We are seeking a dedicated and detail-oriented Deferred Payments Specialist Officer to join our team. This role is crucial in supporting individuals with assessed care needs in Buckinghamshire by expediting financial assessments and providing guidance to prevent financial vulnerability. As a Deferred Payments Specialist Officer, you will be the primary contact for all matters related to complex financial assessments, deputyships, and appointees. You will liaise with various stakeholders, monitor and report on Adult Social Care debt, and develop close working relationships with partner agencies. Additionally, you will conduct home visits, provide proactive debt support, and contribute to strategic meetings.
About us
Working in the Finance Assessments Team as part of the wider Revenues and Benefits Team at Buckinghamshire Council, we are responsible for assessing clients across Buckinghamshire to calculate their contribution towards the cost of their care and support. Made up of two teams working across Care in the Community and Residential Care, we are focussed on providing accurate financial information to our clients.
Having recently reviewed our service; we are expanding our team to further support our clients and colleagues in the increasing demand for care across Buckinghamshire. Working closely alongside colleagues in Finance, Social Care and Legal Services we have a varied workload that ranges from in person visits with clients to analysing financial information that covers the start to end of charging for care.
About the role
As a Deferred Payments Specialist Officer, you will be the primary contact for all matters related to complex financial assessments, deputyships, and appointees. Your main responsibilities will include:
- Liaising with various stakeholders to establish deferred payment recovery, including Care Management, Credit Control, Financial Assessments, Direct Payment – Finance Housing, and Legal Teams.
- Monitoring and reporting performance in respect of Adult Social Care debt on deferred payment on a monthly basis.
- Developing close working relationships with partner agencies such as the Department for Works and Pensions for data sharing and participating in partnership working as agreed by the Council.
- Promoting the importance of income collection to the overall budget position and raising awareness of roles and responsibilities across care teams.
- Communicating effectively with recipients of care or their representatives, whether face-to-face, by telephone, or letter.
- Conducting home visits to support recipients of care or their representatives in paying their assessed contribution, such as setting up deferred payment plans.
- Providing proactive support by identifying debt early and escalating any safeguarding concerns to the Safeguarding Officer.
- Assisting recipients of care or their representatives with prompt and appropriate advice, liaising with other agencies and departments where necessary.
- Contributing to Strategic Debt and Income Group meetings.
- Delivering training and awareness at training events and providing support to colleagues when required.
About you
We are looking for an individual with experience in the development and implementation of finance, fraud, or safeguarding best practices is essential. The ideal candidate will have excellent customer service skills and a proven track record of supporting people with their finances are required. A strong background in developing and delivering effective finance training, along with the ability to engage and network with stakeholders to influence service delivery, is crucial.
Creativity and imagination help in seeing new approaches, overcoming obstacles, and achieving ambitious goals. Being well-organized, able to plan and prioritize workloads to meet business needs, and possessing tenacity and resilience to challenge existing ways of doing things are important. Good operating knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, the Intranet/Internet, and Email, and embracing new technology are necessary. Additionally, relevant experience in project management or leading project-based initiatives, understanding Financial Advice and Fraud legislation, and having a working knowledge of assessment and billing in Adult Social Care are required.
Qualifications:
- Education to A Level / HNC standard or equivalent
- ICT skills – standard Microsoft packages & specialist systems.
Other information
For further information on this role please see the attached job summary.
Please note: You must have the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English.
Working arrangements: Any desk worker, working 2 days in the office and 3 days from home.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:
- All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
- All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).
For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).
We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to
Disability Confident.
