Central Bedfordshire Council
Care Payments officer

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Team: Care Payments Team
Job Family: Providing CBG7
Salary: £28,598 - £31,022 per annum pro rata
Hours: 18.5 per week
Location: You will be expected to attend a CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per month.
Contract Type: Hybrid - Fixed Term / Secondment. This role will cease when the project it is supporting has ended. This is likely to be 12 months.
Closing Date: 12pm 7th August 2026
Interview Date: 19th August 2026
More about the role
We have an opportunity to join our Care Payments Team on a fixed-term basis, supporting the Special Guardianship Orders (SGO) and Adoption Allowances Project. Working closely with the Lead Officer, you will play a key role in undertaking financial assessments and ensuring that payments are managed accurately and efficiently.
This is a varied role that combines finance, compliance, and customer service, helping to ensure payments are processed correctly, monitored effectively, and delivered in line with statutory requirements and local procedures.
As a customer-facing member of the team, you will be the first point of contact for service users, their representatives, and providers. You will respond to enquiries providing clear and supportive guidance while explaining relevant statutory regulations in a customer-focused way.
We are looking for someone who:
- Has excellent communication and customer service skills, both over the telephone and in writing
- Has experience of working with members of the public, ideally within a Children’s Services, Families, or related environment
- Demonstrates strong financial accuracy and attention to detail
- Is highly organised and able to manage a busy and varied workload
- Can remain calm, professional, and approachable when dealing with sensitive enquiries
- Is confident using Microsoft Excel and Word
- Has the ability to manage competing priorities and organise their workload effectively to meet deadlines
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This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys combining financial administration with customer service and wants to make a positive contribution to supporting children and families.
This role is offered fixed term and ceases on the completion of the project which is expected to last approximately 12 months. The Council cannot guarantee you any minimum or maximum period of employment.
Our Offer
We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.
Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer. We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.
Application Process
You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack.
Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack.
For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Natasha Garner at natasha.garner@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 6036.
To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.


Get help with your application
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Our National Careers Service team offer a free monthly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours. Please book your place here.
More information about this service can be found here: Support getting into work or learning | Central Bedfordshire Council
Your application to us is a reflection of who you are professionally and should give us an accurate and authentic picture of your skills, experiences and if applicable qualifications. Before you submit your application, we will ask you to confirm if you have used AI.
All new starters will join us on a four-month probationary period. During this time, if you are offered a Hybrid role you will be required to attend a Central Bedfordshire Council office location more frequently to support thorough and well-supported onboarding into your role. Please keep this in mind if you anticipate extensive travel to Central Bedfordshire.
This post will be subject to a basic DBS check.
Please note we are unable to offer sponsorship for our roles. Successful applicants that may require a visa will need to consider the options for obtaining and/or maintaining the legal right to live and work in the UK for the duration of the contract offered.
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