[ref. h7046201] Collections Officer

About Our Client

You will be working for a well known Local Authority based in London.

Job Description

The key responsibilities are as followed:

• Manage a portfolio of service charge accounts, working to targets set by the Collections Manager
• Monitor individual accounts, determining and taking appropriate action to ensure that account holders pay service charges in accordance with the obligations under their lease
• Authorise and check payment plans
• Maintain contact with account holders through letter, email, telephone, or face-to-face as appropriate; issue statements and other account documentation on request from the account holder
• Advise the account holder on the legal and statutory basis of service charges as appropriate
• Investigate any issues raised by the account holder with the accounting process, with service charges, and other issues, working closely with other teams within Home Ownership
• Advise the account holder on alternative sources of information, such as the CAB, and liaise with the CAB where necessary
• Liaise with and respond to elected members on collections issues as required
• Investigate issues with the lease and determine that service charges are in line with the provisions of the lease; ensure that any billing errors are noted and corrected

The Successful Applicant

To be successful in this role you will need the following:

• Previous experience in a similar role
• An good knowledge of leasehold issues, including but not limited to: service charges; repairs and maintenance responsibilities; current law and legislation
• Broad knowledge and awareness of current issues and developments affecting the management of council housing
• Experience in leasehold management and practice, or of arrears management
• Experience in working as part of a customer-facing team, answering queries through a variety of channels within a customer focused organisation
• Experience of monitoring customer feedback
• Experience of working to performance targets and deadlines and of managing workload to meet targets
• Experience of liaising with resident, homeowner or comparable stakeholder groups
• Experience of working with property management and accounting IT systems

What's on Offer

An immediate start contract based in London.