About the team we are recruiting to

Coventry City Council’s Benefits Service is comprised of diverse, multi-talented teams who all have the same aim, to help the city’s most vulnerable residents.  

Our work is varied and covers the assessment and administration of schemes that provide financial help and support for those in need. 

Specifically, the teams are responsible for the delivery of: 

• Housing Benefit and Discretionary Housing Payments which we administer on behalf of the Department for Works and Pensions. We also recover any overpaid housing benefit 

• Council Tax Support which is a local scheme that helps residents with their Council Tax charges 

• Free School Meals, by working closely with schools we aim to ensure every child who is entitled has a free school meal  

• Community Support Grant Scheme which includes assistance in extreme emergency situations and can provide citizens help to resettle back into the community by providing essential furniture items.  

We embrace the ONE COVENTRY approach, working closely with our external partners and other Council teams, such as the Housing and Homeless teams and Children’s teams, ensuring we have a holistic approach to supporting our residents.

What is the job role?

Are you looking for a new challenge, if so then why not join our Benefit Service?

We have 12- month, fixed term vacancies for pro-active, motivated individuals who, after a period of training, will be responsible for the assessment of Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claims, Free School Meals and Local Council Tax Support.

You will work as part of a team of Benefit Officers to ensure prompt and accurate processing of claims on our Revenues and Benefits and document management IT systems.

Main duties and responsibilities include: 

• Process all benefit claims, including students, joint tenants, Universal Credit, second adult rebate and the self-employed.
• Ensuring that claim forms are completed fully and accurately, and all information has been received in accordance with the appropriate benefit legislation.
• Provide an effective and efficient customer service in line with the Council's Customer Care Policies.
• Corresponding with benefit claimants, Job Centre Plus, the Department of Work and Pensions, employers, registered social landlords, hostels, private landlords, the Council Tax Section and any
  other organisations to obtain information required to assess benefit

For a full list of responsibilities please refer to the job description attached.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Who are we looking for?

If you have good customer service skills, a basic knowledge of welfare reforms: in particular the effects of Universal Credit on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support and are used to working in a fast paced changing environment, then this is the role for you.

In return, we can offer you an excellent pension scheme, childcare vouchers, 'My Car' scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts at a number of city centre restaurants, shops and other establishments.

When applying for this role you will be asked to write a personal statement, when writing your personal statement please include the following:

• Knowledge of Housing and Council Tax Benefits.
• Previous experience of dealing with the public in a service delivery environment.
• Written skills to respond to complex enquires from the customer and outside agencies.
• Ability to prioritise own workload, to work flexibly and respond to changing priorities
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver team objectives
• Your IT skills, to include Microsoft Office packages e.g. Word, Outlook and Excel

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

Interview date(s): week commencing 22nd March

• A test and group session to take place week commencing 22^nd March 2021
• If successful, interviews will be on Wednesday 24^th & Thursday 25^th March 2021

About Coventry

Coventry is a lively, multicultural city, which embraces old and new. Around the modern city centre there are traces of history everywhere – in the old city walls, the timber-framed buildings and the reconstructed medieval Spon Street. But Coventry has always had an eye on the future, and is now firmly focused on regenerating and re-inventing itself to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. With major developments and new projects taking place right across the city, Coventry City Council is the place to be!

There's a huge buzz about the city – Coventry ranks as the 8th best city to live, work and do business in the UK, and is the UK City of Culture 2021 ! We believe this will help put Coventry on the map for all the right reasons. You can feel the sense of local pride throughout the city as we build towards this momentous year. It also offers a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to those joining us to play their part in it.

We genuinely believe that Coventry City Council is a special place. You will be joining Coventry City Council during an exciting time to become part of a team that contribute to achieving our visions for the city. We have made our council a place where we look after our people, making sure you're happy in your work and given everything you need to succeed. We've created friendly, welcoming workplaces where everyone is working towards the same cause, providing the best possible services for the city of Coventry.

As a council with improvement at its heart, we’re committed to making life better for the people who live and work in Coventry. We’re equally concerned with the quality of life enjoyed by our people, so by joining us, you won’t just be helping the community, you’ll be helping yourself too.

Not only do you get to work alongside great people that are helping to improve services for our community we offer great benefits too! For your valued contribution we will provide a fantastic benefits package including;

• Flexible working arrangements
• Generous annual leave allowance starting at 27 days and rising to 32 days
• Pay progression through multiple increments
• Outstanding local government pension scheme
• Learning & Development with access to certified courses.
• Access to an award winning Occupational Health Team
• Vibrant employee networks 

Coventry City Council