Financial Assessment and Income Officer

Hertfordshire County Council; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

Hertfordshire County Council’s Adult Care Services Income and Financial Assessments Team plays a crucial role in ensuring fair assessments for care charges. The role involves handling many enquiries, delivering responsive support, and guiding people through financial assessment processes under the Care Act 2014.

The successful candidate will triage cases, allocate workload, respond to calls and letters, and work collaboratively to maintain a high-quality service every day.

Qualifications

• Experience in customer service, call handling or fast-paced environments.
• Strong communication skills and ability to explain processes clearly.
• Ability to triage, prioritise and organise workloads effectively.
• Good numeracy and confidence with financial information.
• Proficiency with IT systems, databases, spreadsheets, and case management.
• Collaborative working style with colleagues and partner teams.
• Excellent record-keeping and administrative attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Handle a high volume of calls and written enquiries regarding financial assessments and care charging.
• Triage cases, allocate work, and guide enquiries to the appropriate teams.
• Respond to written correspondence with accurate information and timely updates.
• Support individuals to understand financial assessment processes and billing under the Care Act 2014.
• Work with colleagues to maintain efficient service delivery and performance.

Skills

Customer service

Communication skills

Triage workloads

Numeracy

IT systems

Team collaboration

Attention to detail

Tools

Databases

Spreadsheets

Case management systems

Job description

The Adult Care Services Income and Financial Assessments Team play a crucial role in ensuring that adults receiving social care services are assessed fairly and accurately for their ability to contribute financially towards the cost of their care. The team is responsible for carrying out financial assessments, maximising benefit entitlement, collecting & reviewing financial information and monitoring income. They provide guidance and support to individuals and work closely with other departments, including social care practitioners, whilst applying relevant legislation such as the Care Act 2014. About the role The successful candidate will take on a vital, customer-facing role within the Income and Financial Assessments Service, playing a key part in delivering excellent support as part of our income maximisation team. Are you someone who enjoys helping others, solving problems, and making a real difference? You'll be at the heart of our Income Service, managing a wide range of enquiries about financial assessments and charging in line with the Care Act 2014. A key part of this role involves handling a high volume of calls, delivering a responsive and professional service while managing enquiries efficiently. You will also respond to written correspondence, supporting individuals with queries relating to financial assessments and how care charges are calculated. As a key point of contact, you'll guide people through the process, ensuring they feel informed, supported, and confident that their queries are being effectively resolved. Working closely with colleagues across the service, you'll play an important part in keeping everything running smoothly, triaging cases, allocating work, and making sure enquiries reach the right teams quickly and efficiently. This is a varied and rewarding role where you'll build relationships, use your judgement, and make a meaningful impact every day., This role is open to secondments for eligible employees who work for HCC. If you wish to apply on a secondment basis, you must have your line manager's approval before submitting your application. You will be asked to confirm this within your application form. If you are not eligible for a secondment (e.g., you are currently on a fixed-term contract that would end before this positions ends) or you indicate that your manager cannot support a secondment, your application will be considered on a fixed-term contract basis instead. Additional information We are changing Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings - Protection of Employment) principles. LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit Disability Confident We are proud to be a and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post. Safeguarding This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. English Fluency

• Experience working in a customer service, call handling or other fast-paced environment, managing competing demands and supporting customers through enquiries, appointments and service processes.
• Strong customer service and communication skills, with the ability to resolve queries professionally and empathetically, and explain financial assessment processes clearly and sensitively.
• Ability to triage, prioritise and organise workloads effectively, including coordinating appointments and ensuring tasks and cases are managed appropriately.
• Good numeracy skills and confidence in understanding and working with financial information.
• Proficient in using IT systems, including databases, spreadsheets and case management systems.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and partner teams to deliver a high-quality service.
• Strong attention to detail, with accurate record-keeping and administrative skills.

Desirable

• Understanding of Adult Social Care processes, financial assessments, or Care Act 2014 legislation

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required).