Council Tax Billing Officer – Basildon Borough Council
Basildon, Essex
£20 per Hour PAYE / £25.65 Umbrella
Full Time, Temporary
Essex County Council (ECC) are delighted to be supporting Basildon Borough Council to recruit into their Council Tax Billing Officer position.
Working location: Basildon, Essex (Agile Working)
Contract type: Full Time 36.25 hour per week, Temporary for a 3-month period.
The purpose of this post is to play an active role in the Billing & Compliance team, ensuring the provision of a high quality, resident focused Revenues & Benefits service. With the emphasis on the accurate and timely administration of all aspects of Council Tax billing, including determining liability, applications and reviews for discounts and exemptions, and issuing of the bill. Staff will ensure that all work undertaken is in accordance with law, regulations and guidelines and handled as promptly and efficiently as possible.
The successful candidate will need to have experience in Council Tax and the CIVICA system.
The Opportunity
We are looking for a Council Tax Billing Officer who has experience and knowledge of Council Tax law and procedures are essential along with experience of using CIVICA Open Revenues.
The role will be for a three-month period working 36.25 hour per week between 8.30am – 5.15pm Monday to Friday. The role can be working from home on a full time basis with the option to attend the office if preferred. The successful candidate will be required to attend the Basildon Centre to collect homeworking equipment on the first day.
Accountabilities
* Day-to-day administration of Council Tax billing processes, whilst seeking to promote efficiency and continuous improvement.
* Interpretation of Council Tax legislation, ensuring that processes and decisions apply in accordance with law and policy guidelines.
* Administer the Council Tax Reduction Scheme in accordance with local policy and guidelines.
* Make decisions in respect of Council Tax liability, exemptions, discounts, reliefs and that notices are issued in a timely manner, referring any matters of doubt to a Senior Billing and Compliance officer.
* Maintain accurate local taxation records, whilst agreeing totals to Valuation Office Agency where appropriate.
* Undertake enquiries to identify discounts and exemptions for liability of Council Tax
* Verify and validate information, making all necessary determinations, notifying residents accordingly.
* Liaise with Visiting Officers in relation to establishment of liabilities and other queries, including the completion of new dwellings
* To maintain an awareness of current legislation, policy and guidance relating to Council Tax.
* Communicate with residents regarding all aspects of their accounts.
* Identify potential cases where an application for discretionary payments may be appropriate.
* To liaise with all internal and external partners as required.
* You must ensure that you comply at all times with the General Data Protection Act, relating to personal information held by the Council. Any employee who mis-uses, accesses or discloses personal data relating to a living individual without checking that it is to be used for an authorised purpose relevant to the Authority, may be prosecuted in a Criminal Court, as well as facing disciplinary action
* Any other duties appropriate to the post: These other duties must be equivalent to or below the salary and status of the role and, where appropriate, under the Equality Act 2010, due consideration must be given to any employees with a “protected characteristic”
* Undertake all the duties within the framework of Equal Opportunities.
* You must cooperate in all matters relating to Health and Safety and implement all procedures for your job role. The identification of Health and Safety related risks within the working environment must be highlighted to your management.
The Experience You Will Bring
* A good working knowledge of Council Tax law and procedures
* Experience of customer/public contact demonstrating good communication and interpersonal skills
* Computer literate with experience of using Microsoft Office products and CIVICA Open Revenues.
* A working knowledge of the services provided by the council.
* Educated to GCSE level or equivalent, indicating an aptitude for mathematics and English language
Why choose Basildon Council?
Basildon Borough Council is one of the largest local authorities in the East of England region and serves a population of approximately 172,000 people. The town of Basildon is regarded as a key economic hub with the main areas of employment being engineering, research and development, distribution and financial services. Basildon is also the second biggest economy in the Thames Gateway, outside of Canary Wharf.
Working for Basildon Borough Council means making a practical and positive difference to the lives of people living and working in the Borough and provides a fulfilling career.
Each of our employees - whatever job role they are undertaking - can feel motivated by having a unique opportunity to use their skills to make Basildon a better place to live. Whether it is conserving our countryside, by regenerating our Borough, by housing our residents or by collecting the refuse on time.
Note: ECC are advertising this role on behalf of Basildon Council.
Basildon Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults, and expects all employees, contractors and volunteers to share its commitment to prevent abuse, harm or exploitation.
The Council applies a robust recruitment vetting process. If you are successful you will need to undergo a Pre-employment Vetting Procedure.
What you should do next
If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website