JOB TITLE: Housing Benefits Officer
LOCATION: Hybrid working, 1 day a month in office (unless any urgent meetings), client based in West London
PAY RATE: £19.50 PAYE / £25.22 Umbrella per hour
START DATE: ASAP
DURATION/Hours: 3-month initial contract/ 35 hours a week
IR35 STATUS: Inside
Skills
Most have current iworld/northgate system knowledge
Up to date knowledge of assessing housing benefits/council tax reduction claims within the last 3 months
Minimum two years experience of assessing housing benefit/council tax reduction claims
Role Purpose
- To be responsible for all aspects of the assessment of applications for Housing/Council Tax Benefit and renewal of ongoing cases and process those applications utilising Ealing’s Information Technology Systems in accordance with the Benefit Regulations and relevant discretion within the Council’s policies and procedures.
Duties
- To have and maintain a comprehensive of Benefits legislation in order to administer applications for Housing/Council Tax Support entitlement and payment, in accordance with Statutory Regulations and the policies, schemes, procedures and practices of the Council.
- To obtain where necessary additional information by Image system or manually generated letter, telephone or personal interview in order for the claim to be determined.
- To keep an adequate record of all claims made and regularly update information received via the scanning/computer system or manually where appropriate.
- To acquire and retain a comprehensive knowledge of the Benefits, Image and processing systems to input/amend/cancel/all claims/ retrieve information in order that Housing/Council Tax Support applications are administered in accordance with Statutory Regulations and the Council’s policies and procedures. To check output and report errors to the Computer Development Officer.
- To calculate manually, entitlement to Benefits and effect payment as required.
- Acquire an extensive and detailed knowledge of Welfare Benefits and services provided by Government Agencies, and the voluntary sector, e.g. DWP, Social Services, CAB, Law Centres, etc. to advise on service provided, including claim procedures.
- To compose and draft detailed letters utilising Word as and when appropriate in response to enquires including explanations giving breakdowns of assessments and payments, stage one complaints and other routine correspondence from claimants.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
- To demonstrate comprehensive of Benefits legislation in order to administer applications for Housing/Council Tax Support entitlement and payment, in accordance with Statutory Regulations and the policies, schemes, procedures. and practices of the Council.
- To demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and understanding of wider Welfare Benefits legislation and procedures and the ability to keep abreast of changes of legislation.
- To evidence good analytical skills, using them to examine case files and to make decisions in an impartial manner.
- To possess good knowledge of Word and Excel and to demonstrate the ability to learn computer systems required for carrying out duties of a Housing Benefit Officer
- Experience in working within a benefits environment with experience of assessing benefit entitlement.
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