Customer Accounts Advisor

Role: Customer Accounts Advisor Advert Closing: 14/04/2023 Salary: £31,635 per annum Location: Grosvenor House , Croydon Contract type: Permanent Hours: 35 hours per week It is an exciting time for Southern Housing as we have recently merged Optivo and Southern Housing Group, two companies who are Stronger Together. Having worked with the same communities for decades, we have combined our work in our core communities to create a “big but local” organisation. Managing over 77,000 homes, Southern Housing is dedicated to delivering excellent services and improving our resilience. We are also keen to build new homes and grow our organisation. Our vision is to create communities where everyone has a safe home in a place where they’re proud to live. We’re big and we’re local. Residents are at the heart of our services, and we use our size to influence positive change in the areas where we operate. Our values are at the HEART of what we do. As an employee, you will always be honest, working with integrity and respect. You will ensure you work in an efficient and responsive way. You will be accountable and will make effective decisions within your role. You will be professional and respectful and be committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, you will be a trusted and respected team member The Role Are you driven to deliver excellent customer service? Are you keen to engage with customers to understand their financial situation and help to find solutions to get their rent accounts back on track? If you're new to the industry, it's no problem! If you have the skills and the right attitude, we can train you to be successful. All we ask is that you have a strong customer service background with the passion for going above and beyond to help people and a big appetite for learning. This is a really interesting role where you can dig deep into individual customers cases and use your initiative to turn around their situation. Knowing you've made a positive difference to someone's life every day will leave you feeling fulfilled. It doesn't come without its challenges, so you'll need to be prepared to tackle some difficult situations. As part of the Customer Accounts team, you'll manage the recovery of rent and service charge arrears, engaging with customers to understand their circumstances and create solutions to make it possible for them to pay their rent, maintain their tenancies and prevent arrears arising in the future. Great communication skills are essential, as a large part of your day will be spent on the telephone talking to people. You'll have an inquisitive mind and take a flexible attitude towards resolving problems to a successful conclusion. You'll be empowered to take ownership and responsibility of debt recovery cases, making sure customers receive the appropriate support with money management advice and guidance regarding benefits to help maximise their potential income. The location Our Croydon office is a 10-minute walk from Croydon train station and nestled amongst various shops, restaurants, and bars. An ideal place to not only work but to socialise once your working day is done! You'll be 100% office-based to ensure you get the full training and support needed to enable you to carry out your role. What you’ll have

• Solution-focused and driven to achieve the best outcomes for our customers and the business
• Strong communication and negotiation skills
• Self-motivated with a positive attitude towards work
• Can work well with minimal supervision, but enjoy working as part of a team to achieve goals and targets
• Operate effectively to achieve targets and provide excellent customer service
• Being able to use initiative to make decisions
• Show empathy and be resilient to deal with sensitive or challenging situations

Please be aware that, due to the sensitive nature of this role, we aren't able to consider applications from current Southern Housing residents. Benefits in working with us

• A starting salary of £31,635 per year, with increments as and when you meet objectives and targets whilst you learn
• 27 days holidays (plus public holidays and increasing with service) and an extra day off for your Birthday
• The chance to buy additional leave
• £250 in vouchers as part of our colleague referral scheme
• Ongoing support for your wellbeing
• Flexible benefits with some really exciting options which you can find out more about here!

Rest assured, that working with us will empower you to be you, with a real sense of purpose and pride in everything you do. Should you be shortlisted for interview, you will receive a copy of the full job description to aid you in preparing for your interview.