Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton About the job Job summary The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are the public sectors property valuation experts and advisers with a vision to be a world-leading provider of public sector valuations. Our work is vital to the collection of over £60 billion of revenue which goes back into communities, touching every citizen and every business across England and Wales. We champion the values of professionalism, integrity, respect and innovation. We are committed to providing a collaborative and supportive working environment that encourages every colleague to contribute, grow and excel together. With opportunities to drive your own development and growth, we empower our colleagues to succeed by ensuring support at every step of their career journey. Job description Rent Officer Role Overview Here at the VOA, we provide a wealth of property related services to the public and this role represents the perfect opportunity to start an exciting career in delivery those services. In this role, the post holder will have the opportunity to represent the VOA on regular visits to lettings agents and landlords for the purpose of collecting rental information. Rent Officers have 3 main functions: the Registration of a Fair Rent, rental valuations for Housing Benefit purposes and research and acquisition of a representative sample of residential lettings information. The successful candidate will support a Hub Manager and work alongside other colleagues locally and nationally. They will have the opportunity to work flexibly and adapt regularly to changing priorities within a wide geographical area. Once your training is complete, you will benefit from the flexibility to manage your own time and workload to help you achieve a great work-life balance. The Rent Officer role provides the successful candidate with an opportunity to learn more about and start a career in the world of property and valuation. You will develop strong interpersonal and people engagement skills and build strong relationships with our external partners, contributing to our reputation with the public. Rent Officer Key responsibilities The successful candidate will: Conduct regular visits to lettings agents and landlords for the purpose of collecting lettings information, present the benefits associated with the provision of the information to maximise the success of the visit. Inspect properties for the purposes of Housing Benefit or Fair Rent Act determinations. Schedule collection activities / write up reports using market feedback gathered from data sources. Understand and apply relevant Data Protection guidance to day-to-day data processing and dealing with issues associated with data protection legislation, addressing any concerns agents or landlords have. Be involved with the production of Local Housing Allowance rates using the application of knowledge and understanding of guidelines, policy, precedent and law to ensure that results produce a representative view of the relevant lettings market. Comply with established guidelines as required. Carry out telephone, email and writing based activities. This can include calling landlords for the collection of data and identify and responding to housing benefit, fair rent and LHA enquiries. For Office of National Statistics (ONS) outputs: conduct monthly quality assurance processes to account for errors and exceptions within the established timeframes. Input lettings information using VOA Rent Officer applications. Determine valuations for Housing Benefit purposes in accordance with legislation and Housing Benefit regulations. Register Fair Rents under The Rent Act 1977. Rent Officers must be able and willing to travel. Once trained, you will be expected to travel to property inspections and site visits across your area on a regular basis, alongside a blend of attendance at the office and working from home. It should be noted that for posts outside London, Rent Officers may be required to cover large geographical areas. Person specification The successful candidate will be keen to learn more about property and valuation. They will be a confident decision maker and someone who relishes managing their own workload and responsibilities. We are looking for a resourceful individual with a strong desire to complete tasks to a high standard and in an efficient manner. Essential Requirements Have an interest in and desire to learn more about property and valuation. Be able to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing, with the ability to use Microsoft word, Excel and Outlook to deliver such communications. Strong organisational skills to manage a diverse workload and deliver to objectives and deadlines. Self-motivated, flexible and prepared to work across a range of duties autonomously and with others in a team environment. Be customer focussed and have strong customer service skills. Able to comply with established guidelines and policies as required. Full UK driving Licence. Willingness to travel on a regular basis. You may be required to cover large geographical areas. Desirable Criteria: Experience of working in the property sector. Licences A full UK Driving Licence is essential to this role. However, if you are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 and do not hold a full driving licence, we will consider your application. Please contact resourcingteamvoa.gov.uk with your details to discuss this further. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing Working Together Benefits Alongside your salary of £29,494, Valuation Office Agency contributes £8,544 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. We offer a range of flexible working options, a generous leave allowance that starts at 25 days and goes up to 30 days after 5 years service and a Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%. Learning and development tailored to your role. An environment with flexible working options. Family friendly policies including 26 weeks full pay for maternity, adoption or shared parental leave. Employee Assistance Programme offering comprehensive wellbeing support. To learn more about the extensive benefits we can offer you as a VOA employee please download our Benefits Booklet: pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk) Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. If you can meet our person requirements above, we are keen to hear from you. To apply for this post, you must complete an online application with the following: A CV setting out your Job History and Previous skills & experiences. A Personal Statement (maximum 500 words), please outline your suitability for the role. Please pay particular attention to the Essential Criteria and Person Specification outlined in the advert when providing your answer. Sift - 26th January 2025. Please note this date is provisional and may be subject to change We will assess you on your CV, Personal Statement and Licences. Should there be a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be made on your Personal Statement against the lead essential criteria: Have an interest in and desire to learn more about property and valuation. