Housing Benefits Officer

We''re recruiting an experienced Housing Benefits Officer to join a busy Revenues and Benefits service delivering vital financial support to vulnerable residents within a local authority environment.This role sits within a high-performing Housing Benefits team responsible for administering Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support for approximately 20,000 households. The successful candidate will manage complex assessments, support overpayment recovery processes, and ensure all work is delivered accurately, efficiently and in line with current legislation and best practice.The Role - Assess and process Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support claims in line with legislation, policy and performance targets - Carry out complex financial assessments including self-employed applicants, students and vulnerable households - Process changes in circumstances, revisions, reviews and interventions accurately and within agreed timescales - Assess and implement Discretionary Housing Payments, backdating requests and underlying entitlement decisions - Identify, calculate and recover overpaid benefits, supporting the council''s overpayment recovery objectives - Recommend appeals for referral to Tribunal services where appropriate - Work proactively to minimise fraud and ensure all assessments comply with verification standards - Liaise with internal departments including Revenues, Housing, Finance and customer service teams to ensure effective service delivery - Work with external ..... full job details .....