Benefit Officer (Career Grade)

Benefit Officer (Career Grade)

Job description

As part of our Revenues and Benefits shared service between City of Lincoln Council and North Kesteven District Council, we are looking for a hardworking and enthusiastic individual to join our team. Whilst predominantly located at our Lincoln Office, you may be required, on occasion, to work at one of our offices in Sleaford and North Hykeham. 

With increased demands on our shared Revenues and Benefits service due to a range of legislation changes from central government as well as implementing further internal processes and improvements, resources are needed to help our service deal with these initiatives. You will be responsible for making assessments of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, with a key emphasis on working directly with customers to provide the best possible service. You will also need to have an understanding of Universal Credit assessments and how these impact on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support.

Please note this role is subject to a standard DBS check.

Provisional interview date: w/c Monday 8th April 2024.

Key responsibilities:

- Work under the general direction of the Benefits Team Leaders to make timely and accurate assessments of entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit/support, via a customer-facing ‘one stop’ approach.

- To undertake qualitative checks of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit/support assessments, to ensure payments have been made correctly and subsidy claimed appropriately.

- To recover overpaid Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Administrative Penalties.

- To assist with all aspects in the administration of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit/ support and Discretionary Housing Payments, as required.

- To promote a “one stop” approach to service delivery, and to demonstrate an understanding of the duties and responsibilities of other sections within the Directorate and the Council as a whole, in particular Customer Services, Revenues and Housing.

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:

- Previous experience of working in an organisation dealing benefits, and the recovery and collection of outstanding debts.

- Ability to work effectively as part of a team.

- Experience of working in a customer-facing environment.

- Knowledge of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit legislation.

- Ability to accurately assess all types of standard and passported Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit claims.

- Excellent communication skills both oral and written.

- Ability to work flexibly in line with business requirements.

- Knowledge of Council Tax legislation.

Benefits we offer:

- Flexible working options / Flexi time scheme.

- Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays.

- Local government pension scheme (currently 23.4% employer contribution).

- Employee online discount scheme (including cinema, retail/supermarkets and homeware/tech).

- Health and Wellbeing support.

- Sustainable Travel Options (Tax free bike scheme and discounted City parking).

For an informal discussion, please contact Jo Moore, Benefits Team Leader on 01522 873346.

In order to complete your application, please download and read the job description attached. You will find the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification section, so please ensure you address this in your supporting statement.

All external candidates are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks and a 6 month probationary period. 

As a Disability Confident Scheme employer, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the vacancy.