Income Recovery Officer

Purpose of Role

You will be responsible for achieving and maintaining the lowest possible levels of current rent and former tenancy arrears and ensure we maximise income recovery. You will be guided by the area manager where required and work with the housing management team to ensure delivery of the arrear target.

Duties

• To ensure that excellent customer service standards are achieved and core business objectives and performance indicators are met.
• To be responsible for meeting individual targets that are set for the patch.
• Overall responsibility for former tenant arrears on your patch
• To ensure that Universal Credit cases are registered onto the Academy database.
• To effectively reduce all accounts in arrears to meet the monthly targets. This will include printing arrears reports and letters, drafting letters and instructions for possession proceedings, serving legal notices, home visits, applying for direct payments, office interviews, telephone interviewing, giving evidence in court on behalf of the Council and applying for discretionary grants to support tenants so they can sustain their tenancy.
• To communicate and liaise effectively with the housing benefit service, universal credit, social services and other relevant agencies.
• To help residents complete Universal Credit applications where required and to assist them with any appeals to backdate claims.
• To respond to arrears correspondence for the patch and provide information in an appropriate format to the area manager to reply to formal complaints concerning rent arrears.
• To attend meetings as directed by the area manager.
• Devise own work programme (monitoring accounts on a weekly basis, as well as approaches, systems and practices) to ensure targets are met and identify where improvements can be made and work with colleagues to achieve organisational priorities and quality services -This will include evening and occasional weekend work.
• To ensure record keeping is up to date and all recovery actions and correspondence are recorded on the Council’s database.

Skills Required

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral).
• Excellent IT skills (Word, Exel, Outlook and housing databases).
• Understand and deliver income collection within a social housing context
• Have a good knowledge of legal proceedings in respect of rent arrears
• Excellent negotiation skills

If you feel you would be able to contribute positively to the Brockley PFI contract please apply with an up-to-date CV and cover letter to Kate.Donovan@pinnaclegroup.co.uk by 28 September 2019.

If you require any further details about the Income Recovery Officer position, please contact Kate Donovan on 0207 635 1200