Rent Arrears

• Engage positively with customers to prevent and minimise rent arrears and other debts, signposting them for further support and assistance where needed.
• Provide cover for other colleagues in managing customer accounts, following the relevant policies and procedures.
• Work with vacating tenants to ensure that they clear their rent account before their tenancy terminates to maximise income streams.
• Support tenants to engage with agencies to improve their financial health

Customer Voice, Involvement & Engagement

• Welcome and encourage customer feedback and work positively to resolve customer concerns.
• Seek to identify individual customers or groups of customers that could become more involved in customer scrutiny or engagement work.
• Co-ordinate and attend engagement activities, work with partners and help customers and the wider communities to come together to take action on things that are important to them.
• Contribute to the development of customer communications relevant to your role, including newsletters, leaflets, guides, social media and other promotional material.
• Work proactively with Estate Champions who represent their communities to make positive changes for the benefit of all residents.

Performance Management

• Measure and monitor your own outcomes in all housing related key performance areas including customer satisfaction and engagement, tenancy and estate management.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement in all service areas to ensure that we are actively seeking to provide excellent services to our customers.
• Adhere to customer service standards to endure customer satisfaction.

General Duties

• Promote Cornerstone’s vision and values in all that you do.
• Work positively and collaboratively with customers, colleagues, other agencies, and third parties to ensure strong working relationships and a good standard of service delivery to customers.
• Ensure that you are fully acquainted with and follow the law, regulation, policies and procedures as they relate to your post.
• Observe and promote Cornerstone’s Health & Safety policies and procedures at all times.
• Ensure all data is handled in accordance with GDPR and in line with both the Information security and data management policies. Take ownership of the quality and accuracy of processing data and its appropriate storage, transfer and retention.
• Treat customers and colleagues with respect ensuring people feel included and that diversity is valued. Observe and promote our equality, diversity & inclusion policies and procedures at all times.
• Take ownership of your own professional development as relevant to your role.
• Keep all duties of the post-holder under review and make recommendations for any improvements in policies and procedures to your line manager.
• After hours work will be required within the scope of the role, including attendance at meetings.
• Any other duties appropriate to your position as may be identified from time to time.

Delegated Authority

• To implement all Cornerstone housing management policies and procedures up to court applications where applicable, under the guidance of the Housing & Customer Engagement Manager and the Director of Housing.
• To liaise with other agencies on behalf of Cornerstone concerning matters for which the post-holder has responsibility.

Deputising

• In the post-holders absence, their duties will be performed by the other members of the Housing team as directed by Housing and Customer Engagement Manager.

Person Specification

Basic Eligibility

Essential

• Right to work within the United Kingdom
• ID and Online Check
• Satisfactory Basic DBS check (Any offer of employment will be conditional on you satisfying these requirements)
• Valid, full driving license that will be checked for eligibility at periodic intervals.

Qualification Eligibility

Essential

• Good standard of general education including Math, ICT and English

Desirable

• CIH Level 3 in Housing Practice or above, or willing to work towards it

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Good communication and interpersonal skills with people at all levels
• Able to listen, mediate, negotiate, work collaboratively, be persuasive and decisive
• Able to deal in a professional manner with colleagues and people outside the organisation
• Resilient and able to manage challenging situations and a busy environment
• Highly organised and able to manage and prioritise own workload to meet targets and deadlines under pressure
• Flexible and self-motivated, able to work on own initiative and as a part of a team
• Effective problem solver
• Attention to detail
• Positive, can-do attitude
• Basic health and safety awareness
• Computer literature and fully conversant with uses of information technology in business
• Good working knowledge of housing legislation and good practice
• Competent at dealing with tenancy breaches including taking cases to court
• Able to effectively manage anti-social behaviour cases from start to finish
• Able to work effectively with tenant groups
• Effective problem solver, who can work on own initiative and as part of a team.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of delivering housing and estate management services in the social housing sector
• Worked to performance targets
• Worked to policies and procedures
• Experience of developing effective working relationships with customers and partners.

Interpersonal Skills

Essential

• Demonstrate empathy, patience, and understanding of tenants’ needs and requirements
• Understanding the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace
• Commitment to providing the best possible service to tenants
• Awareness of customer vulnerabilities and safeguarding matters, experience of working within a multi-disciplinary safeguarding partnership.

Other

Essential

• Willingness to undertake other duties as determined by the housing manager
• Willingness to work outside of normal working hours as required
• Willingness to safely lone work outside of the office environment and in tenants homes
• Commitment to continuing professional development
• Commitment to continuous service improvement
• Knowledge of different property types and standard repair issues.