Revenues Officer (temp until 31/12/2024)

Job Title: Revenues Officer (temp until 31/12/2024) Company: Optima Plus Recruitment Location: Basildon Hours: Full-time Daily Rate: £20.00 PAYE / £25.05 Umbrella/Ltd per hour About Us: Optima Plus Recruitment is a leading recruitment agency dedicated to connecting talented individuals with rewarding employment opportunities. We specialize in matching skilled professionals with reputable organizations across various industries. Job Description: The temporary revenues officer will be working within the Council Tax Recovery team, predominantly taking all incoming recovery calls from Council Tax charge payers, taking payments and setting up special payment arrangements. The ideal candidate will need experience working within a busy Council Tax Recovery department and advanced use of Civica Open Revenues. Responsibilities: * Communicate with taxpayers and other interested persons, predominantly by telephone, to identify occupiers, owners for liabilities, discounts and disregards. * To facilitate payment of Council Tax by ensuring that demand notices and other documentation are issued to tax payers as appropriate. Implement methods of payment, refunds and other transactions as necessary. * Serve various legal notices and invoices for all debt types, implementing payment agreements and take appropriate action for collection and recovery in accordance with guidelines, taking ownership of monitoring accounts and payment arrangements. * Ensure that appropriate methods of enforcement and sanctions are pursued, having regard to the means and circumstances of debtors, ensuring that due regard is taken in vulnerable cases. * Ensure that appropriate methods of enforcement and sanctions are pursued, having regard to the means and circumstances of debtors, ensuring that due regard is taken in vulnerable cases. * Maintain knowledge of Council Tax and Benefits legislation, including debt collection, enforcement and insolvency law, ensuring that processes and decisions apply in accordance with law and policy guidelines. * To represent the council in court hearings for all debt types. * Ensure that communications with DWP through the Customer Information System (CIS) or its equivalent are properly implemented and undertaken by the relevant staff in accordance with agreed procedures. * To identify cases of hardship or other circumstances where a debt may be irrecoverable and to make recommendations for write-offs, referring debtors to local welfare benefits and debt counselling groups where appropriate. * Liaise with other staff as appropriate in relation to the collection and enforcement of all debt types owed to the Council. * Liaise with enforcement agents, the Police, Courts and with other external collection and enforcement agents to seek to obtain prompt and correct settlement of debts. * To liaise with all internal and external partners as required. Requirements: * Demonstrable experience of working in a recovery section or in a similar environment dealing with the collection of various debt types * A good working knowledge of Council Tax and NNDR law and procedures * Experience of customer/public contact demonstrating good communication and interpersonal skills * Experience of accurately maintaining and interpreting personal and financial data * Experience of using office information systems, specifically CIVICA. How to Apply: If you meet the above requirements and are interested in this exciting opportunity, please submit your CV along with a cover letter detailing your relevant experience and qualifications. We look forward to hearing from you! Application Deadline: 13th October 2024 Optima Plus Recruitment is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from individuals of all backgrounds. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace environment