Housing Benefits Assessment Officer

An exciting opportunity has emerged within a prestigious West London organization to join a newly formed team as a Housing Benefit Assessment Officer. In this role, you'll support the Department of Housing Benefits and Council Tax Support team while contributing to the council's broader mission of delivering outstanding service to its residents.
Role: Housing Benefit Assessment Officer 
Pay rates: PAYE: £21.31 p/h Umbrella PAYE: £26.31 p/h
Location: Hammersmith, West London
Duration: 3 months
Full time - Monday to Friday 
Hybrid role 
Job Purpose:
As a vital member of our team, your primary responsibility will involve conducting prompt and precise processing in the administration and assessment of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support, and Educational Benefit Awards. Your role will entail adherence to Government legislation, Case Law, and Local Policy within the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support scheme.
Key aspects of the role:

• Accurate Assessment: Assess Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support meticulously, meeting performance and accuracy targets while ensuring integrity in service delivery.
• Customer Engagement: Respond to customer inquiries through various platforms, including face-to-face, telephone, and email, advocating for self-service and digital channels, aligned with the Resident Access Programme.
• Legislation Compliance and Fraud Prevention: Stay updated on government initiatives related to benefits legislation, including Universal Credit eligibility criteria. Employ skills to detect, prevent, and minimize fraud internally and externally, ensuring adherence to current policies.
• Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement: Execute high-quality verification and assessment processes, adhering to local and national audit policies. Maintain excellent knowledge of current legislation and system enhancements, aiming for over 90% accuracy. Proactively identify vulnerable customers and provide appropriate support. Additionally, contribute to team development through mentoring and participation in related projects.

Person Specification: 

1. Previous Local Authority Experience: Candidates with prior experience in a local authority setting would be beneficial for this role.
2. Expertise in Housing Benefits and Council Tax Reduction: Demonstrated experience in advising and assessing Housing Benefits and Council Tax Benefits/Reduction claims is essential.
3. Customer Service Proficiency: Relevant experience in effectively handling customer interactions, both face-to-face and over the telephone, within a front-line service environment is required.
4. Deadline Management and Target Achievement: Proven track record of working to deadlines and achieving targets at the service, team, and personal levels, including setting up in-year arrangements, taking payments, and establishing direct debits for maximum collection

Please that we have a limited window to provide candidates for this oppotunity so please do submit your CV for consideration ASAP!