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview. Interviews - W/C 10th February 2025. Please note these dates are provisional and may be subject to change. These will be confirmed should you be invited to interview. Interviews are currently taking place using Microsoft Teams Video. We will provide more detail if you are shortlisted for interview. We will assess you on the Behaviours listed in the job description and Strengths. At the interview, the panel can then probe further and ask applicants to provide further specific examples that show how they best demonstrate their skills. Behaviours The distinguishing Behaviours (the required skills, knowledge and behaviours) for this role are set out in the Civil Service Behaviours Framework 2018 ( Success Profiles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ) and should be referred to when making this application. You are required, under the Behaviours approach, to describe how you have dealt with a specific situation. You must give evidence of your knowledge, skills and behaviours and how you have applied this, such as what you did or said and how you interacted with other people. When you are giving your examples, do not spend too many words on description and background information. Avoid using general or unspecific statements. Instead say what the situation was, what you did what your thought process was and so on. Application Hints and Tips For more information on Success Profiles, tips on how to write a successful application and find out more about whats involved in the application process please visit About the application process, Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk) Further Information As part of the application process you will be asked to tell us which of the locations available you can work in. You will be able to specify up to 3 options. Please be aware that you can be posted to any location that you put in your preferences. If you would only like to be posted to one location, please confirm one location only. Successful candidates must select one of the locations noted in this advert as their base office and will be expected to undertake regular travel to this location under the Agencys hybrid working policy. We will create separate merit lists for each location and make job offers from those lists. If successful you will be placed onto the list for your chosen locations. If you accept a role in one of the locations, you will automatically be removed from any other merit list. A full UK Driving Licence is essential to this role. However, if you are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 and do not hold a full driving licence, we will consider your application. Please contact resourcingteamvoa.gov.uk with your details to discuss this further. Any move to VOA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk The VOA is an office-based organisation that supports flexible working. By default, everyone in the VOA is a hybrid worker with options to work in the office, at home or out and about, depending on the work theyre doing that day and where its best done. VOA employees only: If you are currently in receipt of DTA as a result of a VOA office closure/restructure and it is agreed for you to take up this role in your current location, you may continue to receive DTA for the remainder of the period you can claim for. Please check with the Vacancy Holder on preferred locations for this role before you apply. If you would require a Certificate of Sponsorship from the VOA to undertake this role, please contact resourcingteamvoa.gov.uk before submitting your application. Pre-employment Checks In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. Reasonable Adjustment We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process because of a disability, condition, or impairment. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate. If you need a reasonable adjustment or a change to be made so that you can make your application, please click here for more information: Reasonable Adjustments, Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk) and contact voarecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible. Complete the Assistance required section in the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. Terms & Conditions Voluntary terms apply. Reserve Lists If we have more successful candidates than available vacancies, we will hold a 6-month reserve list. During that time, we may use the list to fill the same, or similar roles with closely matching essential criteria, without further testing of merit. Any appointments from the Reserve list will be made in strict merit order. Starting Work The successful candidate/s will normally take up duty within one month from notification of successful completion of pre-employment checks. Applying All applications for these vacancies must be made online. There are limited exceptions to this. Paper applications will only be considered if you have a disability that will prevent you from applying online. If this is the case, please email voarecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk Once you have submitted your application it cannot be amended; only submit your application when you have completely finished and answered all the relevant questions. Please note that late applications will not be accepted. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. Use of AI You may utilise artificial intelligence (AI) tools and platforms to support you during the application process however, as with any application all information submitted must be factually accurate and all examples provided must be taken directly from your own experience. All presented information will be assessed at interview. Any applications where factual inaccuracy, plagiarism or copying of examples/answers from internet sources is detected will be withdrawn from the process. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving internal candidates. Concerns/Complaints The Valuation Office Agencys recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, you may make a complaint, by contacting the Central Recruitment Team at the following address: resourcingteamvoa.gov.uk If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint you have the right to complain to the Civil Service Commissioners. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups: UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name : Richard Burrows Email : richard.j.burrowsvoa.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : VOARecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail