Benefit Officer

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

The Revenues Service is a large team of more than 60 people working together to collect £340 million of corporate revenue to help the Council provide vital services to Coventry residents.  From council tax to business rates to invoices for stalls at the Godiva Festival, the team perform a range of roles to ensure we provide excellent services to residents and internal council departments and that ultimately, we maximise the collection of public funds.  The revenue we collect ensures the council can provide services from bin collections to looking after our parks and green spaces to providing the best possible chances in life for our looked after children.  

Our team is uniquely placed within the council as we interact with every one of Coventry’s 140,000 residential properties and 9,000 commercial properties.  Every resident and customer we deal with has a unique set of circumstances - our team challenge those who can pay and don’t pay – applying a range of legal remedies to compel people to pay what they owe.  But the team also listen to and support those who can’t pay and help some of our most vulnerable residents find a way out of debt.
Our ValuesIn line with our One Coventry Values we strive to have a workforce that reflects our local communities and welcome applicants from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic backgrounds, applicants who have a disability and applicants who are from the LGBTQ+ community to apply for our senior leadership roles. 

Our Values are:

Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

What is the job role?Are you looking for a new challenge, if so, then why not join our Benefit Service?

We have full time permeant vacancies for pro-active, motivated individuals who, after a period of training, will be responsible for the assessment for customer receiving Universal Credit to award Local Council Tax Support and award Free School Meals.

You will work as part of a team of Benefit Officers to ensure prompt and accurate processing of claims on our Revenues and Benefits and document management IT systems.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
Who are we looking for?If you have good customer service skills, a basic knowledge of welfare reforms: the effects of Universal Credit on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support and are used to working in a fast- paced changing environment, then this is the role for you.

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

Assessment date: 10th July 2024

If successful following assessment - Interview dates: 17th and 18th July 2024
About CoventryCoventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies