Are you great with numbers, detail-focused, and passionate about making a difference? As an Overpayments Officer, you’ll play a vital role in ensuring Housing Benefit overpayments are billed accurately and recovered fairly and efficiently. You’ll be interpreting legislation, handling repayments, and working closely with colleagues, external agencies, and customers to provide the best possible support. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a dedicated team, where your work will help maximise income for the council while also ensuring that people receive the right guidance and assistance with their repayments.Our benefitsWe offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.Cycle to Work scheme. Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.Car Lease scheme via Tusker.Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.Commsave- Free membership to Commsave Credit Union who provide a variety of savings accounts, loans, a monthly lottery draw and more!Ongoing training and development opportunities.A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.What will you be doing?Day to day, you’ll be responsible for managing Housing Benefit overpayment recovery - reviewing invoices, setting up repayment plans, and making sure overpayments are classified correctly. You’ll work with different teams and external organisations, including the DWP and collection agencies, to ensure repayments are handled smoothly. Keeping up to date with legislation and best practices will be key, as will providing feedback to improve processes. You’ll also have the chance to make a real impact by helping customers navigate their repayments in a fair and supportive way, ensuring the most appropriate recovery methods are used.About youWe’re looking for someone with experience of working within a Revenues and Benefits environment, preferably dealing with overpayments of Benefit and recovery, which is central to this role. You will have a keen eye for detail, strong organisational skills, and a customer-focused approach. You’ll be confident handling financial assessments, explaining repayment options, and working with a variety of people - whether that’s customers, internal teams, or external organisations. You will have excellent communication skills enabling you to effectively negotiate payment arrangements with customers. If you’re proactive and analytical, you’ll fit right in. Most importantly, you’ll have a positive and professional attitude, ready to take on challenges and find the best solutions for both the council and the people we support. If you’re ready to bring your skills and enthusiasm to a role that really makes a difference, we’d love to hear from you!About us At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partnerThe following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us. If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.West Northants Council, where careers thrive.
