Job Title: Affordability Assessment Officer
Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract (12 months)
Salary: £35.030 per annum.
Working hours: 35 hours per week.
Working Pattern: Monday to Friday.
Location: Arlington, London
If you share our values and are excited about making a significant impact at Riverside, please ensure you attach a current CV and covering letter. At Riverside we recruit to potential not just on skills and experience, so we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all the essential criteria on the job description.
The difference you will make as Affordability Assessment Officer
In this role you will help new customers to set up and maintain tenancies and prevent rent arrears in early stages. To identify any opportunities for maximizing personal income through Welfare Benefits prior to the start of a new tenancy. You will form positive relationships with our Lettings Teams.
About you
We are looking for someone who believes in working together as part of a team, who shares our values and who is positive and friendly. The successful candidate will have a good understanding of the Welfare Benefit system and an understanding of the barriers faced by vulnerable groups and individuals with complex needs.
Why Riverside?
(One Housing is a part of Riverside) At Riverside, we’re a housing association with a difference – enhancing the everyday for all our customers. For 90 years, we’ve been revitalising neighbourhoods and supporting communities by providing the homes they need to live full, fulfilling and rewarding lives.
We have a portfolio of over 75,000 affordable residential and retirement homes across the UK. Our work ranges from homelessness services to social care, employment support to retirement living, and we need the best people on board to help us.
Working with us, you’ll enjoy:
- Competitive pay & generous pension
- 28 days holidays plus bank holidays
- Flexible working options available
- Investment in your learning, personal development and technology
- A wide range of benefits
Diversity and Inclusion at Riverside:
We are inclusive. At Riverside, we value diversity in all its forms. We foster a workplace where all individuals are respected, empowered, and heard. Our commitment to inclusivity drives our success and enriches the lives of our customers and colleagues.
This role also falls under our Ethnic Diversity guaranteed interview scheme. If you are Ethnically Diverse and demonstrate you meet the minimum criteria for the role you will be guaranteed an interview. If required.
Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment.
Role profile
- To make applications for Discretionary Housing Payment or other available grants to pay rent in advance.
- To identify customers who may qualify for assistance through our Helping Hand fund and submit applications on behalf of customers.
- Agreeing payment plans and payment methods in advance of tenancy sign-ups.
- Identifying customers who would benefit from specialist debt and/or budgeting advice and making referrals to external partners.
- To work closely with colleagues in Income Management, Housing, Money Advice and Affordable Warmth Teams
- To build and maintain relationships with external stakeholders.
- Carry out income and expenditure assessments.
- Carry out Welfare Benefit entitlement checks.
- Provide detailed information to Housing Officers to assist at sign-up.
- Complete Discretionary Housing Payment and other grant applications
- Identify whether Helping Hand application is appropriate e.g. for assistance with white goods/removal costs.
- Signpost to other internal and external support services.
- Agree rent in advance payments.
- Agree an affordable payment plans to maintain rent accounts in advance.
- Agree payment method.
Person specification
Essential
- A Good understanding of the Welfare Benefit system
- Relationship building
- Customer service focus
- An understanding of the barriers faced by vulnerable customer groups and individuals with complex needs.
- Demonstrating a positive, flexible and non-judgmental approach to supporting individuals on a daily basis.
- Good communication and interpersonal skills with individuals from a variety of different backgrounds.
- Good IT skills including use of Microsoft Office programs.
- A willingness to learn specific IT systems used within the organization and complete relevant training where required.
- Able to work independently and use own initiative.
- Able to travel to different locations for team meetings and relationship building purposes with occasional overnight stays.
Desirable
- Experience of working with vulnerable customer groups.
- Experience of homelessness prevention.
- Experience of rent collection processes
- Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
Riverside is one of the UK’s leading not-for-profit social housing and regeneration organisations, owning or managing around 75,000 homes from Irvine to Kent. We are a leading provider of supported housing services, particularly for those affected by homelessness, and our track record of transforming lives and revitalising neighbourhoods dates back over 90 years. We have plans to build over 15,000 affordable homes over the next decade.
Our ways of working
Commitment to Diversity
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