UTILITY ACCOUNT RELATIONS SPECIALIST I

* * * This selection process will staff a training class to begin February 18, 2022 * * *

Tucson Water is the second largest water utility in Arizona, serving over 730,000 customers over a 390 square mile service area. Tucson Water is recognized internationally as a leader in water conservation, sustainability, and service. Our employees are proud stewards of our community’s most precious natural resource, working to embody the utility’s motto of “Pride in Service.”  

The Utility Services Solution Center is a medium sized fast-paced call center environment. Our Solution Center handles approximately 270,000 accounts and receives approximately 42,000 calls per month - with specialists averaging 80 to 100 calls per day. Aside from Water and City Environmental Services refuse accounts, they also handle the billing for Pima County Wastewater.

The majority of calls will require evaluation and action by the specialist, and will include initiating and/or discontinuing water, trash or sewer services, assisting customers with sewer billing questions, initiating refuse service for a residential customer, delinquent customers and assisting customers with bill inquiries. To maintain quality assurance, all incoming and outgoing calls are recorded. Utility Account Relations Specialists are evaluated and monitored monthly for quality assurance and provided feedback.

The Solution Center hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Saturday 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. Specialists must be available to work any hours between this time.  Hours and days are subject to change based on business need. In the first year, Specialists will receive, approximately twelve weeks of classroom training. During this period, Specialists are expected to be present every day between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Training will include complete billing system and procedural training, time listening and taking inbound customer calls.  

This position is currently a telecommuting position. Telecommuting is temporary due to the pandemic and may change based on business necessity. Successful candidates will work from home and must abide by the terms and guidelines in the City of Tucson Telecommuting Administrative Directive 2.01-19 to include:

• Must have a minimum of 50 Mbps to connect to the internet
• Shall designate and maintain a dedicated workspace that is quiet, clean, and safe, with adequate lighting and ventilation

• Provides seamless customer service demonstrating tact and persuasion when dealing with customers who may be or become irate or distraught.
• Provides customer service in a high volume environment to utility customers by answering a variety of customer questions to help resolve complaints and problems related to the utility billing process, researching inquiries and discrepancies, following up on complaints and concerns and coordinating and communicating with field personnel.
• Processes activations, terminations, and transfers of utility service; checks for completeness and accuracy of transaction. Assists customers with high bill inquiries and generates service requests for field personnel.
• Receives and documents payments, reviews customer billing accounts to ensure accuracy of applications of payments, assists customers with payment adjustment eligibility, and calculates figures and amounts.
• Processes payment plans and payment extensions for past due and delinquent customer accounts. Assists customers in paying over the phone or online; assists customers with water outages and water quality concerns. Orally explains information to the public, including requirements of City policies.
• Performs routine clerical duties such as preparing and maintaining files and records, distributing mail, entering data into a computerized system, maintaining customer accounts, and writing routine correspondence.

Minimum Education Level & Type: High School Diploma or G.E.D.

Minimum Experience Qualifications: At least 1 year experience answering a multi-line telephone involving heavy telephone contact, billing, complaint resolution, and customer service in a high call volume environment

Must have and maintain a minimum of 50 Mbps to connect to the internet.

Shall designate and maintain a dedicated workspace that is quiet, clean, and safe, with adequate lighting and ventilation.

• The on-line CritiCall Practical Assessment will be conducted December 17 through December 20, 2021 

Part I Practical Assessment : is an on-line assessment that utilizes computer software to simulate a call center environment to assess the following skills: reading comprehension, cross referencing, keyboarding and data entry, mathematics, map reading, and proofreading. 

Applicants must successfully pass Part I in order to continue with Part II. Applicants will have a 4-day window to complete Part I of the exam. Part I  can take up to 1 hour and 30 minutes and will expire at midnight  on December 20, 2021 (Arizona time). Please be sure to allow ample time to complete the exam within the allotted time frame and prior to the exam expiration time. Applicants who do not complete the test on time will not be considered.

NOTE: Qualified applicants will receive the test link from onlinetesting@invitations.testgenius.com by 5:00pm (Arizona time) on December 16, 2021.  However, the link will not be active until 12:00am (Arizona time) on December 17, 2021, and will expire at midnight (Arizona time) on December 20, 2021.  

Please ensure your browser accepts emails from onlinetesting@invitations.testgenius.com and check your email account regularly; this may include your junk box/spam filter. The test is fully compatible with the latest version of Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. Safari users will have to follow the onscreen instructions after clicking the test link for enabling the auto-play function within the Safari browser. Please note, Microsoft is no longer supporting Internet Explorer thus the test may not be compatible with the Internet Explorer browser.

Part II Virtual Microsoft Teams Mock Phone Call/Role Play: please be advised that your electronic device must have a camera, audio, and a microphone. Applicants who pass Part I will receive an email invite by 7:00pm on December 22, 2021, to schedule a virtual Teams interview. The window to schedule a mock call will only be available for a few hours. Interviews will be held December 27, 2021. Applicants will receive the mock call invite and materials needed for the exercise the day prior to their scheduled Part II appointment. The documents are required in order to complete the exercise and applicants are highly encouraged to print the documents. 

Reminder: Please check your email account regularly; this may include your junk box/spam filter.

Upon completion of all examination processes, the highest scoring applicants will be placed on the Civil Service Employment List.  An applicant's ranking on the Civil Service list will be based on their final score which will be calculated as:    

• 40% of your rating for CritiCall Practical Assessment
• 50% of your rating for Virtual Teams Mock Phone Call/Role Play
• 10% of your Education and Work Experience

Applicants will be notified of their status on or after January 3, 2022. Hiring will occur in rank order and contingent offers will be made the week of January 10, 2022.

Veterans, Native American, or Disability preference points will be added to the final score for those that are placed on the Civil Service Employment List.  If you qualify for preference points as outlined in the Employment Profile, you must upload your documentation as part of the application process. You may also email it to Roxie.Escarcega@tucsonaz.gov. The DD 214 must be a copy that indicates characterization of service.  

If you are in need of Americans with Disabilities Act-related accommodation during the testing process, please contact Roxie Escarcega at (520) 837-2138 at least 48 hours prior to the evaluation.

**The City of Tucson values the safety of our employees, our residents, our community, and our visitors.  In support of these values, if you are selected for this job, you must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, except when vaccination is not medically advised or violates your sincerely held religious beliefs. If you are invited to join our team, you must submit proof that you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to your initial HR representative, or you must request an exemption from your representative. New employees must either provide proof of vaccination or be granted a medical or religious exemption before working with the City of Tucson.**

To ensure accurate payroll information for tax purposes, the successful candidate will need to provide their original Social Security Card or original letter from the Social Security Administration with their social security number prior to beginning work with the City of Tucson.

The City of Tucson hires lawful workers only - US citizens or nationals and non-citizens with valid work authorization - without discrimination. Federal immigration laws require all employers to verify both the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. In its efforts to meet the law's requirements, the City of Tucson participates in the E-Verify program established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to aid employers in verifying the eligibility of workers.

Retired City of Tucson employees receiving benefits from the Tucson Supplemental Retirement System who are considering reemployment with the City should be aware that pursuant to Section 22-37(g) of the Tucson City Code, retirement benefits shall be suspended during the period of reemployment with the City of Tucson unless you have been separated at least twelve consecutive months before returning to work AND you return to a non-permanent employment classification. Creditable service does not accrue during any reemployment period.