Assistant Income Officer

Great Places Housing Association; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

WPA Healthcare

The Market Place discounts

Annual Leave 26–30 days

Reward and Recognition

Transport support

Wage Stream / wage access

Job summary

Great Places Housing Group is seeking an Assistant Income Officer in the Didsbury area to support the income management service. You will assist with rent and service charge recovery and ensure accurate administration while prioritising vulnerable residents' support.

The role involves managing arrears, producing court documentation, handling invoices, and providing high-quality customer service across channels. A background in housing debt and strong Excel skills are valued.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of housing-related debt and balancing customer needs with financial requirements.
• Understanding of income collection processes including leasehold, shared ownership and private rented accounts.
• Evidence of meeting performance indicators with ability to prioritise workload.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work in a specialist team and provide helpful customer service.
• Identify residents needing debt advice or extra support and refer to services.
• Experience promoting services and engaging with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership and day-to-day management of an allocated arrears patch.
• Manage commercial arrears and support timely recovery actions per policy.
• Manage former tenant arrears across tenures to maximise income.
• Produce court documents and attend court hearings.
• Produce invoices and payment demands for commercial customers.
• Manage virtual accounts and recover related debts.
• Support with recovery of current, former, cyclical and recharge debts.
• Provide admin support including scanning, refunds, direct debits and payments.
• Deliver high standards of customer service and refer vulnerable residents for support.
• Communicate effectively by phone, email and written correspondence.
• Maintain accurate system records of contacts and transactions.
• Complete training and development as directed.

Skills

IT literate

Excel proficient

Excellent communication

Team working

Customer service

Debt advice awareness

Stakeholder engagement

Tools

Microsoft Office

Excel

Job description

Assistant Income Officer

Didsbury, Manchester

£29,833 rising to £31,403 (At 2 years, subject to satisfactory performance)

The Assistant Income Officer will support the delivery of an efficient, customer-focused income management service for Plumlife Homes. The postholder will assist with the recovery of rent, service charge, commercial, former tenant, cyclical and recharge debts, helping to achieve collection targets while maintaining tenancy sustainability and supporting residents who may be experiencing financial difficulty. The role will contribute to maximising income, improving customer satisfaction and ensuring accurate administration across income management processes.

What you'll be doing;

• Take ownership and day-to-day management of an allocated arrears patch.
• Manage commercial arrears and support timely recovery action in line with policies and procedures.
• Manage former tenant arrears for all tenures to maximise income recovery for Plumlife.
• Producing court documentation and attending court hearings.
• Produce invoices and payment demands for commercial customers where required.
• Managing virtual accounts ensuring recovery of this debt for Plumlife.
• Support the Income Officer with the recovery of current, former, cyclical and recharge debts owed to the Group, including leasehold, shared ownership, private rented and freehold accounts, in accordance with policies and procedures and under the supervision of the Income Manager.
• Provide administrative support to the Income Officer, including scanning, photocopying, processing refunds, setting up direct debits and taking payments.
• Deliver a high standard of customer service by understanding why arrears have accrued, providing a customer-focused response and ensuring vulnerable residents are offered appropriate support, with legal action used only as a last resort.
• Communicate effectively and professionally with customers by telephone, email and written correspondence.
• Maintain accurate system records, ensuring all contacts, actions and transactions are recorded promptly and correctly.
• Undertake relevant continuing professional development and complete training as directed by the Group.

What you'll need;

• Knowledge of housing-related debt and the ability to balance customer needs with the financial requirements of the organisation.
• Understanding of relevant income collection processes, including leasehold, shared ownership and private rented accounts.
• Evidence of meeting performance indicators and targets, with the ability to prioritise a varied workload effectively.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Ability to work effectively and constructively as part of a specialist team.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Ability to identify residents who may require debt advice or additional support and refer them to appropriate services.
• Experience of promoting services or engaging effectively with internal and external stakeholders.

What we need from you;

• IT literate, with knowledge and experience of using Microsoft Office applications. Strong Excel skills are essential, including the ability to use mail merge.
• Ability to travel to other offices when required, including access to appropriate transport.
• A commitment to understand the challenges and opportunities that exist in the communities in which we work. We particularly value lived experience in social housing.
• A passion to advocate on behalf of people and communities.
• A commitment to work in partnership with others for the benefit of Great Places.
• A commitment to continuous learning and improvement and a willingness to work towards obtaining an IRPM qualification. Possession of, or desire to progress towards, a housing-related qualification such as CIH.
• Ability to work flexibly when needed.

What we give you in return for your hard work and commitment

• Pension DC Scheme (up to 10% contribution from both colleague and Great Places)
• WPA Healthcare auto enrolled at no contribution level with £1250 of savings available - option to increase and add on family members
• The Market Place High street, restaurant and supermarket discounts, gym memberships, cycle to work, smart tech loans and much more
• Annual Leave Start at 26 days annual leave, increasing up to 30 days within 5 years + Bank Holidays
• Reward and Recognition You Count Rewards are individual rewards for going 'above and beyond'
• Help with transport We offer season ticket loans, an affordable way to purchase season tickets for public transport at discounted rates.
• Wage Stream You can access savings opportunities and early access to wages

At Great Places we believe the wellbeing of our colleagues is vital to enable them to deliver great services. All your benefits can be used inside and outside of work.

"Great Places Housing Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expects all our colleagues to share this commitment. All successful applicant(s) will be subject to a basic criminal records background check.