Customer Service Specialist General Description of Position Under general supervision the Customer Service Specialist is responsible to assist the public including: surveyors, engineers, realtors, financial institutions, title companies, and other public and private agencies; with acquiring information relating to a wide variety of topics including: property location, property value, tax exemptions, and ownership. In addition, this position requires knowledge of the assessment process, exemptions available to the public, mobile home titles, tax value, the tax roll process, and general information related to the services and programs offered by the Polk County Property Appraiser's office; and other elected officials and governmental offices. A deputy in this position performs various data entry functions utilizing data entry software and hardware. Work involves a variety of tasks with a focus on ensuring excellent customer service standards, responding efficiently to customer inquiries and maintaining high customer satisfaction. Essential Duties and Responsibilities 1. Delivers friendly customer service while providing assistance to customers requesting information on services, programs and general information offered by the Polk County Property Appraiser and other elected official / governmental offices. 2. Assists the public by locating properties, making copies of maps and aerial photography, and providing information regarding: assessment and tax information, property values, deeds, mobile home transactions, and the tax roll process. 3. Assists the public by taking agricultural classification, exemption and portability applications; while ensuring the applicants understand the information necessary to qualify for and receive the classification / exemption. 4. Able to provide reliable and accurate information regarding the following: Exemption eligibility, Good Cause petitions, TRIM Notices, Split and Combine forms, Survey Control Sheets, and all forms and documents available on the PCPA website or received by the office. 5. Responds promptly to customer needs; solicits customer feedback to improve service; and responds to requests for service and assistance in a timely manner. 6. Opens and closes the office and the front counter which includes: Opening and closing doors of the office on time, logging on/off all front counter PCs, ensuring the front counter is clean and disinfected, and ensuring all necessary forms and documents are available for use at each customer service station at all times. 7. Receives, analyzes, prepares, processes and/or scans all incoming mail, address changes, returned mail/TRIM Notices/PO Cards, and data edit corrections for the department. 8. Review daily data edit report and/or run departmental edits and queries for data issues and inconsistencies and work to resolve those issues in a timely manner. 9. Responds to customer inquiries from telephone calls, emails, mail, and/or faxes; and maintains the PA office email mailbox. 10. Provide accurate, valid and complete information to customers and co-workers in accordance with Florida statutes and documented procedures, guidelines and policies. 11. Ability to add, subtract, multiply, use a calculator and scale, calculate acreage, use and navigate maps to find specific properties. 12. Must be able to handle and count money; utilize accounting software to maintain cash box, issue receipts, balance receipts at the end of the day; and provide deposits and corresponding reports to the finance department. 13. Operate various machines such as copiers, computers, fax machine, printers (large and small format) and scanning machines. 14. Ensure all data gathered and submitted for data entry purposes meet production, accuracy and uniformity standards necessary to ensure accurate assessment. 15. Ensure proper preparation of all documents by reviewing for completeness, legibility and overall workflow. 16. Maintains the confidentiality of personal identifying and location information including: names, physical, mailing, and street addresses, parcel ID, legal property description, neighborhood name, lot number, GPS coordinates, or any other descriptive property information that may reveal identity or home address pertaining to parcels owned by individuals that have received exempt / confidential status. 17. Performs other duties as assigned and must participate in switchboard coverage, departmental meetings, cross-training, educational courses, seminars, and job-sharing / job duty organizational efforts as directed. 18. Position requires driving and/or securing transportation to worksite and occasional travel to main office and/or satellite office locations (Bartow, Lakeland, Lake Alfred) depending on assigned office is required (occasionally on short notice), offsite training, and other required work-related locations. Education and/or Work Experience Any combination equivalent to experience and education that would likely provide the relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Education :

High School Diploma or

GED - AND

Experience :

Level I - At least 1 year full-time work experience providing customer service. Certificates, Licenses, Registrations Must possess and maintain a valid Florida Driver's License to operate a Polk County vehicle. To operate a personal vehicle for County business, must possess and maintain a valid Florida Driver License and retain the minimum amount of liability insurance coverage a vehicle operator must keep and maintain as required by Florida Statute 324.021 (7) (a)(b)(c). The Polk County Property Appraiser is an Equal Opportunity Employer . Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, genetic information, disability status, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Veterans' preference in appointment and retention will be provided in accordance with Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, where applicants are determined to be substantially equally qualified for a position. Eligible veterans and eligible spouses must submit the required supporting documentation at the time of application.

Job Type:

Full-time Pay:

$19.25 per hour

Benefits:

Dental insurance Flexible schedule Health insurance Paid time off Vision insurance

Education:

High school or equivalent (Required)

Work Location:

In person