Who are we?

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

Join our team and help us continue to improve quality of life, by bringing people together to get the most out of life.

SWR is part of FirstGroup, the largest rail operator in the UK and second largest bus operator in the UK outside London. FirstGroup operates services throughout the UK and Ireland, with over 30,000 employees providing services that make travel smoother and life easier.  FirstGroup works hard to reduce its impact on the environment, introducing cleaner and more environmentally responsible methods of transport.

About the job

Working as part of the wider Customer Services team, this role will be accountable for ensuring all administration tasks are completed accurately and efficiently. Duties include processing customers refunds, updating case records on our Omnichannel solution Zendesk, fulfilling various customer requests for travel packs, maintaining and updating databases.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Processing refunds for customers through multiple systems, ensuring adherence to processes and policies.
• Handling incoming white mail, ensuring it is uploaded to our Customer Information Management system and allocated to the correct enquiry and queue.
• Preparing outgoing letters to customers and creating various customer packs to be sent out when requested.
• Processing staff travel requests from other departments within SWR.
• Creating cycle reservations for customers when requested.
• Collaborate with colleagues within the Contact Centre and across the wider functions within SWR to improve customer service.
• Ensure that you meet any personal performance targets that may be set and actively participate in any Team goals.
• Participate in any Team Briefings, ensuring that you become familiar with any changes that may impact customers and your working environment.
• Remain familiar with the contents and how to use any relevant training and reference sources.
• Become and remain conversant with the features and functionality of any business equipment and software provided for your use.
• Ensure that any event that has or could seriously damage the customer experience is relayed to a CSC Manager.
• Ensure that any changes to ticketing arrangements, procedures or the train service that are discovered in the course of your duty is relayed to your Team Leader promptly.

You'll need:

• Proven ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Ability to work effectively as part of wider team
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Good general education.
• Highly motivated and energetic
• Good Microsoft office skills
• Excellent IT skills 

Applicants who require a visa must have 6 months remaining at the time of their appointment. Training is full time and you must be able to commit to this.

About the location

Overline House is conveniently situated overlooking Southampton Central Station and is easily accessible by public transport. The station is very local to West Quay, a hub for retailers and restaurants, and provides an excellent link between London, Coastal areas and the Isle of Wight.

Working pattern

On average you will be working 16 hours per week. 

Hours to be spread across Monday- Friday, between the hours of 08:00-17:00 (this can be discussed at interview). 

The Reward

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:

• Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
• Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)
• 75% discount on many other train operating companies
• Full training and support with development
• Large range of exclusive retail offers
• Excellent pension scheme

We all belong at SWR. FirstGroup's vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, across its group of businesses, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below.  We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/