Early Intervention Officer

**Job Title**: Early Intervention Officer
**Contract Type**: Permanent
**Salary**: £24,323.73 (£26,778.75 achieved after 12 months successful performance in the role)
**Working Hours**: Full Time 35 hours per week
**Working Pattern**: Monday to Friday 12:30 to 20:00pm
**Location**: Irvine, North Ayrshire

**Why Riverside?**

At Riverside, we’re a housing association with a difference - enhancing the everyday for all our customers. For 90 years, we’ve been revitalising neighbourhoods and supporting communities by providing the homes they need to live full, fulfilling and rewarding lives.

We have a portfolio of over 75,000 affordable residential and retirement homes across the UK. Our work ranges from homelessness services to social care, employment support to retirement living, and we need the best people on board to help us.

**Working with us, you’ll enjoy**:

- Competitive pay & generous pension
- 28 days holidays plus bank holidays
- Flexible working options available
- Investment in your learning, personal development and technology
- A wide range of benefits

**The difference you will make as Early Intervention Officer**

In this role you will support our customers over the phone offering money advice and helping them set up payment plans for their rent. Riverside pride ourselves in providing affordable homes for people across England and Scotland and we want to ensure, even through difficult times our customers can manage their rent and payments. In this role you will be key in helping prevent our customers falling into arrears and offer them the support and advice they need to get back on track. This could be by providing advice on claiming universal credit and processing claims in the DWP portal, encouraging our customers to pay rent in advance or helping them to set up payment plans and digital payment methods. You will be proactive in contacting customers offering guidance and ensuring they understand how to clear their arrears.

**About you**

We are looking for someone who is customer focused with great communication skills, both verbal and written as you'll be talking to and supporting lots of different customers.
Negotiation skills and the ability to manage conflicting priorities are important as you will need to manage business and customer requirements to reach outcomes that work for both. Although not essential as we recruit people with transferable skills, experience of working in a housing environment or in a debt collection call centre, would be an advantage.

**Role Profile**

In this role you will be:

- Manage other low level sundry debts caseloads owed to Riverside which could include garages, recharges, court costs etc
- Discuss cancelled/expired payment arrangements making affordable agreement which take into account customer income and expenditure. Promote digital payment methods including direct debits and recurring card payments.
- Advise on how to claim benefits and grants which will support residents to make rent payments.
- Monitor the timely receipt of payments for new tenancies and make contact with customers as early as possible to discuss payment options and identify any customer or tenancy support needs, making referrals where appropriate to tenancy sustainment services and other third parties.
- Work in partnership with Income Collection Officers and Housing Services, providing support where required to successfully deliver the right outcomes.
- Carry out account administration including balance transfers, tenant refunds, and write-offs in accordance with legislation and our policies and procedures.
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of processes and procedures.
- Respond flexibly to any necessary changes in work priorities and undertake other duties when required to support the effective operation of the service.
- Ensure that all data protection requirements are met in accordance with the Group’s policy, procedures, and statutory requirements.
- Ensure that health and safety requirements are met in accordance with the Group’s policy, procedures, and statutory requirements.

**Person specification**

**Essential**
- Customer focused with excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, showing the ability to meet the needs of a varied customer base.
- Effective negotiation skills, managing business and customer requirements to a mutually agreeable solution.
- Proven track record of problem solving.
- Ability to remain calm in a pressurised environment.
- Excellent attention to detail with the ability to work under pressure, deliver to strict deadlines and manage conflicting priorities
- Excellent team player who can work flexibly to meet business requirements

**Desirable**
- Experience of working in a housing environment.
- Experience of working in a debt collection call centre.
- Knowledge of Universal Credit