Revenues and Benefits Policy and Support Officer

TN United Kingdom; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player seeks a motivated Policy and Support Officer to join their Revenues and Benefits team. This role involves assisting with Housing Benefit claims, providing support to vulnerable residents, and ensuring effective administration of financial assistance schemes. The ideal candidate will possess strong analytical skills, a customer-focused approach, and proficiency in Microsoft Office 365. This position offers a hybrid working model, promoting flexibility and inclusivity in the workplace. If you're passionate about making a difference in your community, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Benefits

Generous holiday entitlement

Flexible working opportunities

Support for unpaid caring responsibilities

Inclusivity initiatives

Qualifications

• Experience in a Housing Benefit team making decisions on claims.
• Understanding of Housing Benefit regulations.
• Excellent IT skills, especially in Microsoft Office 365.

Responsibilities

• Assist with Housing Benefit audits and quality checks.
• Process supported/exempt Housing Benefit claims.
• Administer Discretionary Housing Payments and respond to queries.

Skills

Housing Benefit regulations

Housing Benefit processing systems

Customer service

Microsoft Office 365

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Communication skills

Teamwork

Innovative thinking

Job description

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Revenues and Benefits Policy and Support Officer, Sheffield

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Client:

Sheffield City Council

Location:

Sheffield, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

f4807eb778c9

Job Views:

7

Posted:

05.05.2025

Expiry Date:

19.06.2025

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Job Description:

Sheffield is a city that is being noticed globally and has the potential to be the best city to live and work in, grow up and grow old in, and to start, grow and scale a business in. Sheffield City Council has recently developed a plan for 2024-28 that sets a clear and positive statement of what we want to achieve for our great city. Together we get things done. Our mission is clear. We want to work with the people of Sheffield, other public services, business and key partners in the city to achieve our city goals.

We are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic and motivated Policy and Support Officer to join our Revenues and Benefits Policy and Support Team.You will report to the Assistant Policy and Support Manager and work within a small team with responsibility for the administration of the Housing Benefit Subsidy claim, the processing of claims for Housing Benefit (supported exempt accommodation) and administering applications for assistance form the Discretionary Housing Payment and Council Tax Hardship Schemes.

In your role you will be your key responsibilities will include:

• Assist with annual external Housing Benefit audit through the completion of focused quality checks on Housing Benefit decisions.
• Providing assistance to the Housing Benefit Subsidy Officer.
• The processing of supported/exempt Housing Benefit claims.
• The day-to-day administration of the Discretionary Housing Payments and Council Tax Hardship Schemes within allocated budgets.
• Advising customers and stakeholders on the nature of these schemes and to respond to queries regarding potential entitlement and any awards made.
• Assisting in the completion of statutory returns.

For this role you will need a range of skills and experience including: -

• Experience of working in a Housing Benefit team making decisions on claims for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support or Discretionary Housing Payment schemes.
• An understanding of the Housing Benefit regulations.
• Experience of working with Housing Benefit processing systems.
• A customer focussed approach.
• Excellent I.T. skills including proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office 365 applications
• Effective team working and collaboration with colleagues.
• Effective communication skills and an ability to explain information to a wide variety of audiences.
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Innovative thinking with the ability to generate new ideas and contribute to service improvements.

This is a great opportunity for someone who wants to work as part of a team providing support to some of the Council’s most vulnerable residents, so if you have the necessary skills, knowledge and motivation to join us we would love to hear from you.

The successful candidate will need to be highly motivated, with the ability to work unsupervised. There may be occasions when you are required to work outside of regular working hours. We operate a hybrid working model and our office is based at Howden House.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

Under the Disability Confident Scheme, disabled applicants, who meet the essential criteria of this job, are guaranteed an interview.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.