Income Officer

Torus is seeking a dedicated and proactive **Income Officer** to join our team and support our mission to deliver a high-quality income management service to our customers. This role plays a crucial part in ensuring that Torus maximises its income while assisting tenants to maximise theirs. As an Income Officer, you’ll be directly responsible for the effective collection of income and supporting our customers in maintaining their tenancies. Your contributions will be vital in helping the team achieve its income targets and uphold Torus’s commitment to providing a professional, high-quality service to all customers.

**Responsibilities**:

- Maximise income collection and improve performance against agreed KPIs.
- Develop effective relationships, both internal and external, to ensure the delivery of the team’s objectives.
- If required, assist with tenancy sign-ups, informing customers of rent payment arrangements. Assist customers to complete housing benefit/Universal Credit claims, signposting customers to internal and external agencies for welfare advice and liaising with local HB/DWP services to resolve queries.
- Ensure that all case activity, customer contact, and developments are documented and aligned with customer service standards and the income management policy and procedure.
- Ensure appropriate legal action is taken to recover debt, including representing the organisation at court proceedings and evictions.
- Deliver high-quality income, housing management, and tenancy enforcement services on the ground.
- Carry out household surveys and home/property visits as required.
- Respond to enquiries, requests for assistance, guidance, or advice from customers and residents generally.
- Respond to enquiries, requests for assistance, guidance, or advice from Torus customers on welfare benefits, money management, and debt, making appropriate referrals to Torus Foundation for assistance with digital inclusion, employment skills, health and wellbeing, and other third parties.
- Carry out basic benefit calculations and, if required, assist Torus customers in making a claim for housing benefit or Universal Credit.
- Liaise with internal and external organisations to provide appropriate support or advice, including signposting as required, preventing eviction proceedings, and sustaining tenancies.
- Check the DWP portal, ensuring requests for verification are completed within agreed timescales.
- Help deliver area-based housing activity and high-quality services within the neighbourhood.
- Communicate, consult, and provide a direct link with local customers and other residents, providing information, identifying/addressing local issues and concerns, and obtaining views, feedback, and comments from the community.
- Assist in monitoring the standard and quality of service delivery within the neighbourhood.
- Maintain continuously high standards of customer care.
- Carry out all administrative tasks and any necessary follow-up work.
- Represent Torus on groups and forums as required.
- Ensure a clear knowledge and understanding of team objectives and priorities and how the individual role contributes to corporate objectives.
- Provide support and assistance to colleagues within the team through training, coaching, and adopting good team ethics.
- Contribute to the development and review of procedures within Income Services.
- Take responsibility for own development, keeping up to date with legislative and welfare reform changes.
- Work flexibly as required.
- Support the delivery of value-for-money services, providing cost-effective, efficient, quality services to meet existing and potential customers’ needs.

**Skills & Experience**:

- Educated to GCSE standard for maths and English or NVQ equivalent.
- CIH level 3 or willingness to work towards.
- Experience of income management and enforcement or debt collection
- Experience of case management, including analysing customer accounts, being able to problem solve and keeping accurate records
- Experience of dealing with the public
- Experience of working to performance targets.
- Ability to work on own initiative, prioritising work to meet deadlines
- Able to work well as part of a team.

**Interview Process**:
**Additional Information**:
Each successful applicant will be required to complete the following pre-employment checks prior to a start date being agreed:

- Right to work verification
- Qualification certificate check
- 2x Completed references
- OH Health Questionnaire - Fit For Work
- DBS check (if required for role) Completion of all new starter documentation including signed T&C’s