Hourly rate of pay: £18.34 - £19.86
Days and Hours of Work:
Monday - Friday
Starting and finishing times are flexible, and flexi time is applicable.
To start asap.
An opportunity has arisen for a Rent Officer to work within the Council's Revenues Service. This post would normally be based at John Muir House, Haddington.
The role of the Rent Officer is to protect Council income streams and maximise collection levels whilst balancing the financial pressures faced by so many households at this time.
The successful candidate will assist with the charging and collection of rental income in line with policy and procedures, ensuring a preventative approach is adopted to stop rent arrears accruing and ensuring early intervention to prevent escalation of the debt recovery process.
The successful candidate will work closely with tenants to negotiate repayment of any debt accrued and to identify opportunities to maximise the household income via take-up of welfare benefits and grants available, where eligibility exists.
For serious arrears cases, the successful candidate will prepare cases for court action and if all attempts to engage with a tenant to recover debt owed fail, will assist with evictions.
The successful candidate will also have a role to play in the development of the Rent Advice Team, contributing to service improvement work.
The successful candidate must demonstrate experience of working within a customer focused environment and will have the ability to work in a caring and empathetic manner with people who are experiencing financial difficulties.
Experience of working with vulnerable people in adverse social circumstances and experience of working in a debt management environment is desirable.
The successful candidate will be highly motivated and will have excellent communication, organisational and negotiation skills and be able to work remotely in an effective way, using Microsoft Office applications and other Council IT systems.
There will be a requirement for the successful candidate to use their own vehicle to visit Council tenants in their homes and visit local Council offices to meet with tenants and attend rent surgeries and meetings.
Responsible for the delivery of an effective and efficient income management service which ensures that the Council has the finances to deliver a high quality Housing Service to all council tenants in East Lothian and that the customer is fully supported throughout.
Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.
The ‘East Lothian Way’– values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.
Relevant Qualifications
HNC/SVQ Level 3 or equivalent level of knowledge and/or relevant working experience.
Driving Licence
As the duties of this role require you to effectively travel to successfully undertake the full remit of the role, you must hold a current driving licence and have access to a vehicle.*
(*Where a disability precludes you from obtaining a driving licence, ELC will take into account its responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to allow for your disability.)
Level 1 Disclosure Clearance
This role requires Level 1 Disclosure Clearance to allow access to the Public Sector Network. ELC will submit a Police Act Disclosure application on behalf of the preferred candidate and receipt of the subsequent certificate will be required prior to commencement.
Please note:
If you have spent more than 3 months working or living out with the UK in the last 5 years then you will also be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.
For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link:
www.eastlothian.gov.uk/nonteachinginfo
If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/contact-us.
If you require further information about this vacancy, please call 01620 827868, or email us on [email protected]
Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an ‘import data from my CV’ function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form. If, for example, due to a disability, you are unable to complete the on-line application form you can contact us for a paper application via the telephone number or email address above.
