RQ1712040 – Energy Billing Improvement Officer

Job Details

PAYE – £19.30 per hour

Purpose of Job:

To be responsible to the Housing Partnerships Manager for:

1. A project role to lead a transformative improvement project for energy billing processes within the Housing directorate.
2. Driving efficiency and accuracy in billing processes through data analysis, stakeholder management and the design and implementation of solutions to achieve significant cost savings.

• Building a close collaborative relationship with the Place & Growth directorate, including their Energy Payments Officer, and external providers to ensure a smooth and futureproof transition to a new energy billing process.

Main Duties:

• Lead on designing, gaining approval and buy-in for and embedding a more efficient and effective energy billing process.
• Coordinate the end-to-end monitoring, analysis and approval of energy bills for Councilowned Housing stock with a view to achieving timely approval of bills, making process and efficiency improvements, and maximising cost savings across the directorate.
• Build relationships, communicate effectively and collaborate closely with internal departments and external energy providers to ensure adherence to processes, resolve billing discrepancies and ensure data integrity.
• Create process notes to record agreed procedures, including roles and responsibilities of different services within these, and communicate these at senior and operational levels alongside managing expectations and timescales with external providers.
• Lead on the development of tools or methods to improve tracking and management of energy billing information, such as creating spreadsheets or using and adapting existing systems, using best practice research and learning from others to maximise efficiency.
• Create and maintain a comprehensive database of properties included on the organisation’s consolidated energy bill.
• Proactively drive the development of best practice procedures for both consolidated and nonconsolidated bills, ensuring continuous improvement and sustained cost savings.
• Work creatively and collaboratively to identify, trial and evaluate further cost saving opportunities pertaining to energy billing, such as improved meter reading processes to minimise estimated bills and investigating opportunities for automation.
• Identify and verify properties listed on the consolidated bill to ensure accuracy and completeness and recommend bills to senior officers for approval on a monthly basis, providing clear rationale and robust supporting evidence.
• Collaborate closely with the Energy Payments Officer and understand and use Council systems (such as Northgate/V6) to investigate and remove properties from the consolidated bill where the organisation is not liable for payment (for example, due to the property being tenanted or sold).
• Ensure adherence to relevant data protection and confidentiality standards when managing property and billing information.
• Undertake any other work appropriate to the level and general nature of the post’s duties.
• Where necessary for the job role or appropriate for continued development in the role, the post holder may be required to participate in training and development courses made available via the Council’s Apprentice Levy funding.
• To undertake all duties with due regard to the provisions of health and safety regulations and legislation, Data Protection/GDPR, the Council’s Equal Opportunities and Customer Care policies.
• To perform all duties in line with Council’s staff values showing commitment to improving residents’ lives and opportunities, demonstrating respect and fairness, taking ownership, working towards doing things better and working together across the council.
• This post does not require a DBS.