Senior Housing Benefits Officer

Pertemps; Hounslow; Hybrid; GBP 63,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in North London is seeking a Senior Housing Benefits Officer to oversee financial assessments and support vulnerable residents. The role demands extensive experience in Housing Benefit appeals and strong legislative knowledge. You will manage a team while ensuring compliance with high-quality service delivery in a hybrid working environment. Ideal for candidates with excellent communication skills and a background in local authority settings.

Qualifications

• Must have extensive and recent experience in Housing Benefit appeals.
• Strong technical knowledge of relevant legislation is essential.
• Ability to work effectively in a high-volume local authority environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team delivering financial assessments and decisions.
• Ensure service delivery aligns with legislation and best practices.
• Handle complex cases and provide technical advice.

Skills

Extensive experience in Housing Benefit appeals

Technical knowledge of Housing Benefit legislation

Excellent communication skills

Experience in high-volume local authority

Ability to handle complex cases

Job description

Senior Housing Benefits Officer – North London

Hybrid Working
£30 per hour (Umbrella)
3–6 Month Ongoing Contract

Are you an experienced Housing Benefits professional ready to step into a high-impact role within a fast-paced and evolving environment? This North London local authority is seeking a Senior Housing Benefits Officer to join their team and support vulnerable residents across the borough.

About the Role

Against a backdrop of continually changing regulation and guidance, you will play a key role in delivering a high-performing, customer-centred financial assessment service. You’ll help manage a team responsible for providing financial assistance towards rent, Council Tax, and social care costs for approximately 21,000 households — representing 1 in 5 of the borough’s most vulnerable residents.

Your work will directly contribute to the council’s Use of Resources Assessment and their overall Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) score, ensuring the service operates at peak performance and maintains compliance with all statutory requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and support a team delivering accurate and timely financial assessments and Housing Benefit/CTR decisions.
• Ensure high-quality service delivery in line with legislation, guidance, and best practice.
• Handle complex cases and provide expert technical advice to colleagues and residents.
• Contribute to continuous service improvement to maximise CPA performance.
• Support the delivery of financial assistance for rent, Council Tax, and social care costs across diverse and vulnerable households.

Essential Requirements

To be successful, candidates must have:

• Extensive and recent experience in revising, preparing, submitting, and presenting Housing Benefit appeals at tribunal hearings, both in person and online.
• Strong technical knowledge of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, and relevant legislation.
• Experience working within a high-volume local authority environment.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to handle complex and sensitive cases with professionalism.
• The ability to work effectively in a hybrid model and hit the ground running.

PLEASE NOTE: All applications are monitored and shortlisted candidates will be contacted via phone call or email.