Supported Exempt Accommodation & Appeals Officer - Internal Applicants Only

What will you be doing?

• Consider and determine Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support appeals in line with legislation and Council policies
• Prepare detailed submissions and represent the Council at Tribunal hearings
• Assess and make decisions on new Supported Exempt Accommodation providers and schemes
• Evaluate the reasonableness of rent levels and rent increases, including eligible and ineligible charges
• Regularly review approved providers and accommodation to ensure compliance and value for money
• Work collaboratively with commissioning teams and providers to maximise subsidy
• Assess Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support claims accurately and efficiently
• Process and update changes of circumstances within statutory timescales
• Raise and recover Housing Benefit overpayments in line with legislation and case law
• Respond to enquiries from claimants, landlords and stakeholders via phone, email, correspondence, and face-to-face interaction

About you

You will be an experienced benefits professional with a strong understanding of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support and relevant legislation. You are confident in making decisions, handling complex cases, and communicating with a wide range of stakeholders.

You will also bring:

• GCSEs in English and Maths (or equivalent), with strong literacy and numeracy skills
• Proven experience assessing Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support claims
• The ability to interpret and apply complex legislation and keep up to date with changes
• Experience of handling appeals, preparing tribunal submissions and, ideally, representing cases at Tribunal
• Knowledge of Supported Exempt Accommodation and rent decision-making (desirable but not essential)
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to handle sensitive situations calmly and professionally
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to work independently and meet deadlines
• High levels of accuracy and attention to detail
• Good IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office (experience with document management systems is advantageous)
• A commitment to equality, diversity, and excellent customer service

Our benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Disability Confident Employer

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.  

Our Employment and Disability Service provides bespoke support to individuals facing barriers to employment, helping them work towards their goals to start, stay and succeed in employment. For further information please click here The Employment and Disability Service (EADS) | North Northamptonshire Council

Armed Forces Community 

The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)