Client Finance Officer

About The Borough Joining us, you get to work for not just one high performing London Borough, but two. Sutton and Kingston councils have a number of shared services serving both authorities, with some teams and roles more focussed on one Council than the other, but the majority are shared across both, meaning you get multiple opportunities to learn from a wider pool of activities and two different political bodies. We work flexibly in both Sutton and Kingston offices, and support working at home or flexible working patterns that enable you to tailor your working and personal life. We provide the equipment and tools to enable you to work flexibly, and in return ask you to use that flexibility to be creative and ambitious in the services we deliver. There are some really exciting things happening in both Sutton and Kingston. We are developing the London Cancer Hub, a world leading cancer research and treatment hub that will bring together professionals from across different sectors to identify and test new treatments and therapies. We are undertaking the largest housing regeneration programme ever delivered in Kingston, building new energy efficient housing that will transform some of our oldest Council owned housing. Both boroughs have publicly committed to doing what they can to tackle the climate emergency and are investing in new technologies and societal change that will help bring carbon emissions down and improve our climate impact. You should choose Sutton and Kingston if you are looking for an opportunity that will challenge you to deliver more, support you to achieve personal ambitions, and expect you to put borough residents at the heart of what you do. Sutton is a well connected attractive part of London that has a reputation for excellent schools, green and leafy open spaces, and a history that drives a thriving heritage and culture offer through our museums and libraries. The Council is controlled by a long established Liberal Democrat Administration and has high ambitions set out in its corporate plan “Ambitious for Sutton”, that will ensure Sutton remains a great place to live, work and raise a family. The Council plays a leading role in a number of local partnerships and places great emphasis on engaging effectively with its residents, listening to local voices and making their message heard across London Government. Kingston is a beautiful Royal borough with a historic setting on the banks of the Thames with excellent schools and a bustling retail centre, all surrounded by open green spaces such as Richmond Park and Bushy Park, former recreation grounds for Tudor Kings and Queens. The Council is controlled by a Liberal Democrat Administration and has a council plan “Greener, Fairer, Safer, Together”, that sets out a vision to be a vibrant, diverse and inclusive borough where residents are active, empowered, engaged and able to remain independent and resilient. The Council engages with residents through a number of forums and events through the year, and like Sutton plays a leading role in developing the South West Region of London.
About The Role And Our Ideal Candidate As the Client Finance Officer you will act as a corporate appointee for welfare benefits and also a court appointed deputy for certain vulnerable service users in accordance with Council procedures. Key roles will include working with service users , social workers and support workers to ensure that all service users receive their full benefit entitlement and providing training and guidance to staff on welfare benefits and financial procedures. You will work closely with the Social workers and where appropriate Housing Finance Rent Recovery Teams to ensure that appointees in owned and managed properties do not accrue rent arrears and are up to date paying any care fees.
To act as corporate appointee and court appointed deputy for a caseload of specified vulnerable service users and ensure that all financial arrangements are properly documented and managed.
Keep abreast of legislation and guidelines issued by the Department of Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and the Public Guardianship Office, and implement accordingly.
To provide high quality support to service users and staff on welfare benefit and client finance issues.
You need to be able to manage your caseload well, get to know your client base and trends in their finances. You will be prioritising key tasks regularly.
Be a team player – the team is relatively small so you should be able to be flexible enough to support team colleagues with their work and your line manager with ad hoc tasks where required.
Note that there are 2 mandatory office days, you will be required to work from the office every Thursday and also another day as advised by your line manager.
About You Ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
Ability to deal with members of the public in a sympathetic and tactful manner, often in a stressful situation.
Able to prepare & present stats.
Ability to organise and prioritise workload.
Ability to work as part of a small team and be a team player.
Ability to work with multiple agencies such as Housing Benefits / DWP , to deliver services for customers.
Ability to communicate effectively with customers and understand their needs, often in emotional and sensitive situations. Empathy & a good understanding of the issues faced by customers, e.g. vulnerable people.
Good level of IT literacy.
Must be physically able to visit people in their own homes including properties that can only be accessed by stairs.
About Us Th e Shared Finance Service ambition is to add value, inspire success and this role is part of the Shared Finance Service (SFS) team collectively responsible for delivering SFS activities to realise this ambition. The Client Finance Team sits within the Adult Social Care Finance Hub. There are two other teams within this hub. The client Finance Team comprises of Appointeeship and deputyship functions, and protection of property functions. We currently have 4 staff within this team. As the Client Finance Officer you will act as a corporate appointee for welfare benefits for certain vulnerable service users in accordance with Council procedures as well as a court appointed Deputy.
Our Offer To You As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
Benefits A generous annual leave entitlement of 26-31 days plus