Job Outline
Post Title: / Accounts Officer
Department: / Resources, Business Support
Reports to: / Business Support Team Leader
Grade: / 3b / Hours of Work: / 37
Main Purpose(s) of this Job:
To support the Business Support Manager and Team Leader in providing an efficient and effective customer focussed business and administrative support service across BCH to include Rent Accounting, Creditors, Debtors, Right to Buy and Leasehold administration service.
Main Responsibilities and Key Result Areas:
Generic Accounts Officer Duties
· Monitoring, ordering and recording stationery/office equipment
· Arranging meetings including booking venues, travel arrangements, catering and obtaining presentation equipment
· Word processing letters, mail merge reports, tables, spreadsheets, labels and other various documents
· To provide cover for the Chief Executive’s PA
· Minute taking and transcribing
· Work with team members to ensure customer service is being met. To deal with telephone and face to face enquiries from internal and external customers and resolve any problems in a timely manner
· Process telephone payments for all Council accounts and set up Direct Debits on housing accounts
· Processing incoming and outgoing post and emails from main email boxes
· Assist with facilities management eg staff car parking permits, reporting building issues
· Assist with monitoring and work towards local and government targets and Performance Indicators, including production of reports where necessary
· Assist in scanning and workflow of invoices
· To support BCH accountancy with reconciliations during year and at year end and to adhere to timetable for production of year-end figures.
· Assist with the provision of cover for other Accounts Officers and where necessary other teams within BCH
Home Ownership
· Assist in raising and issuing invoices, schedules of service charges and ground rent notices for Leasehold accounts and to undertake recovery action according to procedures and timescales
· At Assignments of leases - to process Leaseholder and Solicitor enquiries providing details of accounts as necessary, ensuring after assignment new leaseholder account is raised and invoice issued as necessary
· Leasehold enquiries – to process and resolve all day-to-day enquiries, including consent for improvements, referring complex issues to Business Support Manager
· Process Right to Buy applications from initial enquiry through to Notice to Proceed. To ensure process meets Government legislation and statutory time scales, update database and spreadsheet. At completion of Right to Buy to void rent account and process any rent refunds as necessary. To create a new Leasehold account with the Service Charge elements.
· To ensure all information is available to provide the statutory Offer Notice including all estimated Leasehold Charges, with special regard to Section 20 planned/programmed works for a flat or maisonette offer
· Issue Section 20 notices and deal with responses
Rent Accounting
· Balance and reconcile accounts against Cashiers, Housing Benefits/Universal Credit, Post Office/Allpay Card payments and all other payments/adjustments, keeping electronic records up to date where necessary.
· Process daily and weekly payment and adjustment files including timely completion of period end. Produce daily interface posting reports and monitor for any issues. Liaise with BCH IT department to resolve any issues.
· Investigate and resolve payment and account discrepancies liaising with Housing Benefits, Rents Team, Client teams, Allpay, Global Payments, DWP and any other agency/supplier.
· Process refund requests, input elements and adjustments onto accounts ensuring audit trail of changes is maintained. Ensure customers are informed in writing of changes to their account charges and balances.
· To liaise with Transactional Services to ensure payments are posted correctly and in a timely manner to systems for direct deductions, direct payments and any other payments as necessary.
· To process Council Tax and NNDR payments for BCH managed properties and resolve any issues arising
· Assist with the processing of NFI (National Fraud Initiative) data and outcomes
· Process write offs and write ons onto accounts following approval.
· Assist with management of internal and off site storage and management of facilities at head office, including manual handling
· Process recharges onto accounts, produce and issue invoices and liaise with Rent and Property Services Teams to resolve issues
· Process Direct Debit mandates (including paperless), files and returns
· Assist with processing of NFI (National Fraud Initiative) data and outcomes
Creditors & Debtors
· Creditors - process invoices onto financial systems, ensure new suppliers are set up and authorised and the supplier list is maintained in a timely manner. Investigate and resolve queries with internal and external customers. Monitor disputed invoices and assist with their resolution. Update, monitor and save system generated reports.
· Ensure BCH adheres HM Customs & Excise regulations especially in the areas of CIS (Construction Industry Scheme), VAT and Tax.
· Assist with the processing of debts (staff and customer rechargeable debts) onto financial systems as and when required including production of invoices. Carry out recovery processes according to BCH procedures.
· Carry out BCH credit card administration – approval of use, ordering goods and reconciliation.
· Telephony – produce and distribute corporate monitoring reports, assist with maintaining account user information
· Timely issue and reconciliation of petty cash, banking of income, manual cheques, stamps, vouchers etc.
· To provide support when necessary to the Performance, Information and Systems Manager in respect of Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests
Responsibilities of all employees:
The post holder may be expected to undertake other similar reasonable duties related to the scope and main purpose of the job. Any significant changes to these duties will result in changes to the job outline, which will be fully consulted and subject to a job evaluation.
It is the responsibility of the post holder to operate safely within the workplace with regard to health and safety procedures and safe working practices. To be responsible for your own health and safety and that of other people.
All employees are required to operate in accordance with all equalities policies, embracing through personal example, open commitment and clear action that diversity is positively valued, resulting in access for all by ensuring fair treatment in employment, service delivery and communications.
All employees must adhere to confidentiality and data protection procedures at all times. Where access is provided to sensitive information this must remain confidential, and may only be used, copied, stored or disclosed for authorised purposes.
The post holder is responsible for working at all times within the established policies and procedures for the organisation and their service area.
It is the responsibility of the post holder to undertake any relevant training as required for the job role.
All employees are responsible for understanding and adhering to professional boundaries. This includes establishing a professional approach in all dealings with customers.
All employees are responsible for reporting any safeguarding concerns where children or vulnerable adults may be in a position where they could become harmed.
I agree to the terms of the new job outline and understand that this may be changed in relation to the future needs of the organisation and that I will be fully consulted regarding any changes.
Employee (Print) ______Signature ______Date ______
Line Manager (Print) ______Signature ______Date ______
Person Specification
Post Title: / Accounts Officer
Section: / Resources, Business Support Team
Reports to: / Business Support Team Leader
Grade: / 3b / Hours of Work: / 37
Note: E denotes essential / D denotes desirable
E/D / Assessed byA – Application
I – Interview
T - Test
Skills
Excellent communication skills – written and verbal / E / A,I,T
Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team / E / A, I
Excellent time management skills / E / A, I
Excellent Numerical skills / E / A, I,T
Computer Literate with Microsoft Office including Word and Excel / E / A,T
Knowledge
Knowledge and understanding of the Data Protection Act / D / A, I
Detailed knowledge of Housing Accounts, Right to Buy and Leasehold Service charges / D / A, I
Detailed Knowledge of Creditor/Debtors invoices and coding / D / A, I
Awareness of Right to Buy, leasehold charges issues and rents / E / A, I
Experience
Experience of dealing with suppliers and invoices, including processing to an accounts package (eg Cedar) / E / A,I
Experience of recovery processes / D / A
Experience of facilities management / D / A
Experience of working in a customer focused environment / E / A,I
Experience of report writing / D / A
Experience of minute taking / D / A
Significant experience of creating and using spreadsheets / E / A,I,T
Qualifications
Minimum of 3 GCSE’s or equivalent including Maths and English at grade C or above / E / A
Customer Care Qualification / D / A
Accountancy qualification / D / A