Service Charge Business Partner

SNG (Sovereign Network Group); Basingstoke, Wembley; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

SNG (Sovereign Network Group) is seeking a Service Charge Business Partner to join the Service Charges team. Based from our offices in Basingstoke or Wembley with hybrid working, you will lead service improvement initiatives across regions and ensure accurate, compliant service charge management in line with regulations.

You’ll be a Part Qualified Accountant or qualified by experience, with strong analytical, project management and communication skills to drive continuous improvement and

Qualifications

• Part Qualified Accountant or equivalent experience with service charges knowledge.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to translate financial information.

Responsibilities

• Identify service improvement opportunities across regions and services to enhance data analysis of service charge expenditure and recoverability.
• Review data coding structure in legacy service charge systems and make recommendations.
• Analyze service charge data and KPI trends to improve income and address under-recovery issues.
• Support skill development within the service charge teams and recommend capacity-building initiatives.
• Collaborate with service charge teams and stakeholders to implement changes in major contracts and services.
• Develop and maintain documentation for quality improvement and update service charge policies as needed.
• Lead the team with a clear vision and a culture of accountability and high performance.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Quality improvement

Project management

Communication skills

Independent working

Stakeholder collaboration

Data systems

Education

Accounting qualification

Tools

Process mapping

Root cause analysis

Performance dashboards

Job description

SNG (Sovereign Network Group) is one of the largest housing associations in England. We provide 86,000 homes and invest in communities across London, the South East, South West and East of England, as well as aiming to create thousands of new affordable homes every year.

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Service Charge Business Partner to join our Service Charges team. Based from our offices in Basingstoke or Wembley, you'll share your time between the office and home in line with our hybrid approach. There will be regular travel to both offices to ensure team collaboration.

The Role

Reporting into the Head of Service Charge Setting and Administration, you'll work within the Service Charge team to enhance the relationship and collaboration between the service charge teams and other stakeholder functions that interact with and support accurate and transparent service charge management, in line with legal and regulatory requirements.

You’ll also focus on leading continuous service improvement for the service charge function. This will include reviewing existing processes to ensure they meet business requirements and are future-ready, automation of processes where feasible, and making recommendations to maintain efficient and effective systems and processes for service charges administration across all regions within SNG. Responsibilities include:

• Working closely with the Head of Service Charge Setting and Administration to identify service improvement opportunities across regions, tenures, and services which lead to enhanced data analysis of service charge expenditure and recoverability and other related activities
• Reviewing existing data coding structure and configurations in legacy service charge systems, making recommendations to support accurate and transparent service charge delivery
• Analysing service charge data and key performance indicators to identify trends and areas for improvement, implementing strategies to optimise service charge income and effectively address and support service charge under-recovery issues
• Supporting continuous improvement initiatives and helping to identify skill gaps within the service charge teams, recommending initiatives to enhance their capacity and capability for optimal performance
• Collaborating with service charge teams and other stakeholders to address operational challenges and implement changes for effective teamwork, proactively supporting efficient service charge management through involvement in major contract arrangements, including repairs and maintenance, energy, and other insourcing and outsourcing services
• Developing and maintaining documentation for quality improvement in the end-to-end service charge process and supporting the updating of service charge policies and procedures as needed
• Managing the team with a focus on articulating a clear vision, providing direction, and promoting a culture of accountability, high performance, and continuous improvement

What we need from you

You’ll be a Part Qualified Accountant (ACA, CIMA, ACCA) or Qualified by Experience with strong knowledge of service charges and relevant legislation. You’ll also have:

• Strong skills in analysing and problem solving to find improvement opportunities and create effective solutions
• Solid understanding of quality improvement principles, methodologies, frameworks and best practices
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines
• Effective communication skills, including the ability to translate complex financial information to colleagues, verbally and in writing or through reports
• Ability to work independently and proactively
• Demonstrable ability to work collaboratively across teams, demonstrating strong relationship-building and influencing skills
• Familiar with data management systems and quality improvement tools like process mapping, root-caou analysis, and performance dashboards