Finance Rent and Charging Officer

About the Borough

With a workforce of two hundred colleagues we're small enough to be friendly and large enough to give you scope to develop and progress your career. We are based in Sutton Town Centre with great transport links in and out of London. Our colleagues work and engage with residents in the borough and wider for our private sector colleagues.

At SHP our strength and depth lies primarily in the knowledge, experience and commitment of our colleagues; to deliver excellent services to residents. As a landlord organisation this means enabling families and households to be safe in their homes, sustain their tenancy and lead healthy and rewarding lives.

About the Service and Team

You will be joining a multi-functional finance team providing support to colleagues, suppliers and customers on matters relating to accounts payable, accounts receivable, adjustment to rent accounts and reconciliations among a varied range of duties.

This is an exciting time to be joining the team as Sutton Housing Partnership expands the portfolio of properties that it manages.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

We are looking for a highly motivated and skilled individual to join our team as a Rent and Charges Officer. it's a chance to step into a brand new role with the opportunity to take ownership and build processes from the ground up and establish the role's function within the wider team.

This is a critical, hands-on role that directly supports our Financial Transaction Manager. You will be instrumental in ensuring that all rent and service charges are accurately calculated, set, and maintained in strict accordance with the Rent Standard and internal policies. Your expertise will guarantee financial accuracy and regulatory compliance across our housing portfolio.

You must have:

• Proven background in finance, housing management, or a similar regulatory/compliance focused role.
• An understanding of the regulatory framework for social housing rents and service charges.
• Experience of using housing management software and advanced spreadsheet skills.
• The ability to work independently, manage your own workload, and demonstrate a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Exceptional accuracy and a methodical approach to data analysis and calculations.

In the main you will be responsible for:

• Implementing and optimising the processes for annual rent and service charge setting and review - incorporating best practices.
• Ensuring all rent and charges comply with the relevant regulatory standards.
• Maintaining precise and up-to-date records within our housing management systems and other database. Performing regular audits and reconciliations.
• Investigating and resolving complex queries and discrepancies related to rent and service charge calculations.
• Working closely with other Sutton Housing Partnership teams, the London Borough of Sutton and other external organisations to gather necessary data and communicate charge changes effectively.

Our Offer to You

Colleagues at SHP take pride in delivering our priorities and working in rewarding careers. In turn, we strive to reward them fairly through SHP’s pay and reward systems. Roles are reviewed to ensure pay reflects the responsibilities of the individual in line with our systems.

A good work-life balance is important and our key benefits are:

• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme (opens in new window) – a career average scheme where employees contribute between 5.5% and 12% . Sutton Housing Partnership contribution rate to your pension is 18.4% from 1 April 2025 .
• Annual leave of either 28 or 33 days per year (depending on the role) plus paid time off on bank holidays.
• Simply Health Cash Plan which allows colleagues to claim cashback on dental, optical, consultations and scans.
• Employee Benefits to include cycle to work scheme and a range of discounts schemes
• Employee Assistance Programme is a confidential, independent, expert provider of employee support services paid for by SHP to help you balance and discuss issues in your work, family and personal life. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
• Investment in your learning and development; My Learning account is set up for every member of staff with access to e-learning modules and Instructor led training. Opportunities for external training that meet both individual and strategic requirements are considered through an application process.

Application Process

Before applying please refer to the job profile and ensure you meet the essential criteria. You will then need to complete the online application form, adding a supporting statement addressing how you meet the criteria outlined in the job profile.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. Our managers are advised to set up interview panels to be diverse to reduce bias, where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce

We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the advertised role and ensure that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming organisation and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.