Revenues Officer in London

Southwark Council is the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues such as The Shard, The Tate Modern and Borough Market along with conservation areas, historic buildings, social enterprises and a young, diverse, and growing population. At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities. Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals, and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark 2030 and Southwark Stands Together underpins all that we do.

Please note that we are unable to accept applications from individuals who require visa sponsorship. The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

What You'll Be Doing

We have an exciting opportunity to join our award-winning Income Operations team, within our Customer and Exchequer Services division. As a Revenues Officer, you’ll be at the heart of delivering a high-quality, customer-focused service primarily within the Council Tax section of the Council’s Income Operations team. You’ll take ownership of a caseload involving the billing, collection, and recovery of Council Tax helping to ensure accuracy in our databases and that income owed to the council is efficiently managed and recovered in line with legislation and council policies. You may also be required to work on the billing, collection and recovery of Business Rates from time to time.

In this varied and fast-paced role, you’ll investigate and resolve complex queries, update customer accounts, and ensure entitlement to discounts and exemptions is correctly applied. You’ll also take appropriate collection and enforcement actions, including representing the council in court when needed. Through clear, professional communication and careful decision-making, you’ll support customers in understanding their liabilities and payment options. Your work will also contribute to continuous service improvement by identifying trends, supporting audit processes, and helping maintain robust performance and quality assurance standards. Whether you’re engaging with customers, partner agencies, or internal teams, your commitment to delivering a responsive and accurate service will help the Revenues team meet its goals and make a meaningful difference to the wider organisation.

Key responsibilities:

• Manage a caseload for the billing, collection, and recovery of Council Tax and other local taxation in line with legislation and council policies.
• Provide expert advice and clear communication to customers, resolving complex queries and maintaining accurate account records.
• Identify and apply relevant discounts, exemptions, and reductions, ensuring fair and consistent decision-making.
• Take appropriate recovery action, including court representation and liaison with enforcement agents and legal services.
• Analyse data, contribute to service improvements, and support the preparation of government returns and audit requirements.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams and external stakeholders to support performance targets and ensure quality service delivery.

What We're Looking For

• In-depth knowledge of revenues legislation and relevant regulations.
• GCSEs (or equivalent experience) including English and Maths.
• Strong background in revenues administration, ideally in a delivery-focused role.
• Confident communicator with the ability to advise customers clearly and effectively.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise and meet deadlines.
• Strong IT skills including databases, spreadsheets, and case management systems.
• Proven experience dealing with the public in challenging situations.
• Ability to analyse complex issues, spot patterns, and resolve problems efficiently.

Benefits and more information:

In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.

• Competitive Salary & Pension: Rewarding your hard work with a great package.
• Growth Opportunities: Access extensive training and development, both internally and externally to progress.

At Southwark, our REACH values are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to being Resident-focused, Empowering, Accountable, Collaborative and Honest, in how we work with colleagues, residents, partners and communities. We welcome applications from people who share these values and are passionate about making a positive difference to our borough.

Hours of Work: Monday to Friday (36hrs per week)

Location: Tooley Street, SE1 2QH

Type of Contract: Permanent

DBS: A Basic DBS is required for this role.

Southwark Council will only contact candidates through official Council recruitment channels. We will not ask you to provide passport details, proof of address, National Insurance number, bank details or payment at application stage. These checks are only requested at the onboarding process – once an offer of employment has been made.

This vacancy is subject to the council’s redeployment arrangements. Eligible redeployees will be considered first, and the vacancy may be withdrawn if a suitable redeployee is appointed.

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative. We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans.
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care.
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition.

Salary Range (Full time equivalent) £44,331 - £50,778.