We are seeking a dedicated Rent Recovery Officer to join our team to help sustain tenancies while reducing rent arrears across our portfolio. About the Role As a Rent Recovery Officer, you’ll play a key role in managing rent collection and arrears recovery, supporting tenants in maximising their income and sustaining their tenancies. You will engage with various internal teams and external agencies, balancing firm but fair enforcement with a commitment to excellent customer service. Key Responsibilities Rent Collection: Deliver a responsive rent collection service using various contact methods, including phone, email, text, and in person visits. Income Maximisation: Support tenants in understanding and accessing benefits, including Housing Benefit and Universal Credit, while encouraging them to prioritise rent payments. Pre-Tenancy Support: Conduct affordability assessments for new tenants during pre-tenancy checks. Collaboration: Work closely with Local Authorities, DWP, Customer and Neighbourhood Officers, and support teams to ensure benefits are maximised and prevent homelessness. Court Action and Evictions: Serve notices for arrears, prepare court applications using Possession Claims Online (PCOL), attend court hearings, and manage the eviction process with bailiffs. Data Reporting: Regularly provide updates on arrears levels, trends, and progress towards KPIs. Compliance and Knowledge: Stay informed about changes to legislation and organisational policies regarding rent recovery and tenancy management. What We’re Looking For We are seeking an organised and proactive individual with excellent communication and negotiation skills, who can handle challenging situations with professionalism and empathy. Essential Skills and Experience Previous experience in the social housing sector. Understanding of DWP benefits (Housing Benefit, Universal Credit) and familiarity with tenancy legislation. Strong IT proficiency (Word, Excel, Outlook), numeracy, and written communication. Confident, assertive, and able to manage competing priorities effectively. A valid driving licence and access to a vehicle for business use. Desirable Skills and Experience Experience attending court for rent arrears cases. Knowledge of housing tenures, including shared ownership and assured tenancies. Familiarity with county court protocols and tenancy legislation. Please be advised that this position is subject to an Enhanced DBS check Further Information For the full job description and person specification for the role, please see the attachment at the bottom of this page. Should you have any queries about this vacancy, please email recruitmentparadigmhousing.co.uk and we will respond as soon as possible. As part of our application process, we ask for a covering statement and CV so we can assess your application against our essential and desired criteria as set out in the job description and person specification. Please include in your covering statement how you meet the criteria so we can see how well you match our requirements and give your application the consideration it deserves. Thank you for your interest in Paradigm Housing Group thus far. Shortlisting will be conducted in line with the essential and desirable criteria set out in the person specification. We reserve the right to close this role earlier than the published date should a suitable candidate be identified. About us We are Paradigm Housing Group. We manage more than 17,000 homes across the South East. We know that house prices in the areas where we work are high, both to buy and rent. We want to help more people have a safe and sustainable home that they can afford. As a charity, the money we make goes into building new homes and providing an excellent service for residents. We are a Best Companies two-star accredited organisation in recognition of our high employee engagement and commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone is free to be themselves and feel like they belong. We are clearly focused on the delivery of our five-year corporate plan with ambitious and challenging objectives including delivering one of the sector’s largest digital transformation programmes, improving our environment and sustainability targets and delivering more quality homes to people who need them. Our benefits Holidays – 25 days rising to 30 with length of service (30 days starting for senior roles) plus an extra three paid days off between Christmas and New Year, and the opportunity to buy up to another five days. Pension scheme: a defined contribution scheme with employer contributions of 7.5% or 9.5% depending on the employee’s contribution rate. Car leasing scheme. Annual bonus potential. 1 paid professional subscription per year. Family friendly policies including generous paternity, maternity, shared parental and adoption leave, sabbaticals and more. Health cash plan – worth over £1,800 per year. Includes dental, optical, prescriptions and flu jabs, physiotherapy, chiropractic therapy, reflexology, Sports massage and more. Hybrid working for many roles. Up to three paid Giving Back (volunteer) Days a year. Modern collaborative offices, with free parking and charging points for electric vehicles. Opportunities for career development and progression. Social events such as quiz nights, Christmas Party, Summer BBQ. Our Vision We provide excellent services to customers. And build new homes to help more people. We make sure our homes are safe and sustainable. And strive to do more by making the most of our resources. Working For Us Our Values Safer Together The safety of our customers, colleagues and ourselves is a priority in everything we do. Driving Improvement We seek to do things better and deliver value to our customers. Working As One We work collaboratively with others and also take personal responsibility for delivering outcomes for our customers, colleagues and stakeholders. Acting Thoughtfully We make ourselves aware of our customers’ and colleagues’ circumstances, and consider this thoughtfully and respectfully, and with attention to the impact on the environment, when taking action. Being Clear We will communicate in a clear and consistent manner so that our customers, colleagues and stakeholders understand the high standards that we work to. Please note that customer facing roles may be subject to a DBS check. Documents