Benefits Officer
Job description
Do you have a passion for Excellent Customer Service, Supporting People and making a difference to people lives?
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support provides support for Customers in the community. Ensuring our residents receive the support they are entitled to is a vital part of the service. You will be on the Front line delivering these and other related services.
Do you have experience with this type of work?
Dealing with customers on a wide range of benefit related issues, drawing on comparable customer service experience where relevant. Some claims will be straightforward, while others may be more complex and challenging, requiring patience, problem-solving skills, and the ability to remain calm and professional while still delivering a high-quality service
What will your day look like?
You will be working in a fast-paced Benefits Environment. Ensuring that Customers claims and change of circumstances for Housing Benefits and Council Tax support are dealt with in a quick and efficient manner. You will be responsible for making discretionary awards based on circumstances and ensuring that customers are kept informed and signposted to additional support services if required. You will have regular contact with customers either via written communication or on the phone.
Who are we looking for?
You will have experience of working in a benefit related environment or similar. You will be enthusiastic to learn and will be committed to delivering excellent customer service. You must be able to interpret information given by customers into an appropriate format for processing. Accurate record keeping is essential. You will be able to empathise with customers in difficult situations but be able to challenge customers when necessary. You will be committed to ensuring that we deliver a fast and accurate service to our customers.
Why join us?
You will be part of the Local Taxation and Benefit Team covering North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. You will receive full training from experienced officers and there will be a lot of new things to learn so you will need to be organised and be able to retain the information. but in return you will become a key player in delivering additional support to our customers.
Working Arrangements
This role is a blended working role (the duties of the role may require a blend of home & office working in line with needs of the service).
or Kate Ashby Email:
Key Dates
Advert closing date: Monday 15th Jne
We aim to interview candidates: Tuesday 30th June
We want you to have the best interview experience with us, so will provide candidates selected for interview their questions 24 hours in advance of meeting us.
Please note: This role requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at a level appropriate to the post. It is a contractual and essential requirement that the successful candidate is registered with the DBS Update Service. You have 30 calendar days from the "date of issue" printed on your standard or enhanced DBS certificate to register for the DBS Update Service using the certificate number.
We reserve the right to close our adverts early if we have received a significant volume of suitable applications.
We love AI and think it plays a great role in the world of work. However, for your application, we want to hear from YOU! As such, we will be testing applications to determine the use of AI, and applications that have heavily utilised the function will be scrutinised for suitability.
As part of your RewardNEL package, you will have a generous leave entitlement (including bank holidays) and enrolment into a local government pension.
You will also have access to our exclusiveRewardNEL platform.
This includes a variety of salary sacrifice schemes including Cycle2Work, Holiday Extra and Tusker (Car Lease), discounts at local coffee shops and bars, direct access to our inhouse wellbeing support, free and discounted local car parking as well as instant access to new savings at major retailers, entertainment and hotels.
NELC staff can also benefit from flexible working and excellent training and development opportunities and a Fostering friendly scheme.
Do you need support?
If you need any help applying for this position, please contact Wendy Trask on (text or call). Wendy can support with digital access as well as offering advice and guidance about completing the different sections of the application form.
Your earnings go further in North East Lincolnshire, house prices are four times less than in London. Learn more about what our place has to offer at Life in North East Lincolnshire | NELC (nelincs.gov.uk) #FindYourSpace
Get to know us better
Check out our Council Plan and read about all of the exciting new developments we have in the pipeline.
We regularly review data to ensure our recruitment processes are fair, transparent and promote equal opportunities for all. We also have an in-house Equalities Champions Group that works to promote and embed inclusivity in the workplace, helping us identify areas where we can take positive action, and make the organisation a safe space for colleagues to feel connected.