Head of Revenues, Benefits and Tackling Inequality

Positive Employment is currently recruiting for a Head of Revenues, Benefits and Tackling Inequality for our client a local government organisation in Haringey.

The successful candidate will be a business critical head of service required to run services that administers £250m+ statutory and Haringey benefits expenditure and collecting £300m+ council tax, business rates and debt income annually.

They will support the design and implementation of the new Tackling Inequality model, own and lead the implementation of the council’s Ethical Debt Collection Policy, and find innovative ways to prevent resident debt, tackle it early, make it easy to pay, and ensure that residents struggling financially receive timely information about the welfare support and advice available.

They will develop and implement local policy from manifesto commitments for revenues, benefits, & debt, advising elected Members, and enacting policy change from Central Government.

This role is initially a 3 month contract with the possibility to extend. This role is hybrid working.

Duties and Responsibilities but not limited to:

• Make a leading contribution to the design and implementation of the new Tackling Inequality model in Haringey, working collaboratively across services, partners and VCS organisations to consolidate and strengthen evidence-based welfare advice and support, and the integration between this and debt collection activities.
• Lead on the collection of all Council Tax and National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) of c.£250 million, the collection of Council Debt of c.£90m and the administration of local and statutory welfare benefits of c.£250m annually.
• Lead and implement the development of Council-wide welfare policy and support whether local or national in origin and engage Members, stakeholders and partners.
• Lead, implement, and periodically review and refresh the Council’s Debt Strategy and Ethical Debt Policy, and explore ways to implement a single view of debt and consolidated debt repayment for residents.
• Lead Council income maximisation initiatives and policies and contribute to council anti-poverty initiatives.
• Be the professional lead on all matters relating to Revenues, Benefits & Corporate Debt, briefing Senior leaders and Elected Members as appropriate.
• Lead and champion service and digital transformation programmes develop and manage the long-term channel shift strategy, moving residents to self-service through the use of technology.
• Be a champion for residents, establishing a customer-focused accessible and inclusive approach to service design delivery and continuous quality improvement.

Personal Requirements:

• Significant experience of leading, managing and motivating staff through change and improvement, directly and via matrix management.
• Leads service confidently; builds and supports teams. Understands the skills and capabilities of the team, provides feedback and encourages development.
• Takes responsibility for the delivery agenda; planning activities and for achieving results. Typically looks 12 months ahead.
• Consistently strives to achieve the best for the community and residents. Focuses on quality in everything.
• Good knowledge and understanding of all aspects of Revenues, NNDR, Housing Benefits, Information Governance including Data protection, Freedom of Information Requests, Member Enquiries and Complaints.
• Holds an IRRV qualification and membership.
• Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office applications and an understanding of how digital innovation can transform operational efficiency and improve the resident experience.

Working Hours: 36hrs / 9:00am – 17:30pm / Monday to Friday

Pay: £550.00 per day

Please note this role is within the scope of IR35.