Direct Payments Officer

West Northamptonshire Council; Northampton; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Generous annual leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Job summary

West Northamptonshire Council seeks a Direct Payments Officer to review and reconcile Direct Payment accounts, analysing spending patterns and ensuring funding aligns with care plans. You will work across Adult and Children’s Social Care, Education and Finance to resolve discrepancies and safeguard public funds.

You’ll identify overpayments, high balances and anomalies, providing guidance to service users and carers while remaining compassionate and professional in sensitive conversations.

Qualifications

• Strong numerical and analytical skills are essential.
• Ability to identify patterns, trends and anomalies in financial information.
• Clear and compassionate communication with service users and colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Review and reconcile Direct Payment accounts and supporting financial information.
• Identify overpayments, high balances and expenditure requiring review against agreed plans.
• Analyse financial information to identify patterns, trends and areas for further consideration.
• Support the resolution of surplus or unspent funds in a fair, proportionate and customer-focused way.
• Provide practical guidance and advice to service users, carers and representatives.
• Work closely with Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Education and wider Finance Operations teams.
• Share concerns related to wellbeing, finances or support arrangements with line manager and relevant colleagues.
• Help ensure public funds are used appropriately while supporting independence and control.

Skills

Strong numerical skills

Analytical thinking

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Problem solving

Collaboration

Job description

Are you naturally curious, good with numbers and someone who enjoys getting to the bottom of a problem?, We're looking for a Direct Payments Officer to join our supportive and experienced team. This is a role for someone who can quickly process numbers and analyse information to demonstrate an understanding of what may have occurred. Direct Payments give people greater choice and control over how their care and support is arranged. As a Direct Payments Officer, you'll play an important role in helping adults, children and families manage those payments effectively, ensuring public funds are used appropriately while supporting people to remain independent and receive the care they need. You'll help balance a customer-focused approach with good financial stewardship, protecting public money while working with service users to achieve positive outcomes. While you'll spend time reviewing financial information and reconciling accounts, success in the role comes from your ability to spot patterns, ask questions, identify and recommend solutions and make balanced decisions. You'll be supporting people from a wide range of backgrounds, handling complex and varied situations, and working closely with colleagues across Adult Social Care, Children's Social Care Services, Education and Finance. One day you might be reviewing a Direct Payment account with a high balance and helping a service user understand how their funding can be used most effectively. Another day you could be reviewing an overpayment, identifying an issue that requires further attention, or working with social care colleagues to resolve a complex case. The variety of the role means you'll need to think critically, adapt to different situations and use your judgement to achieve the right outcome.What will you be doing? As a Direct Payments Officer, you'll review Direct Payment accounts to understand how funding is being used and whether it aligns with agreed care and support plans. Some accounts will be straightforward, while others may require a more detailed review to understand changes in spending patterns, resolve discrepancies or identify where additional support or clarification may be needed. You'll develop a strong understanding of how Direct Payment accounts operate and become skilled at recognising patterns and trends within financial information. This could mean identifying recurring spending patterns, recognising unusually high balances, or noticing when contributions have not been paid as expected. Often, your role will be to identify when additional support, guidance or intervention may be beneficial and ensure the right teams are involved at an early stage. You'll use financial information, invoices and supporting documentation to complete a reconciliation, applying judgement and common sense to determine the most appropriate course of action. Sometimes this might mean helping an individual understand their responsibilities, while at other times it could involve recognising when a matter requires specialist advice, safeguarding input or further management oversight. A large part of the role is working directly with people. You'll build positive relationships with service users, family members, carers and representatives, helping them navigate sometimes complex processes and supporting them to manage their Direct Payments successfully. You'll be expected to handle sensitive conversations professionally and compassionately, recognising that many of the people you work with rely on these funds to meet important care needs. You'll also:

• Review and reconcile Direct Payment accounts and supporting financial information.
• Identify overpayments, high balances and expenditure that may require review against agreed support arrangements.
• Analyse financial information to identify patterns, trends and areas that may require further consideration, using sound judgement to determine when further review or escalation is required.
• Support the resolution of surplus or unspent funds in a fair, proportionate and customer-focused way.
• Provide practical guidance and advice to service users, carers and representatives.
• Work closely with Adult Social Care, Children's Social Care Services, Education, Financial Assessments and wider Finance Operations teams.
• Share any concerns relating to a person's wellbeing, finances or support arrangements with your line manager and relevant social care colleagues.
• Help ensure public funds are used appropriately while supporting people to maintain choice, independence and control.

We're looking for someone who enjoys problem solving and has the confidence to work in situations where there isn't always a straightforward answer.

You're comfortable reviewing information, spotting trends, recognising inconsistencies and asking questions when something doesn't look right. You'll be comfortable working with numbers and financial information, but equally confident speaking with people, asking questions and sharing your understanding of what you see. You may have developed your skills in finance, income recovery, housing, welfare services, banking operations, customer services, compliance, investigations, social care, administration or a similar environment where you've needed to analyse information, identify issues and work with customers to achieve positive outcomes. Most importantly, you'll have:

• Strong numerical and analytical skills.
• The ability to identify patterns, trends and anomalies within financial information and use this insight to inform decision-making.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Sound judgement and the confidence to make balanced decisions.
• Strong communication and customer service skills.
• The ability to explain complex situations clearly and sensitively.
• A calm and professional approach when dealing with challenging or sensitive situations.
• Good organisational skills and the ability to manage a varied workload.
• An understanding of the importance of balancing excellent customer service with the responsible management of public funds.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to build positive working relationships.

Knowledge of Direct Payments, the Care Act, Adult Social Care or safeguarding would be beneficial, but we're equally interested in candidates who can demonstrate transferable skills and a willingness to learn.

At West Northants Council, it's about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people. Our vision is 'to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive'. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. Hear from our Chief Executive, Martin Henry, about building a career at WNC. We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a highly supportive team that works closely together and is committed to developing its people. The breadth of the role means you'll gain experience across a wide range of services and disciplines. You'll build relationships and develop knowledge across Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Education, Financial Assessments, Payroll, Debt Recovery, Payments and wider Finance Operations teams, giving you a unique insight into how services work together to support residents. It's an excellent role for someone looking to broaden their experience, develop specialist knowledge and build a long-term career within local government. The skills and exposure gained in this role can open doors to a variety of future opportunities across finance, social care and operational services.

Alongside a rewarding career, you'll benefit from:

• Flexible, hybrid and family-friendly working arrangements.
• Generous annual leave entitlement, with the option to purchase additional leave.
• Local Government Pension Scheme membership.
• Enhanced family leave provisions.
• Learning and development opportunities to support your career growth.
• Employee discounts, wellbeing support and a wide range of staff benefits.

Our benefits You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council