Cannock Chase Council and Stafford Borough Council are committed to achieving excellence in the processing of Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support claims together with the recovery of overpaid benefit, from their shared Benefits Service.
The following opportunities have arisen for multiple candidates with the appropriate skills, experience and commitment to work in the shared Benefits Service. Whilst the successful candidates will be based primarily in Cannock, you may be required on occasion to work at sites across the Cannock Chase and Stafford Borough areas.
Customer Contact & Assessments – You will be required to deal promptly and efficiently with Customer enquiries, the assessment of new claims and change in circumstances for housing benefit and / local council tax reduction, and the assessment of Discretionary Payment applications.
Compliance & Claim Management – You will be required to undertake the re-assessment of housing benefit and / or local council tax support claims, as well as carry out subsidy claim management checks to ensure that subsidy is maximised.
The successful applicants will need to have good communication skills in both written and verbal form as well as being able to work accurately and prioritise workloads to enable deadlines to be met.
You should hold GCSE’s at Grade C or above (including Mathematics and English) or equivalent academic or vocational experience. You must also be able to work in a team and on your own initiative as well as being willing to undertake training development to gain detailed knowledge of Council Tax and Housing Benefits.
In addition you should have knowledge of Microsoft Office packages such as Word, Excel and Outlook in order to order to input and retrieve data.
Any previous experience of working in Benefits Administration or with Civica Housing Benefits and Council Tax Benefits software will be seen as advantageous to the role.
Following Covid the Local Authority is currently trialing a hybrid working arrangement, dependent upon role suitability, so applications from candidates that can work from home are welcomed.
Benefits to you:
- Flexibility in Working Arrangements
- Flexitime Scheme
- Local Government Pension Scheme
- Discounted Leisure Centre Membership
- 22 days holiday and 25 after 5 years continuous service
- Cycle Scheme
- Free Car Parking
For an informal discussion about the posts please contact Jacqueline Frid, Principal Benefit Officer on 01543 464624.
To apply for these vacancies online please go to https://cannock.engageats.co.uk/welcome.aspx
Please state in your application form, which post number/s you are applying for.
Alternatively, please telephone 01543 462621 or write to HR Services, Cannock Chase Council, Civic Centre, Beecroft Road, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS11 1BG or e-mail vacancies@cannockchasedc.gov.uk quoting the relevant post number.
The closing date for receipt of completed applications is Friday 25th February 2022.
THE COUNCIL IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER
