Income Recovery in Essex

Income Recovery

A leading Housing Association in Essex is looking for a customer-focused Income Recovery Officer to join their housing income team, supporting residents with rent accounts and helping to maximise income while sustaining tenancies. This is initially a 3-month role, with the possibility of an extension.

This is a varied role combining rent account management, arrears recovery, resident engagement, welfare and benefits support, and legal recovery action.

The successful candidate will manage their own caseload, build positive relationships with residents and work closely with colleagues and external partners to find practical solutions to rent arrears. This will involve regular contact with residents by telephone and face-to-face, reviewing arrears cases and making sure cases progress in line with agreed recovery processes.

Responsibilities

• Managing rent accounts and actively monitoring arrears progression.
• Contacting residents to discuss outstanding rent and agree appropriate recovery action.
• Visiting residents in their homes where required, following lone-working procedures.
• Providing advice around benefits, welfare and basic budgeting, with appropriate signposting and referrals.
• Working with internal welfare and support teams and external partners to help maximise household income.
• Applying for court hearings and warrants where appropriate.
• Supporting and organising evictions where necessary.
• Maintaining accurate and comprehensive case records and reports.

There will also be a shared office duty day, where the successful candidate will help cover walk-in enquiries and support residents who attend the office.

About you

Ideally, they will have previous experience in income recovery, rent arrears, debt recovery or social housing, with a good understanding of housing and welfare benefits.

However, they are also open to candidates from strong customer service, administration, financial or telephone-based roles who have the right skills and attitude and can quickly develop their knowledge of income recovery.

They are looking for someone who:

• Is confident managing conversations about money and arrears.
• Can deal sensitively and empathetically with residents who may be experiencing financial difficulties.
• Has strong telephone and in-person customer service skills.
• Is comfortable working with numbers, rent accounts and computer systems.
• Can manage their own caseload and prioritise competing demands.
• Has excellent attention to detail and can maintain accurate records.

The first two weeks will be office-based, five days a week, to provide comprehensive training and onboarding. After the initial training period, the role will move to a hybrid arrangement, with an expectation of two to three days per week in the office, alongside some flexibility to work from home. The role is particularly suited to someone who can travel easily to the office and is comfortable undertaking local travel when resident visits or other duties require it.

You will be joining an established income services team where their work will have a direct impact on residents and the organisation’s ability to sustain tenancies.