Income Officer - 12 Month Fixed Term Contract
About this role
Help residents manage their rent, overcome financial challenges and keep essential housing services moving forward.
As an Income Officer, you’ll support residents to resolve financial challenges, sustain their tenancies and recover the income that powers essential services across our borough.
Working Style:
You’ll be based in the Borough for three days a week, playing a key role in serving the local community. Whether you’re working in the office, remotely or out meeting residents in the field, you’ll be part of a dedicated team making a real difference to residents’ lives.
What you’ll be doing
Your focus will be taking ownership of a caseload of rent accounts, collecting accommodation charges and taking proactive action to manage arrears. Your day will involve regular contact with residents by letter, telephone and home visits, taking time to understand the root causes of non-payment, agreeing practical payment arrangements and guiding people to access welfare benefits or financial support so they can sustain their homes.
Alongside day-to-day account management, you’ll manage complex cases in close partnership with our Legal, Benefits and Housing Needs teams. Where necessary, you’ll issue notices, prepare possession cases, attend court and oversee eviction proceedings with care and professionalism.
You’ll also contribute directly to service initiatives aimed at improving income collection and refining processes following a recent cyber incident, ensuring high standards of customer care, clear record-keeping and compliance with Council policies.
For further information on the role, please take a look at the Job Description and Person Specification.
What you’ll bring
You’ll bring experience in income recovery, rent arrears management or Housing Benefit recovery. You have a practical understanding of public sector housing issues, homelessness agendas and welfare reform.
You’re an excellent communicator who can balance empathy with firmness when handling difficult financial conversations. You bring strong negotiation and record-keeping skills, with the confidence to manage a demanding workload independently, write clear reports and use finance and IT systems accurately.
Most importantly, you’re someone who demonstrates our core values in every interaction – Putting Communities First, Respect, Integrity and Working Together – and who brings a calm, supportive approach to helping residents sustain their tenancies.
Why join us
At RBKC, we’re all in – investing in our people, our communities and our future.
You’ll join a friendly, collaborative and supportive team where colleagues look out for one another to achieve the best outcomes for residents. This role offers a rewarding balance between income recovery and tenancy sustainment, giving you full ownership of your caseload while contributing directly to service improvements.
We will invest in your development, offering opportunities to broaden your expertise across public sector housing, legal processes and welfare benefits. You’ll also receive a competitive salary alongside the support of a dedicated team that takes pride in delivering quality services for our community.
About us
Kensington and Chelsea is home to diverse communities, thriving businesses and unique local places. Everything we do is focused on supporting our residents, strengthening our approach and creating a fairer borough.
As a competent and caring Council, we take pride in our work every day, ensuring our services are delivered with care and competence. We listen to our residents, act with integrity and work together to build a borough that is greener, safer and fairer for all.
In this role, you’ll bring a real sense of care and commitment to supporting residents while safeguarding Council income. Navigating complex cases and helping our team reduce arrears following a recent cyber incident isn't always smooth sailing, but your efforts will play a vital part in keeping essential housing services running and making a positive impact on our community every day.
Interview Details and role requirements
Interviews will be held week commencing 7th September at Kensington Town Hall
This role will require a standard DBS.
Ready to join us?
We’re all in – are you? If you share our values and have the skills to contribute, we’d love to hear from you.
Please apply online explaining how you meet the requirements set out in the person specification and job description.
We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.
We are committed to promoting equality and respecting diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.
We are committed to fair, transparent, and consistent pay practices. New hires will start at the minimum of the advertised salary range.
Employees receive annual salary increases until they reach the top of the pay scale. In addition, employees will receive any agreed cost of living pay rises.
Company at a glance
Kensington and Chelsea is one of London’s most vibrant and recognisable boroughs. It has many unique buildings, famous museums and beautiful parks. Although the borough is geographically one of the smallest in London, at just over 4.7 square miles, it is one of the most densely populated and diverse areas in Europe. It is home to the world-famous Notting Hill Carnival.
Kensington and Chelsea Council (also known as RBKC) aims to provide high quality services to improve the lives of its residents and to make the borough greener, safer and fairer.
The Council has five directorates, sharing Children’s Services and Adult Social Care and Public Health with Westminster Council. Other directorates include Chief Executive, Environment and Neighbourhoods, Housing and Social Investment (including Grenfell recovery), and Resources.
Children's Services and Adult Social Care: This directorate covers children's services, education, family services, safeguarding, adult social care and public health. These services are consistently rated as being of a very high standard.
Environment and Neighbourhoods: Transport, leisure, planning, resident services, libraries and environmental health, all of which are supported by a safer, cleaner and greener streets agenda. This team also work to preserve the unique character of the borough.
Housing and Social Investment: In response to London’s affordable homes crisis, the Council is committed to building more social housing to help people on lower incomes to live, work, and raise their families in the borough. Housing also covers landlord services and estate management, planning, refurbishment, advice and support to help maintain healthy and safe homes, and build stronger communities.
Resources: This directorate includes Customer Services, Human Resources, IT, Finance. These services help the Council to run effectively and in turn benefit the wider community.
CEO manages strategy, Grenfell inquiry, governance and communications.
Top Benefits
- Competitive salary
- Supportive team environment
- Professional development opportunities
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