The main purpose of the role: Benefit Assessor
To undertake a range of generic work activities centered around the prompt and accurate assessment of all types of claims for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support.
Specific duties and responsibilities Benefit Assessor
To undertake all work activities involved in assessment of new claims, changes in circumstances and ATLAS notifications
Electronic Document Management scanning and indexing
Verification of evidence, pre-assessment and requests for further information
The complete final determination in accordance with the regulations
Notification of determinations and quality assurance of letters
Correct and full determination on overpayment recovery
Correct subsidy coding of any overpayments and claim time stats
To undertake the work activities involved in the determination of new claims and changes in circumstances including overpayments determination and recovery level decisions
To undertake all assessment work activities above in accordance with the benefit regulations and internal operational procedures and guidelines
To undertake all assessment and (re) determination work activities above using the Academy Benefits system and IDOX workflow and document management IT system
To respond to customer enquiries across a range of benefit issues, especially when receiving customer queries for cases previously assessed / re assessed by self
To provide support to Claim Support Team by personally dealing with phone and reception callers in respect of HB, CTS and DHP enquiries, and first stop Housing queries
To liaise with HB officers, other internal Housing and Council Tax officers and external partner bodies in order to resolve outstanding claim issues and queries for customers
To adopt one or more specialisms in addition to core competency frameworks in order to support personal development, variety of tasks and office support flexibility
To work to a challenging set of personal performance objectives, targets and assessment quotas as part of annually revised personal performance plan
To work actively in accordance with a regularly updated set of corporate and department procedures and to keep in touch with any changes
To undertake any related activities as considered necessary and directed by Team Leader or senior HB Management.
Qualifications and Education Benefit Assessor
Good standard of education with GCSE in English language or equivalent, grade C or abov
Experience Benefit Assessor
working with Housing benefit and Council Tax Support regulations
working in a demanding team environment
working with clear processes and procedures
using computers in a processing environment
Experience of the Academy Housing Benefits IT system
dealing with people in a sensitive situation