Council Tax Recovery Senior Officer in Northampton

As a Senior Council Tax Recovery Officer, you’ll play a crucial part in maximising vital income for West Northamptonshire Council — income that directly funds essential public services for our residents. At West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), our vision is simple: to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive. We’re building a modern, high‑performing Revenues & Benefits service, and we’re looking for an experienced, motivated and solutions‑focused professional to join our Recovery Team.

In this senior role, you will:

• Lead on more complex and sensitive Council Tax recovery cases, ensuring all actions comply with legislation, case law and Council policies.
• Provide day‑to‑day support, guidance and training to Recovery Officers, helping to build capability and resilience within the team.
• Work with the Team Leader to allocate work, monitor performance, and ensure recovery timetables and targets are met.
• Act as a subject‑matter expert in Council Tax recovery, maintaining up‑to‑date knowledge of legislation and best practice.
• Support with software testing, data quality, and the production of reports and performance information.
• Work collaboratively with Customer Services and other teams to improve customer journeys and embed a customer‑first culture.
• Contribute to a positive team environment, where colleagues feel supported, empowered and motivated to deliver excellent results.

We’re looking for an experienced and confident Revenues professional who can bring both technical expertise and strong people‑skills to the role. You’ll be someone who can demonstrate:

• Significant experience in Council Tax processing and recovery work, including complex cases.
• Ability to understand and apply detailed legislation, case law and statutory guidance.
• Strong communication, negotiation and decision‑making skills, with the ability to handle challenging situations professionally and tactfully.
• Confidence in supporting and guiding team members, sharing knowledge and helping others develop.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise large volumes of work and meet tight deadlines.
• Proactive problem‑solving, sound judgment and the ability to work independently.
• A collaborative approach and commitment to providing excellent customer service.
• Competence in using a range of IT systems, including Office 365 (and ideally MRI One System (Academy)).
• A commitment to ongoing professional development — IRRV Technician (Level 3) is desirable, or a willingness to work towards it.

We’re building a culture at West Northamptonshire where brilliant people like you can do their best work. You’ll be part of an ambitious, supportive service where ideas are welcomed, development is encouraged, and your work genuinely makes a difference.

If you’re ready to take the next step in your Revenues career, want to help shape the way we deliver recovery services, and thrive in a role where your expertise is valued — we’d love to hear from you.

Your supporting statement should clearly set out how you meet the essential criteria in the job description and person specification.

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner.