prioritizing.
• Skill in using computers and related software.
• Skill in planning and organizing.
• Ability to handle conflict and uncertain situations.
• Ability to work with frequent interruptions and changes in priorities.
• Ability to train others.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective communication and working relationships with city employees and the public.

Criminal Background Investigation This position has been approved for a Criminal Background Investigation. EEO/ADA
The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you require reasonable accommodation during the application process or have a question regarding an essential job function, please call (512) 974-3210 or Texas Relay by dialing 7-1-1.

The City of Austin will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on race, creed, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, age, religion, veteran status, disability, or sexual orientation. In addition, the City will not discriminate in employment decisions on the basis of an individual’s AIDS , AIDS Related Complex, or HIV status; nor will the City discriminate against individuals who are perceived to be at risk of HIV infection, or who associate with individuals who are believed to be at risk.

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).
* The minimum qualifications for this position are graduation from an accredited high school or equivalent, plus four (4) years experience in billing, credit counseling, and customer service. Do you meet these qualifications?

• Yes
• No

* Are you bilingual with the ability to speak fluently and write in English and Spanish?

• Yes
• No

* Please describe your experience using client relations management software such as Motorola PremierOne. Be sure to include job title(s), your role and job duties.
(Open Ended Question)
* Please describe your experience tracking and monitoring service requests for customers. Be sure to include job title(s), your role and job duties.
(Open Ended Question)
* Please describe in detail your experience working in a government/municipal 311 contact center.
(Open Ended Question)
* Please describe in concise detail your experience conducting written correspondence with external and internal contacts. Be sure to include job title(s), your role, and job duties.
(Open Ended Question)
* Which of the following best describes your proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, specifically with Word, Excel, and Outlook?

• No experience
• Basic: create/edit simple documents, spreadsheets, & emails
• Intermediate: create/edit a variety of documents & spreadsheets; reformat document features such as color, font style and size of text, change page size/width, & filter/sort data fields
• Advanced: create/edit complex documents & spreadsheets; integrate features such as tables, charts, mathematic formulas, hyperlinks, graphics; data/mail merge, import data from one document to another

* Please describe in detail your experience handling customer escalations. Please include job title and years in position in your answer.
(Open Ended Question)
* This position is categorized as a Critical Personnel position. Critical Employees who are able to work at an alternative work location are required to do so. Schedules may be modified, and employees may be reassigned to another area during extraordinary situations or emergency conditions to provide essential services. Can you work this schedule as required?

• Yes
• No

* This position requires a criminal background check. By selecting the following, you are acknowledging that you understand if you are selected as a top candidate for this position, you will need a successful CBI to be hired.

• I acknowledge and understand this position requires a Criminal Background Check.

Optional & Required Documents

Required Documents Optional Documents

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