Sundry Debt Officer RBKC607411

Job Summary:

Salary range: £39,615 - £47,736 per annum (Pending pay award)
Work location: London
Hours per week: 36
Contract type: Temporary up to 12 months
Vetting requirements: Standard DBS Check
Closing date: 14th May 2023
Interview date: Week Commencing 29th May 2023

About Us:

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a vibrant place to live and work. Within the Council, we put our residents at the heart of decision-making, working in partnership to provide quality services that are responsive, efficient and effective. We want to be the best council, where our residents enjoy living and receive a high standard of customer care. We need to ensure that income owed to the council is collected so that it can be used to improve the homes and lives of our residents.

The Role:

As a Sundry Debt Officer, you will help us deliver an effective rent income collection and recovery service. You’ll lead on the recovery of a dedicated area of income collection including former tenant accounts and our Travellers Site rent accounts. You will work collaboratively with your peers to manage the Direct Debit payment process for the Rent Income Team.

Day-to-day, you will recover unpaid rent from former tenants; undertaking weekly monitoring of those accounts, contacting, tracing, arranging repayment plans and updating your actions on the Housing IT system. You would also manage a small number of rent accounts for the council’s Travellers Site by providing a supportive and inclusive service whilst maximising rent income. You would be required to give rent advice, housing benefit and universal credit related advice; negotiate repayment plans and where necessary undertake the council’s arrears escalation process. Managing the Direct Debit process would include extracting reports of failed payments for system updates. The work includes an interesting variety of tasks; undertaking probate searches, preparing reports on arrears , representing the council in court, liaising with stakeholder such as our internal Welfare Advisers, Neighbourhoods Team, external agencies including the DWP.

You will be working in a small team of five which forms part of a larger team of twenty and should be flexible to work in the north or south of the Borough. You’ll get plenty of flexibility, training, and support. While this is a hybrid role you will need to be onsite once a week to carry out surgeries and meet the public face to face.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information

About You:

You will have a good level of education and strong numerical and communication skills. Importantly, you’ll need a ‘can-do’ attitude and are able to get on well with other people as we serve a diverse community – including those from vulnerable and disengaged groups. As such, good customer service skills are a must, you would need to be resilient to the challenges of the role and determined to meet the targets set.

You’ll be working on former tenant accounts and current tenant accounts, making contact with people who live here and those that no longer live here. That’s why we’re looking for someone with knowledge of public sector housing issues and housing law in relation to rent recovery. Ideally, you will have some knowledge of rent arrears management, debt recovery procedures, and general state benefits knowledge although we will provide training.

You’ll need to problem-solve and innovate, work to timescales, and have the confidence to make a difference. And, with high levels of attention to detail, you’ll be at ease using databases, spreadsheets, and keyboards.

Please apply online explaining how you meet the requirements set out in the person specification and job description. CV’s alone will not be considered for this role.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.