Benefits Manager
About Haringey:
Haringey is an extremely diverse borough, and the Council has set clear ambitious objectives through its borough plan to make Haringey a better place to live, encourage investment and create opportunities that all can share. Our vision for the future includes sustainable growth in housing and jobs, and helping our residents and businesses take advantage of that growth. We have got huge ambitions for Haringey. As the shape of local government continues to change, we are determined to rise to the challenge and find new ways to ensure that our residents enjoy the best opportunities in life. Working at Haringey gives you the opportunity to play a part in meeting those ambitions on behalf of everyone who calls the borough their home.
About the role:
You will be leading a team of sixty staff delivering a class-leading service for Haringey Council. You will be a key player in developing and delivering the Council’s welfare strategy and delivery and lead the operational delivery of the Benefits service. You will work within, and help shape, legislation, policies and procedures for the delivery and management of all functions within Benefits. This includes Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Discretionary Housing Payments, administration of the Local Welfare Assistance scheme and any related initiatives such as the recent Council Tax Rebates. This role requires extensive experience in Benefits administration, an innovative approach and financial awareness.
The role requires the candidate to have great leadership and service improvement experience to thrive and improve the outcomes of our local and national goals.
Reporting directly to the Head of Service your focus will be on delivering an excellent customer experience and high levels of performance as well as key strategic accountabilities.
About You:
The successful candidate will have existing management experience and proven track record within a benefits service. You will need the ability to communicate clearly, confidently, and empathetically to a wide range of groups including residents, elected Members, senior leaders, and other stakeholders.
You will have excellent knowledge of housing benefits policy and processes including subsidy and other Government returns to ensure the service complies with all statutory and non-statutory regulations and council policies. In addition to this you will possess the ability to be strategic in your approach to developing and implementing new operational processes and be able to demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in the drive towards change and the improvement of these services.
The successful candidate will have strong analytic skills, a keen eye for detail (particularly legislation and changes to it), use their initiative to resolve issues in a professional manner as well as experience and knowledge on motivating employees and promoting a collaborative working culture.
Working for Haringey:
At Haringey Council we are committed to creating a workplace culture where all our people feel valued, included, and able to be their best at work, and we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce so welcome applications from all ethnicities and communities so that we continue to make a difference to our residents and community.
Our benefits package includes a leave entitlement of 30 days + bank holidays, hybrid working opportunities, health and wellbeing support, a generous local government pension scheme and a range of discount schemes across leisure and culture that provide both financial and money-saving discounts.
For Further Information:
Please contact: ResourcingHub@haringey.gov.uk