About The Role

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email [email hidden] so we can arrange an alternative application method.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Benefits Team Manager to lead the delivery of a range of high-profile services, including Benefits Processing, Housing Benefit Overpayments, Corporate Debt Recovery, Discretionary Schemes and Adult Social Care Financial Assessments. Reporting to the Head of Service, you will ensure services are delivered efficiently, accurately and in compliance with relevant legislation, Council policies and best practice.

This is a pivotal management role where you will lead, motivate and develop a team of up to 15 officers, fostering a culture of high performance, accountability and excellent customer service. You will be responsible for managing operational performance, identifying opportunities for improvement and ensuring the timely delivery of services that support some of the borough's most vulnerable residents while protecting vital Council income.

Working closely with internal departments, external partners and key stakeholders, you will oversee complex casework, drive service improvements, manage system and process developments, and ensure robust quality assurance arrangements are in place. You will also play a key role in implementing legislative changes, developing innovative digital solutions and using performance data to improve outcomes for residents and the Council.

The successful candidate will bring strong leadership experience, sound technical knowledge and the ability to translate complex legislation into practical solutions. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is passionate about public service, enjoys leading through change and is committed to delivering efficient, customer-focused services that make a real difference to local communities.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile

Key Responsibilities

Lead and manage the Financial Assessments and Debt Recovery Team, ensuring high-quality service delivery and strong performance.
Oversee Adult Social Care Financial Assessments, debt recovery and income collection activities, ensuring compliance with legislation, policies and best practice.
Drive service improvements, manage performance, and support the delivery of corporate priorities and transformation initiatives.
Build effective relationships with colleagues across Adult Social Care, Finance, Legal Services and external partners.
Provide leadership, support and development to team members, including direct line management responsibilities.

Qualifications and Requirements

Significant experience of financial assessments, debt recovery, income collection, benefits or related services.
Strong leadership and people management skills, with experience of motivating teams and delivering performance improvements.
Good understanding of relevant legislation, policy and operational processes within debt recovery and/or financial assessments.
Excellent analytical, communication and stakeholder management skills.
Competent user of Microsoft Office applications and service management systems.
Relevant professional qualification, degree or equivalent experience, with evidence of continuing professional development.

Terms and conditions

The below terms and conditions apply to this role

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
Satisfactory declaration of interest;
Satisfactory DBS check;
As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Eamonn Hennessy, Head of Service - Benefits at [email hidden]
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at [email hidden] .

Equal Opportunity Employer

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us .

Fraud Awareness Notice

The London Borough of Waltham Forest only advertises vacancies via our official website and approved recruitment platforms (e.g. Jobsgopublic).
We will never ask for payment or request sensitive personal or financial information as part of our recruitment process.
If you are contacted by a third party claiming to represent the Council, please verify the vacancy via our official careers website before sharing any information.