Customer Accounts Specialist

Onward Homes; Manchester; On-site; GBP 14,000 - 15,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme (matched up to 10%)

Flexible working environment

Simply Health cash plan

Job summary

Onward Homes is seeking a Customer Accounts Specialist on a fixed-term contract of 3 months (14 hours/week across Thursday and Friday) to manage higher-level arrears and represent the organisation at court to protect income and maximise tenancy sustainability.

You will investigate rent and service charge accounts, conduct audits, and support the team with queries while working to de-escalate cases and prevent escalation.

Qualifications

• In-depth knowledge of the legal framework related to debt recovery.
• Proven track record in debt collection with negotiation skills.
• Experience delivering high levels of Customer Service.
• Ability to work on own initiative and meet deadlines.
• Competent with technology and communication tools.
• Good understanding of welfare benefits and external partners.

Responsibilities

• Manage rent and service charge accounts at court level to protect income.
• Take part in legal actions, including court appearances and evictions.
• Provide welfare benefit advice to maximise customer income.
• Collaborate with internal/external partners to deliver housing services.
• Ensure high levels of customer service and adherence to charter.

Skills

Debt recovery knowledge

Negotiation skills

Customer service

Work on own initiative

Communication skills

IT skills

Welfare benefits knowledge

Partnership working

Legal paperwork familiarity

Court attendance/evictions

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

About The Role

What you can expect from us

• We offer a competitive salary of £37,250 pro-rata.
• 32 days annual leave plus bank holidays a total of 40 days paid holiday per annum which is equivalent to 8 weeks.
• Stream - access both short and long terms loans, plus provides access to a savings facility.
• Opportunity to further increase annual leave with service or though the holiday purchase scheme.
• Immediate entry to our Pension scheme (matched contributions up to 10%)
• A great flexible working environment, with a range of family friendly policies
• Simply Health cash plan with financial benefits and the option to extend to your family. Cover includes dental, optical, physiotherapy, 24HR private GP access and much more.
• Paid leave for absence including sickness, maternity, paternity, and adoption leave.
• Access of up to £150 annually through the ‘Learning for life’ scheme
• Access to a wide range of discounts and cash back offers, ranging from retail and automotive to holidays and cycle to work scheme.
• Develop your career with support and access to training and qualifications.

About the Role

We are looking for a Customer Accounts Specialist to join our Customer Accounts team for a fixed term of 3 months for 14 hours per week across Thursday and Friday. The purpose of the role is to work within the Customer Accounts team to effectively manage higher-level arrears cases and represent the organisation at court to protect Onward’s income andmaximise performance and help to sustain our customers’ tenancies.

Rent and Service Charge Accounts

Creatively manage rent and service charge accounts at court level and above; being curious,proactive and always striving to de-escalate to ensure sustainability across tenures withinOnward Homes, Contour Property Services and S4B. Play a key role in the achievement of theteams KPI’s by taking ownership for personal performance to achieve targets. Ensure promptand appropriate action is taken on all accounts to prevent further escalation. Carry out auditson arrears cases, ensuring cases are managed effectively and in compliance with the IncomeManagement policy. Provide guidance to team members and highlight concerns to theCustomer Accounts Manager where cases are not being managed. Along with other types ofcustomer engagement, carry out home visits to customers to improve income collection andprevent escalation. Approve rent refunds, rent adjustment and invoice payments, and supportthe team with queries and issues when raised.

Legal Action

Take responsibility for all legal action including attending possession hearings and evictions;ensuring compliance with housing regulation and law. Effectively prepare and present cases forcourt, challenging representations made by customers and representatives to secure the bestoutcome for Onward, Contour Property Services and S4B.

Welfare Benefits

Provide accurate advice and assistance to customers to maximise income for customers.Refer customers to internal and external agencies as appropriate.

Partnership Working

Work effectively with internal service areas to deliver a holistic package of housing relatedservices to customers and maintain high income collection. Maintain and develop strongrelationships with external partners such as The Court Service, Advice Agencies, Solicitors andLocal Authorities.

Customer Service

Deliver excellent customer service to customers on a consistent basis; offering a bespoketailored service to ensure high levels of satisfaction and outcomes, whilst adhering to theCustomer Charter and delivering the quality of service set out in the Onward Style Guide.

Skills/Experience

Essential:

• In depth knowledge and understanding of legal framework related to debtrecovery.
• Proven track record in debt collection with excellent negotiation skills.
• Passionate, committed and self-motivated, able to influence and inspire othersand encourage innovation and creativity.
• Explore new ways of working and adapt to change to improve performance.
• Experience of delivering high levels of Customer Service.
• Ability to work on own initiative, prioritising work to meet deadlines.
• Competent user of technology with a clear understanding of its role incommunication and driving business success.
• Good working knowledge of welfare benefits.
• Experience of developing partnership working with external partners
• Good understanding of the social, economic and political context in theneighbourhoods in which we operate.
• Experience of preparing Legal paperwork, presenting cases in Court andattending evictions.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills, conveying information in asuitable and relevant way.
• IT skills – Microsoft office to Intermediate level.

Desirable:

• Experience of working with specialist income areas e.g., Supported, Leasehold,Market Rent and Commercial.

About Us

About Onward

Onward Homes is one of the largest registered providers of social housing in the Northwest, with 35,000 properties across the region.

We believe that everyone deserves a place to call their own, which is why we’re committed to building 500 new homes each year. We do more than just provide a roof over our customers’ heads, we’re here to make a real difference.

In addition to creating positive spaces for our customers we continuously strive to create a positive and progressive workspace to enable our colleagues to achieve their full potential.

We embrace diversity and strive for diverse teams to create an inclusive culture which enables Onward to thrive and be representative of the communities that we serve. We want to ensure that everybody has an opportunity to be part of our recruitment processes and will therefore make reasonable adjustments to accommodate our candidates. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you with our recruitment process via the email address below.

At Onward Homes, your application will be reviewed by a human who carefully considers your CV, skills, knowledge and experience as part of our recruitment process. We do not use AI to make hiring decisions.