Service Whitby Associate

at  The Town of Whitby

Our team is highly skilled, passionate about our community, and we care. Let’s grow together.
Who We Are
In Whitby, we are dedicated to our work, our community, and each other. We work hard, we have fun, and we celebrate our successes.
The Town of Whitby is a community in transformation that is located in the heart of Durham Region in the eastern Greater Toronto Area. Whitby is the second-largest municipality in the region and one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada. Located on Lake Ontario and only an hour east of Toronto, the population of Whitby is expected to grow from 140,000 to more than 200,000 by 2031. Whitby’s Official Plan has been updated to establish new directions for Whitby’s planned growth and development; the protection of our natural and built environments; urban design intensification; sustainability; community improvement; and, new employment within this time frame.
The Town of Whitby combines a small town atmosphere with the sophistication and amenities of a larger urban centre. Whitby boasts two beautiful heritage downtowns, one of the finest recreational harbours with an award-winning marina, year round sports and recreation activities, parks, trails, and a robust arts and culture scene, all of which are part of the extraordinary amenities that Whitby residents enjoy every day.
Whitby has an exciting and aspiring future, with a community that is welcoming, growing and transforming. On our team, you can expect to make a difference through your work and have a direct impact on shaping our growing community. Creating an inclusive environment where employees experience job satisfaction and have rewarding careers is important to us. We live our values and foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, respect and engagement where people enjoy coming to work.
The Town of Whitby is a hybrid organization. This means staff are empowered to do their best work from various locations, as appropriate for the position.
We want to be the preferred employer for the most talented people who care about the Town of Whitby, and are excited and proud to serve our vibrant community.
Let’s grow together.
What You Will Get To Do
The successful candidate will have a positive impact on our corporate culture by demonstrating the Town’s core values, Collaborative, Accountable, Respectful, Engaged in their daily interactions with individuals at all levels of the organization, customers, community partners, external contacts and elected officials.
By effectively building positive rapport and relationships both internally and externally, the successful candidate will help us achieve our corporate mission that together, we deliver services that make a difference in our community.
The Service Whitby Associate role is focused on delivering seamless and accessible customer service, connecting with customers wherever they live, work, and explore.

Key responsibilities include:

• First Point of Contact: Creating one window for customers to deliver consistent, reliable, high-quality, and customer-centric services, serving as the primary contact for all customer interactions, providing timely support across various channels including phone, online, and in-person.
• Customer Inquiry Management: Efficiently manage a high volume of customer inquiries and requests using CRM software and other modern tools to ensure seamless service delivery.
• Payment Processing: Handling various payment methods, including property taxes, services, fines, permits, and licenses, while balancing daily floats and reconciling transactions.
• Inquiry and Issue Resolution: Independently handling inquiries and de-escalating customer complaints and issues by assessing their complexity and determining the most effective solutions – adapting service delivery methods to offer customers tailored services that align with their needs, schedules, and lifestyles.
• Resolution Coordination: Collaborating with multiple Town divisions, the Region 311 and other partners as required to address inquiries, resolve issues, process transactions, and manage service requests.
• Knowledge Management: Developing, maintaining, and updating standard operating procedures, knowledge articles, process maps, and job aids to support consistent and up-to-date corporate customer service standards, training, onboarding, and systems.
• Technical Proficiency: Utilizing advanced technical skills and modern software tools, such as call center technology, Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management system, Workday, and GIS, to improve customer interactions and provide an integrated, smooth, and efficient service delivery.
• Correspondence & Document Interpretation: Interpreting correspondence and legal documents such as mortgages, power of attorney, wills, and transfer deeds to ensure accurate resolution, processing and record keeping.
• Customer Service Transformation: Participating in projects aimed at optimizing the corporate customer experience and the evolution of Service Whitby and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.
• Emotional Intelligence: Applying empathy and emotional intelligence to quickly assess and address customer concerns, turning negative interactions into positive experiences, building trust and confidence with customers.
• Customer Engagement: Identifying new opportunities for communication and outreach to customers to strengthen connections and build relationships, leveraging data and experience to offer personalized service delivery that predicts and proactively responds to the customer’s evolving needs.
• Various other duties as assigned.

Who You Are
Our team is looking for someone who thrives in a dynamic and customer-focused environment that values continuous improvement and innovation in customer service. You are committed to building trust and confidence through personalized service delivery and are always looking for new opportunities to strengthen and build relationships with customers. Your passion for delivering exceptional customer service motivates you to actively contribute to various customer service transformation projects and enjoy connecting with customers wherever they live, work, and explore.
You excel at managing high volumes of customer inquiries across various channels, using your advanced technical skills to leverage modern software tools such as CRM systems, call centre technology, and operational systems to provide seamless and efficient service delivery. You are skilled in developing and maintaining knowledge databases, standard operating procedures, and job aids, ensuring that you and your colleagues have the knowledge and resources needed to provide the best service. Your critical thinking skills paired with your ability to focus on the right details allows you to quickly and accurately interpret and navigate complex documents, ensuring timely resolution, accurate processing and good record-keeping.
You are proactive, collaborative, and demonstrate sound judgment, diplomacy, and tact when working with multiple staff, divisions, levels of government, and elected officials to resolve inquiries and execute service requests. You clearly convey your thoughts, both verbally and in writing, and you are a creative problem-solver who can independently handle and de-escalate customer complaints with professionalism and composure. You possess a strong sense of empathy and emotional intelligence, and your commitment to inclusivity ensures that all customers feel valued and respected.
What You Bring To Our Team

