Systems Support Officer

Coventry City Council; Coventry; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Coventry City Council is seeking a dedicated IT Systems Support specialist to back the Revenues & Benefits Service, with a focus on Housing Benefits. You will work with operational teams, ICT colleagues and software suppliers to investigate issues, test changes and support continuous service improvement.

You will analyse data, monitor processes, and ensure data integrity while maintaining high levels of accuracy and service delivery.

Qualifications

• Recent experience within a Revenues & Benefits service is essential.
• Experience with Housing Benefit legislation and administration is desirable.
• Experience with system testing, data quality, financial reconciliation or business process management is advantageous.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to explain technical information clearly.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist IT systems support for the Revenues & Benefits Service.
• Run and monitor key business processes to keep systems operational.
• Investigate failures, identify root causes and escalate where needed.
• Analyse system data and reports to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Test new functionality, upgrades and legislative changes against business requirements.
• Collaborate with operational teams, ICT colleagues and software suppliers to resolve issues.

Skills

Data analysis

Reporting tools

Spreadsheets

Stakeholder comms

Job description

The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting and developing the systems used across the Revenues & Benefits Service, with a particular focus on Housing Benefits. Working closely with operational teams, system suppliers and stakeholders, you will help ensure our systems remain effective, accurate and resilient in supporting service delivery. You will be responsible for investigating system and process issues, analysing data and reports, testing new functionality, supporting business processes and helping to identify opportunities for continuous improvement. Main duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Providing specialist support for the IT systems used within the Revenues & Benefits Service.
• Running and monitoring critical business processes to ensure systems remain operational and service objectives are met.
• Investigating system and process failures, identifying root causes and taking appropriate action to resolve or elevate issues.
• Analysing system data, reports and outputs to identify issues, trends and opportunities for service improvement.
• Testing new functionality, system upgrades and legislative changes to ensure changes meet business requirements before implementation.
• Working with operational teams, ICT colleagues and software suppliers to diagnose, track and resolve system-related issues.
• Conducting audit checks on batch processing, system outputs and financial reconciliations to ensure data integrity and accuracy.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.,

We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate experience in:

• Housing Benefit administration and legislation.
• Investigating and resolving complex system or operational issues.
• Analysing data and using reporting tools or spreadsheets to identify problems and improve services.
• Supporting, testing or implementing system changes and enhancements.
• Working with software suppliers and stakeholders to resolve issues and deliver improvements.
• Interpreting information and making informed decisions based on evidence and analysis.

Experience of Revenues & Benefits systems support, systems testing, data quality, financial reconciliation or business process management would be advantageous.

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated individual to join our Revenues & Benefits Systems Support Team.

We are looking for an individual with recent experience working within a Revenues and Benefits service and a strong understanding of Housing Benefit legislation and administration. The successful candidate will have excellent analytical and problem-solving skills and be confident using systems, reports, spreadsheets and data analysis techniques to investigate issues and support service improvement.

You will be able to work independently and as part of a team, prioritising workloads effectively while maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail. You should be able to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences, explaining technical information clearly and managing stakeholder expectations during incidents, investigations and system changes.

You will be organised, self-motivated, adaptable and committed to delivering high-quality services to both internal and external customers.

Please note: Recent experience working within a Revenues & Benefits service is an essential requirement for this role. Applications that do not demonstrate relevant Revenues & Benefits experience will not be progressed.

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias. The Revenues Service is a large team of more than 60 people working together to collect £340 million of corporate revenue to help the Council provide vital services to Coventry residents. From council tax to business rates to invoices for stalls at the Godiva Festival, the team perform a range of roles to ensure we provide excellent services to residents and internal council departments and that ultimately, we maximise the collection of public funds.

The revenue we collect ensures the council can provide services from bin collections to looking after our parks and green spaces to providing the best possible chances in life for our looked after children. Our team is uniquely placed within the council as we interact with every one of Coventry's 140,000 residential properties and 9,000 commercial properties. Every resident and customer we deal with has a unique set of circumstances - our team challenge those who can pay and don't pay - applying a range of legal remedies to compel people to pay what they owe. But the team also listen to and support those who can't pay and help some of our most vulnerable residents find a way out of debt.

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change. We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse. At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things. To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition