Benefits Officer

This is a fantastic opportunity for a Benefits Officer to join our friendly and welcoming team and be part of our ever-improving service delivering financial support to residents of North Norfolk.

You will:

• Make a real difference and support those who need it most
• Recover Housing Benefit overpayments
• Maximise income for local residents
• Make full assessments of housing benefit and council tax support claims
• Deliver high quality customer service
• Support in the administration of the discretionary housing payment fund
• Be at the heart of our mission to support financial wellbeing and prevent hardship

You will help support local residents, through using various data sources to ensure they are in receipt of all available help to maximise their income. You will be working closely with other services to provide wraparound support to some of our most vulnerable residents.

This is a fixed term contract to the 31st of May 2026.

Please note this is a career graded role £26,409-£31,586.

North Norfolk is a fantastic place to live, work and visit. It covers 360 sq miles of coastal and rural environment, with over 100,000 people living in 120 distinct communities. Our district is one of England's top holiday destinations and a place where people positively choose to live.

We are looking for someone who has experience in a customer focused role. When you join our team you will be provided with a programme of training and learning in order to acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to fully perform the role. Working in a team you will be trained to deal with the administration of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support and related discretionary awards. This includes maintaining computerised records and dealing with routine claims, changes of circumstances, correspondence and customer enquiries. Knowledge of Housing Benefit and Council Tax support is desirable.

The successful candidate will:

• Be detail-oriented, organised and able to work independently.
• Have good communication skills, in order to communicate clearly and with compassion to a wide range of people, ensuring that individuals and families receive the help they need.

If you want to be part of an enthusiastic and forward thinking team, with a varied and challenging workload and thrive in a team that is committed to making a difference - we would love to hear from you.

Employment is subject to a satisfactory Baseline Personnel Security (BPSS) check, which includes a verification of unspent criminal records. Applications for part time hours will be considered.

The closing date for applications is 11.59pm on Sunday 13th July. We reserve the right to close applications if we have received a sufficient number of suitable applicants. Interviews will be held on Tuesday 22nd July 2025.

For an informal discussion, please contact Ian Dance on 01263 516421 or Karen Swash on 01263 516115.

We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity for the people and communities of North Norfolk. We respect and value differences in our district and across our workforce, and we want everyone to feel included and able to play their part in making North Norfolk a great place to live, learn, work and visit.

Our coast and environment are extremely important to us. Recognising that North Norfolk faces a very real threat from climate change, the Council has declared a climate emergency. We have developed a Net Zero strategy to support our ambitions and all staff have a role to play in meeting our carbon reduction targets.

We have a supportive culture that enables our people to learn and grow through attending courses, e-learning, and their daily job roles. We provide excellent opportunities for communication through updates from Directors and the Chief Executive. Our onsite recognised union is UNISON. Our Cromer office is clean, modern and light, with onsite lunchtime catering and free onsite parking.

As one of the largest employers in the district, we offer several benefits to all our employees:

• Employee assistance program
• Discounts portal
• Salary sacrifice schemes (bikes, home electricals and EV car leasing - available after completion of probation period)

You will also enjoy:

• A good work-life balance, with many roles following our hybrid approach to work (if your role supports hybrid working, all we ask is that you have a stable and reliable internet connection)
• 25 days' holiday per year, plus bank holidays, increasing to 30 days after 5 years' service (assuming the role is full-time)
• Access to an excellent local government pension scheme based on your local authority career average earnings

We encourage applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.