Debt Recovery Officer

This permanent, full-time position has a starting salary of £35,730 per annum based on a 36 hour working week.

We are excited to be hiring a new Debt Recovery Officer to join our fantastic Financial Assessments and Income Collection team. The team is located in various settings across the county and your preferred location can be discussed at interview. This role is open to hybrid working and as a team we split our time between working from home and collaborating together in the office two days per week.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the TeamThis role sits within the Financial Assessment and Income Collections Team, which is part of the Adults, Wellbeing and Health Partnerships Directorate. We are a dynamic team, committed to ensuring our customers are fully informed in relation to charging for Adult Social Care and responsible for the analysis and collection of unpaid care charges.

About the RoleYou will play a critical role in ensuring that all fees and charges due to the council, for the provision of Adult Social Care and support services, are paid by residents when due. The Debt Recovery Officer will make recommendations for the recovery of overdue care charges and facilitate the various options available to the council. Where necessary, and only once all other reasonable attempts to support individuals to make payment have failed, you will pursue overdue sums using Money Claims Online or coordinate referrals through to the council's litigation team.

In this role you will also support training delivery to staff on debt recovery procedures and raise awareness of Adult Social Care's debt prevention strategy with internal stakeholders. We embrace supportive technology to work inclusively and continuously improve customer engagement and deliver positive outcomes.

Shortlisting CriteriaTo be considered for shortlisting for this position your CV and answers to the application questions below will clearly evidence:

• Ability to prioritise your workload and be able to respond to work pressures
• Experience of debt recovery and pre-action procedures within an organisation
• Effective communications skills
• Examples of when you have had a positive outcome for a debt being paid and what you did to achieve this?
• Some knowledge of the charging principles for social care services
• Part of this role will involve facilitating training sessions and workshops across the county, therefore a willingness and ability to travel around the county will be required

As part of your application you will be asked to submit a CV and answer the following questions:

1. Please tell us how you ensure you effectively prioritise your workload, including how you respond to work pressures
2. Please evidence your experience of debt recovery procedures within an organisation
3. Please provide examples for when you have had a positive outcome for a debt being paid and what you did to achieve this?
4. Please give an example of a time when you received a query that you could not initially resolve and the steps you took to resolve it
5. Please evidence any knowledge you may have of the charging principles for social care services

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 13th October 2024 with interviews planned for Monday 21st October and Tuesday 22nd October 2024.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applicants where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.