Job Title: Benefit Assessment Officer
Location: Fully remote or Hybrid at Corby or Kettering offices.
Rate of Pay: £25 per hour Umbrella or £18.52 per hour PAYE
Working Hours: Monday to Friday - 37 hours
Type: Temporary role until Oct 24
Opus People Solutions are working with North Northamptonshire Council to recruit for a Benefit Assessment Officer, to administer the Housing and Council Tax Benefit Scheme in accordance with Legislation and Council Policy.
Main Responsibilities:
1. Benefit Administration
2. Processes and maintains all types of Benefit Claims received using the Document Imaging Processing System.
3. Deals with Rent Officer referrals and Pre-Tenancy Determinations.
4. Identifies cases where discretion is required to be exercised and refers to the Senior Benefit Assistant for a decision.
5. Identifies cases where there is suspicion of fraud and refers such cases to the Fraud section for action.
6. Calculates amount of weekly benefit savings and notifies Benefit Enquiry Officer of result.
7. Issues and instigates Interventions.
8. Undertakes monitoring of benefit transactions in accordance with legislation.
9. Reports to the Benefits Manager with the results of monitoring exercises using computer technology.
10. Monitors performance to complete returns to government agencies relating to performance.
11. Keeps up to date with legislation.
12. Ensures Benefit claims are assessed accurately to maximize subsidy for residents of the Borough.
Overpayments:
1. Identifies and categorizes overpayments.
2. Determines the most appropriate method of recovery for overpayments and initiates recovery mechanism, e.g., from on-going entitlement, by sundry debt, through the Council Tax account.
3. Identifies cases where recovery of the overpayment is inappropriate and refers to the Senior Benefits Officer or Appeals and Overpayment Officer for a decision.
General:
1. Liaises with creditors section to facilitate direct payment for landlords and claimants by cheque or BACS.
2. Operates office machinery.
3. Complies with all Council Policies with particular reference to the Health & Safety, Equal Opportunity and Communication Policies.
4. Undertakes any other duties within the scope and grade of this post.
Person Specification:
1. One year clerical experience
2. Experience of revenue collection
3. Experience of Housing and Council tax benefits
4. 5 GCSE's or equivalent, including Maths and English
5. IRRV Technician qualification or willingness to study for
6. Ability to undertake complex calculations
7. Good communication skills
8. Experience of Welfare rights/benefits available
9. Computer literate
10. Ability to work to deadlines and Government targets
11. Experience of Word, Excel and Access
12. Experience of Electronic Document Management
For more information or to process your application for this role, please apply online now.
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