Income Collection Officer

The role is a pivotal role within SW9 Community Housing. The postholder will ensure that SW9 Community Housing (SW9) maximises its income through the effective collection of rent, service charges, parking and other income owed to it by current and former tenants, leaseholders, Local Authorities and Department of Work and Pensions, working supportively and proactively with the aim of keeping people in their homes.

The ideal candidate will have experience of meeting tight deadlines, working in a fast paced ever changing environment as well as being very flexible to cover tasks outside of the normal job specification being part of a small, growing team. We require someone with:

• Comprehensive knowledge and experience of best practice in management of income recovery, debt counselling & debt collection
• Knowledge of Social housing issues
• Knowledge and understanding of Welfare Reform including Bedroom Tax, Universal Credit and Benefit Cap and its impact on the residents
• Awareness of legislation (including Leasehold if appropriate) governing the recovery of rent arrears, housing benefit, welfare benefits, Data Protection Act relevant to rent recovery and debt counselling
• Demonstrable experience working in a customer service environment
• Demonstrable experience working in income recovery
• Working in collaboration with various agencies
• Managing different tenures and confidence to take the appropriate action
• Experience of corresponding with County Courts, solicitors and advice agencies and presenting possession cases in court and attending evictions as necessary
• Time management: able to prioritise workloads and manage multiple tasks
• Good numeracy and literary skills appropriate to the requirements of the job role
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Effective negotiating skills
• Proven ability to enforce tenancy and management terms and conditions
• Demonstrates patience and good listening skills
  
  SW9 Community Housing is a resident-led social housing charity responsible for the delivery of housing management and maintenance services for around 1,800 homes and several commercial and community buildings in Stockwell/Brixton on behalf of a G15 Housing Association, Sovereign Network Homes. Being a community-based organisation, we are seeking to recruit an experienced Income Collection Officer, with a focus on service delivery and a people-centre approach. With a turnover of £11m, and rising, and in excess of £150million of inward investment provided by Sovereign Network Homes over the last 10 years we have ambitious plans for the future, and we want a like-minded visionary to join us on this journey., A group of people who demonstrate integrity, respect, and teamwork
• A group of people with passion, drive, and the courage to be different
• A group of people committed to doing the right thing.
Our values define who we are. They are the fundamental beliefs of our social purpose. They guide our actions and behaviour. They influence the way we work as a team - and the way we serve our customers and engage with our stakeholders. Every day, each one of us makes choices and decisions that directly affect the way we experience each other and the way our customers and stakeholders experience us. Our values give us confidence that we are using the same principles to help us make these decisions throughout our organisation. SW9 works hard to acknowledge and celebrate individuals and teams within our organisation who consistently live our values and bring our purpose to life through their everyday behaviour, which in turn has a positive impact on our customers, community and stakeholders. We want people who are energetic, flexible, passionate, forward thinking/innovative and creative. If you think you are the best person to help us create an even better service for our stakeholders, we want to hear from you.

When you work at SW9, you are directly impacting on the lives of our residents. In return for your energy, innovation, and commitment, we offer:
• competitive salary
• a defined contribution Pensions Scheme (employer match up to 8%)
• 5 x annual salary life assurance cover
• competitive annual leave entitlement
• Interest-free loans (including season ticket loan, Cycle-to-Work scheme, rent deposit loan)
• employee assistance programme
• excellent learning & development opportunities
• staff discount scheme
• a modern office and facilities