Housing & Income Officer

We're looking for a Housing & Income Officer to join our Landlord Services team based locally at our services in Bracknell, Windsor and Maidenhead.

£32,000.00 per annum, working 35 hours per week. Benefits include 25 days Annual Leave, pension schemes, staff discounts, healthcare and career progression.

Want to feel in control of your career? You'll feel at home here.

Look Ahead manages a number of young people services in Bracknell and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

Look Ahead is looking for a highly motivated and committed Housing & Income Officer for an initial 6-month placement to work alongside our support workers and deliver a good quality intensive housing management service to our customers.

The successful applicant will be responsible for all aspects of housing management within the service. This will include rent arrears management, occupancy agreement management, ASB management, void management and some compliance and repair reporting responsibilities. This is not an exclusive list.

You will be based at our local offices in Bracknell, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. You will have significant daily contact with our customers and staff.

This role is a Fixed Term Contract, lasting 6-9 months.

This role requires a valid Right to Work for the UK as Look Ahead are not a sponsoring organisation.

What you'll do:

* Sign up new customers to the appropriate occupancy agreement and ensure housing benefit claims submitted and maintained correctly.
* Be responsible for monitoring and updating all relevant information on Look Ahead`s housing management database including inputting all new customers and ending occupancy agreements in a timely way.
* Proactively monitor rent accounts and take timely and effective action to deal with increasing rent and service charge arrears.
* Ensure all customers are supported to have the most appropriate payment method (rent payment cards, direct debit etc.) for their individual circumstances to ensure easy payment of their rent and/or arrears.
* Lead on making back-dated claims for housing benefit and appealing over-payment deductions.
* Ensure that all customers are kept informed of their rent account status regularly and that action plans are agreed with customers to address any arrears or other rent related issues promptly.
* Issuing arrears warning letters, monitor payment agreements and escalate arrears enforcement action.

For the full list please see our website

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead

About you:

* Enjoys social interaction and the company of others, joins in local activities to encourage customer involvement.
* Approachable and open behaviour. Can work independently and as part of a team.
* Prefers working as part of a group or team.
* Is fundamentally calm and resilient, does not let emotion adversely affect them or obscure their judgement.
* Exercises decisions and discretion in a non-judgmental manner.
* Is assertive and will challenge others.
* Has a practical and logical mind and is naturally well organised.
* Thrives on change and enjoys dynamic diverse environments.
* Demonstrates significant confidence and high levels of self-esteem.
* Is respectful, articulate, and sensitive in style of communication.
* Is passionate and enthusiastic about his/her career and job experiences.
* Is motivated towards excellence and improvement of personal performance with a can-do attitude.
* Committed and passionate about improving the life chances of vulnerable customers.
* Ability to cope positively with challenging and diverse behaviour.

What you'll bring:

Essential:

- Experience of monitoring rent accounts and managing rent arrears
- Experience of using computerised rent systems to monitor arrears and record information.
- Ability to track and manage void properties and ASB cases.
- Knowledge of managing ASB and lettings and be able to explain good practice in this area.
- Extensive knowledge of welfare benefits, especially housing benefit.
- Experience of liaising with housing benefit departments, the DWP and other external agencies.
- Confidence in interpreting rent accounts and using IT packages to run and create reports, identify priorities, and update records.

Desirable:

- 1-2 years' experience in housing management.

About us:

Look Ahead is a dynamic, leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. As an organisation we deliver over 110 services, providing support to around 7000 customers each year. We work across mental health, homelessness, young people and learning disabilities so there are plenty of opportunities to grow and progress your career with us.

Look Ahead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.
We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.
We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with Silver in the Inclusive Employers Standard 2021. We are a proud member of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant and encourage applications from a diverse range of applicants of all backgrounds.