(Trainee) Revenues Officer
Location: Wallfields, Hertford, SG13 8EQ
Contract Type: Fixed-term
Salary: £28,869 - £34,072 Inclusive of local weighting
Working Hours: 37
Job Category: Revenue and Benefits
Job Introduction
An opportunity for a Trainee Revenues Officer, or Revenues Officer if experience confirmed, has become available to work at Hertford as part of the Council Tax team for a fixed-term 6 month contract.
This is an exciting time for you to join us and develop your career as we are working on the automation of discount and exemptions, text reminders, and promoting self-service and refining the new customer arrangement module, contributing to the council’s digital agenda.
This motivated and highly professional team is looking for an individual committed to excellence in their work and with a passion for customer service and getting it right first time. If successful, you will assist across all aspects of the Council Tax service including dealing with customer queries by telephone, in writing, and face to face.
Key Responsibilities
1. Support the shared service managers in all aspects of the shared services’ functions and operation.
2. Ensure a full working knowledge of relevant legislation and IT applications to enable the efficient carrying out of the duties attached to the post.
3. Answer and deal with telephone, written, or face to face enquiries from customers and stakeholders, providing explanations and clarification of decisions and actions taken and general advice and guidance relating to legislation, policy and procedures.
4. Identify and process the correct liability for each property, checking and issuing appropriate bills, forms, and notices.
5. Identify and award council tax discounts and exemptions where appropriate.
6. Actively encourage the take-up of available benefits, allowances, and discounts.
7. Set up Direct Debit arrangements, amendments, cancellations, special payment arrangements and action refunds as appropriate.
8. Identify accounts requiring recovery action and take such action as appropriate in the case of non-payment.
9. Decide and implement suitable action after a Liability Order has been granted, up to and including referring appropriate cases to enforcement agents.
10. Keep and maintain appropriate records and statistics, review exception reports and ensure appropriate action is taken.
11. Identify possible irregularities in benefit claims, discounts, and exemptions, and refer these cases to the Fraud Team.
12. Assist with the development and implementation of new working methods and systems.
13. Maintain an up-to-date awareness of other welfare benefits and refer cases to Visiting Officers and Welfare and Money Advice agencies as appropriate.
About You
This role will suit a focused and enthusiastic team player who welcomes the opportunity to learn and who enjoys change to improve the delivery of the service.
The ideal candidate will have:
1. Numeracy skills, including the ability to manipulate numerical data.
2. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a strong customer focus.
3. Experience in a similar environment.
4. Ability and willingness to help support and provide guidance to less experienced staff.
5. Knowledge of Windows based office package.
6. Ability to work as part of a team, willing to assist others, but also take responsibility for own work as required.
7. Good word processing and IT skills, including an ability to use an online computer system to interrogate and update data.
8. Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and able to deal with a heavy and varied workload.
9. Ability to deal with difficult situations.
10. Ability to maintain concentration in a busy environment.
11. Work methodically, accurately and thoroughly, paying close attention to detail.
12. Ability to remain calm and focused under pressure.
13. Ability to prioritise and work accurately to targets and deadlines.
14. Ability to learn all legislation and guidance appropriate to the post.
15. Commitment to developing customer service skills for dealing with members of the public, both face-to-face, phone, and email or letter.
About Us
East Herts is consistently rated as one of the best areas in the country to live, with excellent schools and healthcare, a huge array of green space, beautiful waterways, unique market towns, and picturesque villages. We also enjoy high levels of employment and a diverse local economy.
The vision of the Council is to provide East Hertfordshire residents and businesses with a future that is prosperous and sustainable. In order to achieve this, a number of strategic objectives have been developed, which allow the Council in conjunction with its many partners to focus on the key issues that concern the residents of East Hertfordshire.
Whatever their role, everyone contributes to delivering great services to our local community. Our vision is to preserve the unique character of East Herts and ensure it remains one of the best places to live and work. To accomplish this, our focus is to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities, enhance the quality of people's lives and enable a flourishing local economy.
Our team is at the very heart of our council - we recognise that together with our elected members, we make the difference to our local communities. We are dedicated to staff development and individual success within a team framework. To help our staff deliver, we provide a supportive work environment, development opportunities, and work to help everyone achieve their potential while enjoying a positive work-life balance.
What Can We Offer You?
1. A stimulating and supportive working environment.
2. Flexible working arrangements, including flexi-time.
3. 13 days’ annual leave (for a fixed-term 6 month contract).
4. Employee well-being programme.
How to Apply
For an informal discussion regarding the role and to find out more about East Herts Council’s ambitions, please contact Kathryn Metcalfe, Assistant Manager or Elaine Chapman, Senior Revenues Officer.
Closing date: 19th February 2025 at Midnight.
Interviews will be held during the weeks of 24th February 2025 – 7th March 2025.
So, if you’re looking to make a difference in East Hertfordshire as a Revenue Officer in Council Tax, please apply via the options shown.
If you do not hear from us within 2 weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful.
If your application has been successful, the recruiting manager will contact you to invite you to an interview. We hope you enjoy the process and look forward to making contact with you very soon.
We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, valuing diversity and maintaining a firm commitment to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants. We believe that creating inclusive environments leads to stronger collaboration and better outcomes in our work. #J-18808-Ljbffr