At Wandle, we pride ourselves in delivering safe and affordable homes along with low cost, dependable, localised services to our customers. The housing customer service delivery team are responsible for the delivery of excellent services using a partnership approach with residents to ensure early intervention and resolution in anti- social behaviour, allocations and lettings, tenancy management, resident involvement, estate cleaning and grounds maintenance, supporting other departments across the organisation on customer service delivery, leading to improved customer satisfaction.

A day in the life:

You will:

• Manage rent accounts and other housing related debts, on a regular basis in line with the Wandle’s policies and procedures, in order to identify cases that require action.
  Negotiate repayment agreements with tenants and take corrective action where such agreements are not maintained, adhering to the Ministry of Justice Pre-action Protocol for Rent Possessions.
  Refer residents to welfare benefit and debt support services to ensure that residents are able to maximise their income by ensuring take up of any entitlement to benefits.
  Make regular and early contact with all residents in arrears through home visits, telephone calls, text messages, e-mails and office interviews, sometimes outside normal working hours.
  Prepare and submit cases to the County Court for Possession Hearings and attend court hearings and carry out evictions due to rent arrears.
  Identify vulnerable residents and make referrals to the resident support team to ensure appropriate support is put in place.
  Maximize income collection while minimising the risk of repossession through making use of direct housing payments, charitable applications, food bank referrals and any other means of financial support available.
  Deliver income management services while demonstrating high standards of customer care.
  Support and implement Wandle’s response to Welfare Reform measures deliver against annual team and individual targets for income collection.

What you will need to have:

Experience, knowledge, understanding:

• Knowledge of housing law, the regulatory framework and good practice with regards to debt recovery essentials
• Front line experience in credit control or income collection
• Proven experience within a customer service environment and able to demonstrate high levels of customer care
• Self-motivated and able to prioritise own workload and work on own initiative
• Experience of presenting cases to court and knowledge of the court system and legal remedies relating to debt recovery
• Extensive knowledge of welfare benefits and welfare Benefit reform
• Commitment to providing a high-quality service to residents, colleagues and external stakeholders.