Job Details
- The role is HYBRID and Candidates will be required to attend Southwark offices or surrounding area at least 2 days per week and may be required to make home visits.
- Candidates require extensive experience with NEC (Northgate revenues) and Council Tax Legislation – Previous experience with Civica Collect (Onestep) is desirable but not essential.
- £28.88 per hour
Main purpose:
- To manage a particular caseload in the day-to-day administration, billing, collection and recovery of Council Tax (an annual debit of £176M), and Business Rates (annual debit of £320M) and BIDs (annual levy £4M). Interpret and apply the Local Government Finance Act 1992, relevant regulations and Southwark Council’s own policies and procedures, ensuring that Best Value indicators on council tax & NNDR collection and debt reduction targets are achieved for your caseload and that quality assurance frameworks are established such that accuracy of data is maintained.
- To identify and take the appropriate collection action on accounts relating to Miscellaneous Income & Housing Benefit Overpayments, liaising with service departments in respect of uncollectable debts.
- To seek the most efficient collection routes meeting council and customers’ needs and minfluence the implementation of best practice processes in performance and service delivery so that the team meets its collection targets and supports broader corporate
objectives. - To be responsible for the accurate establishment of liability and maintenance of Council Tax, NNDR and BIDS databases.
- To take responsibility for a particular area of legislation and contribute to the development and implementation of Council policy in relation to Revenues, HBOP and Miscellaneous income collection and to ensure that the service is operated in accordance with those
policies and regulations. - To represent the Council in all Courts having jurisdiction for the collection and administration of Council Tax and NNDR, selecting cases from your caseload for Court and managing the court process making application for a range of Court orders appropriate for the administration and collection of Local Revenue due to the Council.
Responsibilities
1. Be responsible for meeting individual and team targets in the delivery of the Revenues Service including Council Tax billing and recovery, NNDR including BIDs and HBOP recovery as agreed as part of the annual appraisal process, managing a specific case
load with autonomy as part of the team’s operation.
2. Provide expert advice to your customers:
Respond to, take action and provide technical advice on customers’ enquiries,
information and applications by telephone, written correspondence, or face-toface, accurately maintaining customer accounts.
Make all necessary investigations including requesting further information from the customer, other internal and external departments and any other relevant
stakeholder/ party, recording information on appropriate databases and communicating the outcome in plain English to the customer, their
representative or stakeholder.
Identify and take proactive action on revenues cases where there is a potential entitlement to discounts, exemptions or any other liability reductions.
Ensure agreed working practices, procedures and legislation including discounts ,are applied correctly, dealing with all enquiries in a polite and professional manner, remaining customer focussed at all times.
3. Prepare and analyse management information and data and implement or recommend actions arising in the following areas:
Prepare data required for the timely submission of government returns.
Identify recurring operational issues and identify opportunities for process, team and service improvement, managing these as formal projects where appropriate, implementing those within your own caseload and working with Team Leaders to implement improved processes across the wider service to achieve a significant improvement in performance during the next 3 years
Assist in the maintenance and development of record systems and operational procedures, leading on those in your area of expertise.
Assist in the compilation of statistical information for areas such as complaints, members enquiries, Freedom of Information requests, and quality monitoring.
Develop reports, analysis and recommendations to support Corporate Strategy ,in matters relating to Best Value.
Meet with and assist auditors (internal & external) and inspectors (e.g. Best Value), providing advice during preparation of reports.
4. Maintain effective working relationships and respond to enquiries from registered social landlords, internal council housing, Housing Benefits sections, other local authorities, businesses and BIDs companies, voluntary sector organisations and other central/local government departments. Liaise, work closely with and attend meetings with service ,providers and stakeholders, as required.
5. Be responsible for the induction and training of new staff and of delivering training to ,existing staff as part of their development process. Mentor, give guidance in complex areas and quality assure the work of Revenues trainee staff in processing revenues
changes.
6. Liaise with and instruct the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to ensure liability is correctly assessed and/or where alterations/amendments to properties may be required, updating the property database as directed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) ,ensuring the database accurately reflects and reconciles to the Banding List. To provide information and produce written responses to valuation appeals when required.
7. Maximise debt recovery by identifying and taking the appropriate recovery action on debtors’ accounts, in line with working procedures and council policies:
Manage cases on Attachment of Benefit and Attachment of Earnings Orders and ensure correct allocation of payments on receipt.
Manage cases referred to the bailiffs and other collection agencies, inform them of changes to liability affecting the debt and ensure correct allocation of payment on receipt.
Develop recommendations for write-offs and process these in compliance with Council policy and procedure.
Identify, select, prepare and manage cases for committal action, winding up, ,bankruptcy and other appropriate court and charging orders. Respond to enquiries from service providers and liaise with the Council’s Legal Team in relation to such cases.
Provide debt counselling, benefit and welfare advice and direct debtors to other agencies for further help when appropriate.
Understand the Council’s Anti-Poverty Policy, the Corporate Debt Reduction Policy and the Financial Inclusion Policy and target action in individual cases in
support of this.
Manage cases to recover Housing Benefits overpayments
8. Ensure robust quality assurance is implemented by:
Working with both internal and 3rd party service providers in the development and implementation of performance monitoring frameworks.
Supporting the Councils Feedback forum in the delivery of the Councils Corporate Complaints service and delivery of the Councils Complaint charter.
Develop opportunities for joint activity with other local authorities, partners, consultants and others.
Identify and ensure that risks and issues are being tracked and mitigated as effectively as possible.
Maintain systems to measure performance against established standards and contractual targets across both internal services and services provided by 3rd party suppliers, particularly monitoring the Resilience Partner.
Monitor performance across both internal and external providers, particularly the Resilience partner, according to agreed standards and take necessary action to communicate, advise and assist according to agreed performance levels and targets.
If you think this job role is for you, please send your CV to rebeccabentum@carringtonblakerecruitment.com
