Rent Income Officer & Financial Inclusion Officer

Job Title: Rent Income Officer & Financial Inclusion Officer

Job Description:

To deliver an effective rent income collection and recovery service in accordance with legislation, the Council’s policies, performance standards /targets and customer satisfaction requirements.

Role requirements & Duties:

To maximise rent collection in line with targets by making arrangements to recover rent arrears and to enforce related tenancy conditions with emphasis placed on early intervention
To monitor tenants’ rent accounts including parking accounts and take prompt action in accordance with the Councils rent collection procedures to prevent the accumulation of debt and homelessness
Creation and management of use and occupation accounts, ensuring effective transfer of payments and regular monitoring of cases
To provide advice on housing and other welfare benefits to tenants and assist them in maximising income and benefit entitlement
To keep up to date with changes to legislation and in particular the impact of Welfare Reform on both tenants and the organisation
To assist vulnerable tenants through referring to internal and external support agencies, where appropriate, to ensure that tenancies can be sustained and tenant’s needs are met
To be responsible for preparing timely and accurate reports on arrears case and attend Court, prepare all relevant Court papers, and represent the Council on individual arrears and possession cases
To conduct interviews and/or undertake home visits to tenants in connection with matters relating to rent payment and the recovery of arrears
To liaise with Neighbourhood Officers to ensure the delivery of coordinated and efficient services to each resident. Including updating household records on IT systems.
To attend the sign up of new tenancies and six-week new tenancy visits so that the tenant is given advice on what their responsibilities are in respect of rent payment as well as any benefit and debt management advice that they may initially need
Administration of payment methods including online, phone, payment cards and Direct Debits including creation and relevant amendments based on payment arrangements
Close liaison with the Sundry Debts Officer, ensuring former tenant arrears are identified and pursued promptly to maximise income collection before tenancy termination
To maintain appropriate and accurate records to comply with statutory and service wide reporting requirements. Proactively monitoring and reporting to the Rent Income Team Leader in respect of service delivery, performance indicators and targets
To share knowledge, learning and best practice with the team and to maintain an up to date knowledge of procedures to assist in the briefing and training of new staff
To work with other agencies and departments such as Housing Benefits, DWP, RBKC’s Fraud team, Solicitors and the Courts in delivering an efficient and effective service. Work closely with Finance Team to ensure any rent related issues/requests are promptly actioned
To adapt customer care to working practices through a customer- first approach, ensuring that customers are treated with respect and courtesy and experience an accountable service. To adhere to corporate standards of customer care in respect of answering correspondence, telephones and complaints
Whilst this job description attempts to cover the main duties and responsibilities of the post it is not exhaustive. The post holder is therefore expected to undertake any other reasonable duties within their capabilities and the scope of the post as specified by their line manager

Essential Skills:

Numeracy skills / IT skills
Knowledge of public sector housing issues
Knowledge of rent arrears issues
Customer service experience
Ability to draft memos / letters and reports to a good standard
Ability to communicate and negotiate effectively with residents, colleagues and workers in other agencies
Ability to keep accurate records
Ability to work with minimum supervision, show initiative and make decisions
You’ll have excellent communication skills both face to face and over the phone
Able to demonstrate excellent analytical and problem solving skills
Using your extensive leadership experience whilst managing a large team

Desirable:

Understanding of housing and welfare benefits.
Housing related degree/qualification

£20.86 p/hr (going up £0.81 p/hr after 3 months)