Income Officer

Incommunities are looking to recruit 2 Income Officers to join our team on a permanent basis. This is a crucial role to the business, as you will be responsible for recovering arrears accrued by current tenants but also looking at how we can interact withour customers to prevent debt. You will manage your own patch, providing advice, solutions, and support to our residents to ensure financial inclusion.

**About us**

We are social housing landlord and think our vision of Improving Lives Incommunities says it all

Working to provide great homes in great neighbourhoods, we manage more than 22,600 homes across Yorkshire and are proud to collaborate with our customers, communities, local and national stakeholders to achieve this.

Our values are at the heart of everything we do, inspiring our thinking and guiding our plans and actions. This year will see us focus on the first year of a 2 -year plan, to 2024. Our plan puts customers at the heart of what we do, providing great placesto live and work, with homes that they are proud to live in.

**Responsibilities**
- Work within a flexible timescale to ensure a co-ordinated and corporate approach to the prevention and recovery of arrears accrued by current tenants
- Undertake all recovery action for current tenants including maximising opportunities to contact tenants, negotiations, Benefit support and County Court representation
- Undertake recovery action for former tenant arrears and other miscellaneous debts until they are referred to an external agent
- Assist in the contribution and future development of tenants rent account to ensure financial inclusion.
- Have responsibility for all stages of the recovery of debts due from current and former tenants, garage sites, and non Housing Revenue Accounts
- Respond to enquiries relating to tenant's accounts including of debt and credit balances and deal with associated record keeping and correspondence
- Attend face to face visits at tenants' homes

**About You**
- Performance focused
- Experience of problem solving and resolving conflict
- Flexible, adaptable and able to organise your own workload
- Experience of dealing with members of the public both face to face and over the telephone, in particular, handling people who may be distressed and anxious and/ or reluctant to accept or follow advice
- Confident working in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to prioritise tasks
- Confident dealing with members of the public from a variety of backgrounds in potentially confrontational situations
- Excellent IT skills in order to manage different systems

**Requirements**:

- A broad understanding of housing and estate management standards and practices, including arrears, lettings, exchanges, repairs, rents, therefore a background in housing or a housing qualification such as NVQ or HNC is desirable
- A sound understanding of benefits that would be applicable to tenants, combined with the ability to give advice on those which are applicable
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- The ability and confidence to make decisions on the effective management of properties and to be prepared to refer more complex matters to managers, while feeding back where improvements can be made to the service we provide
- A positive and calm attitude as you need to be prepared to challenge inappropriate behaviour and resolve conflict
- Full driving licence and own vehicle is essential

**Benefits**
- Salary £28,370 per year
- Essential car user allowance in addition to salary
- Training, development, and qualification opportunities
- Corporate health scheme membership
- Access to an Employee Assistance Programme
- West Yorkshire Pension Fund membership
- Excellent holiday allowance
- Cycle to work scheme
- Hybrid and agile working
- _As a Mindful Employer we have committed to working towards better mental health in the workplace and are determined to deliver a culture of physical and mental wellbeing openness and support._