An opportunity has arisen within Revenues & Benefits, part of the Community & Communications directorate.

As a service we take pride in our work by valuing others, focusing on what's important so that we make a real and positive difference. Our values are outlined in our Ways of Working and our Guiding Principles and if they reflect how you are and how you work then this could be the role that meets your expectations.

About Revenues & Benefits

Revenues and Benefits provide customer and financial services to the residents and businesses of Portsmouth, and is part of the wider Community and Communications directorate. The Local Taxation team manages the billing and collection of Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates. 

What is the post?

Reporting to the Local Taxation Team Leader, the post holder will administer council tax and business rates accounts, ensuring databases are accurately updated to reflect the collection and administration of local taxes.

The post holder will:

• Deal with a high volume of customer enquiries by correspondence, telephone and face to face.
• Assess requests for discounts, disregards, exemptions and reliefs.
• Determine who is liable for council tax / Non-Domestic Rates.
• Negotiate payment arrangement and provide advice to customers experiencing financial difficulty.

Who is the person?

You need to have:

1. Good communication skills.
2. Excellent customer service skills and be able to demonstrate experience of working within a busy customer facing environment 
3. A good working knowledge of council tax and business rates.
4. A good working knowledge of MS office including the ability to use the internet and online resources to obtain information. Knowledge of the Northgate Revenues & Benefits system or a similar back office system used for the processing of Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates. 
5. Negotiating skills. These will enable you to negotiate/advise customers on a range of issues e.g. liability for council tax, business rates etc. - 
6. Experience of working with internal & external customers, some of whom may not be happy with your recommendations, as you will be required to review situations where the outcome is unclear and make decisions based on legislation and local policy.
7. Flexibility to adapt to the evolving needs of Revenues and Benefits and the Community & Communications directorate.
8. Awareness of others’ feelings, needs and concerns.
9. The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post

Closing at 16:00 on 20th October 2017

Interview process 2nd/3rd November 2017