As the successful applicant, you must possess:

• Two (2) year college diploma or a university degree in Business Administration, Office Administration, or Public Administration;
• Minimum of four (4) years of relevant customer service experience, preferably in more than one customer service operating divisions;
• Proficient in using modern software tools such as CRM systems, call centre technology, Workday ERP, GIS, and other customer service-related software to manage customer inquiries, process payments, and maintain accurate records;
• Strong skills in handling high volumes of customer inquiries across various channels, including phone, online, and in-person;
• Ability to independently manage and de-escalate customer complaints, providing timely and effective solutions;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to prepare detailed responses and updates for complex customer inquiries;
• Strong emotional intelligence and empathy to connect with customers and provide a positive service experience;
• Ability to assess and resolve complex customer issues by leveraging knowledge, experience, and available resources;
• Skilled in interpreting legal documents and applying critical thinking to ensure accurate processing and record-keeping;
• Experience in working collaboratively with multiple staff, divisions, levels of government, and elected officials to resolve inquiries, process transactions, and execute service requests;
• Ability to participate in customer service transformation projects and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives;
• Completion of post-secondary training in Customer Service delivery, Conflict Resolution, De-escalation, and Cultural Competence/Sensitivity would be an asset; and,
• Knowledge of the Municipal Act, the Municipal Elections Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and various other pieces of municipal-related legislation would be an asset.

Salary Range/Hourly rate:
$31.65 - $39.58
Hybrid information:
Frontline
Hours:
Current shifts are scheduled from Monday to Friday, either 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., or 8:15 a.m. – 4:15 p.m., thirty-five (35) hours per week. As Service Whitby evolves, hours of work may be subject to change. Shifts may be scheduled between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., Sunday to Saturday.
Closing Date:
February 6, 2025
Our commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Antiracism
At the Town of Whitby, we view holistic inclusion as the pathway to achieving healthy relationships, inclusive excellence and fostering a culture where everyone can thrive. We acknowledge our history—the good and the bad, promote social justice and address discrimination and inequities. We strive to create a workplace that encourages you to always bring your authentic self to work.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The Town of Whitby is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Applications from women and minority candidates are strongly encouraged. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Accommodation
The Town of Whitby is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs. Disability-related accommodation during the application process is available upon request.
We thank all applicants and advise that only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.
Personal information provided is collected under the authority of The Municipal Act, 2001 and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

• First Point of Contact: Creating one window for customers to deliver consistent, reliable, high-quality, and customer-centric services, serving as the primary contact for all customer interactions, providing timely support across various channels including phone, online, and in-person.
• Customer Inquiry Management: Efficiently manage a high volume of customer inquiries and requests using CRM software and other modern tools to ensure seamless service delivery.
• Payment Processing: Handling various payment methods, including property taxes, services, fines, permits, and licenses, while balancing daily floats and reconciling transactions.
• Inquiry and Issue Resolution: Independently handling inquiries and de-escalating customer complaints and issues by assessing their complexity and determining the most effective solutions – adapting service delivery methods to offer customers tailored services that align with their needs, schedules, and lifestyles.
• Resolution Coordination: Collaborating with multiple Town divisions, the Region 311 and other partners as required to address inquiries, resolve issues, process transactions, and manage service requests.
• Knowledge Management: Developing, maintaining, and updating standard operating procedures, knowledge articles, process maps, and job aids to support consistent and up-to-date corporate customer service standards, training, onboarding, and systems.
• Technical Proficiency: Utilizing advanced technical skills and modern software tools, such as call center technology, Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management system, Workday, and GIS, to improve customer interactions and provide an integrated, smooth, and efficient service delivery.
• Correspondence & Document Interpretation: Interpreting correspondence and legal documents such as mortgages, power of attorney, wills, and transfer deeds to ensure accurate resolution, processing and record keeping.
• Customer Service Transformation: Participating in projects aimed at optimizing the corporate customer experience and the evolution of Service Whitby and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.
• Emotional Intelligence: Applying empathy and emotional intelligence to quickly assess and address customer concerns, turning negative interactions into positive experiences, building trust and confidence with customers.
• Customer Engagement: Identifying new opportunities for communication and outreach to customers to strengthen connections and build relationships, leveraging data and experience to offer personalized service delivery that predicts and proactively responds to the customer’s evolving needs.
• Various other duties as assigned