Reports To: Subsidiary and Service Charge Accountant
Salary:
Terms: Permanent, 20-24 hours per week.
Location: Birchwood, Warrington
About the Role:
Reporting to the Subsidiary and Service Charge Accountant the Service Charge Assistant is responsible for:
- Ensuring Service Charge Customer Data is correct;
- Setting up new customers onto our system and generating invoices;
- Processing Customer Direct Debits;
- Providing day to day accounting support and administration;
- Assisting the Customer Services team with incoming queries as required.
By delivering an excellent level of service to customers, residents, colleagues and to the Trust as a whole, the Service Charge Assistant will support the delivery of the Service Charge model.
The role requires liaison, internally, with all departments within the Land Trust and externally with customers, developers and third-party suppliers.
The contents of this job description are not intended to be exhaustive but simply highlight the current key responsibilities of the role. The role holder is expected to perform whatever tasks might reasonably be assigned to them.
Key Responsibilities:
- Maintain Service Charge records & databases;
- Setting up new Service Charge customers;
- Liaising with our solicitors regarding property sales;
- Assisting with the collection of customer Arrears;
- Reviewing customers payments on non-standard payment terms;
- Providing arrears balances and statements to customers;
- Allocating customer payments;
- Assisting with processing customer refunds;
- Setting up Direct Debit mandates and payment plans;
- Processing Direct Debit amendments;
- Reviewing Direct Debit reports to identify any changes;
- Reviewing service charge data to identify missing information;
- Dealing with queries on non-service charge invoices and payments (such as community centre bookings);
- Reviewing and updating the Land Trust service charge customers portal;
- Assisting with land registry searches;
- Providing cover for the Customer Services Team in dealing with customer queries by telephone, in writing and email using our customer service system, Zendesk;
- Providing cover for the Customer Services Teams with taking and processing Service Charge payments.
Other Duties / General:
- Liaising with other departments within the Trust
- Providing assistance re ad hoc queries from other members of the Land Trust team
- Assist in other administrative matters as required
- Maintain files and archives
- Ensure all relevant Trust policies and procedures are adhered to e.g. Health and Safety.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential Skills:
- Attention to detail
- Excellent time management and able to meet deadlines
- Maintains high levels of focus and concentration
- High level of accuracy, integrity and good attention to detail
- Strong administration and organisational skills
- Ability to actively build and maintain positive relationships
- Confident telephone manner
- Customer care skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- IT literate with proven skills in using MS office packages
- Ability and confidence to work on own initiative, as well as part of a team, and to resolve problems as they arise, remaining calm under pressure
- High level of tact, diplomacy and confidentiality
- Confidence to manage competing priorities
Essential Experience:
- GCSE English and Maths grade C or equivalent
- Customer focused
- Enjoys and is confident in working with numbers
- Experience of and confidence in using spreadsheets – good knowledge of excel
- Experience of and confidence in dealing with Customers, via telephone, e-mails, etc
- Experience of dealing with customers using the Zendesk customer services system or a similar customer services system (desirable but not essential)
OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION
- This position requires the post holder to act flexibly and undertake other duties and responsibilities commensurate with the post
Salary and Benefits:
- Salary depending on experience
- A salary sacrifice pension scheme, with LT matching employee contributions up to 6%
- Life Insurance (4 x salary)
- Flexi time role is predominantly office based, with the opportunity to work from home on an ad hoc basis.
- 26.5 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays (pro rata). Increasing to 31.5 days with service
- Option to purchase additional holidays
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Health Care Cash back scheme (Medicash)
- Training and Development support
APPLICATIONS
Must have the right to work in the UK. A DBS check may be required.
Applicants should send a CV and covering letter to: recruitment@thelandtrust.org.uk
The Land Trust is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment and its employment policies for recruitment are designed to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
ABOUT THE LAND TRUST
The Land Trust is the UK’s premier green space management organisation, offering outstanding stewardship and delivery for clients, communities and the environment.
Our aim is to create and maintain sustainable high-quality greenspaces to improve the quality of people’s lives and enhance the environment both now and for future generations.
Our vision is to improve the quality of people’s lives by creating sustainable, high quality green spaces that deliver environmental, social and economic benefits.
We manage over 90 sites across the UK and help a wide range of public and private landowners who, for a variety of reasons, want to pass on responsibility (or liability) for the management of sites, public open space or new green infrastructure to find bespoke long-term funding and, management solutions. These can include service charges, section 106 or endowment, or a hybrid of funding sources. Our current endowment portfolio of approximately £180m provides the financial resources to ensure that our endowed sites are managed to a good standard and contribute to the wellbeing of the communities by which they are surrounded.
Our work is guided by the delivery of our five charitable objectives: Health and Wellbeing, Environment and biodiversity, community cohesion; Education and learning; and economic vitality.
