Senior Rent Officer - INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

Vacancy Information

Hourly rate of pay: £20.13 - £22.51

Days and Hours of Work:
Monday - Friday
Starting and finishing times are flexible, and flexi time is applicable.
To start 1st July 2026.

East Lothian Council is seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Rent Advice Officer to play a key role in delivering an effective and customer focused rent service.

This post is critical to ensuring the accurate and efficient collection of rent, reducing arrears, and supporting tenants to sustain their tenancies. You will provide daily supervision and guidance to our team, manage complex and sensitive cases, and support the achievement of agreed performance targets, ensuring compliance with legislation, Council policies, and best practice.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise and coordinate the work of the Rent Advice Team to ensure high standards of performance and service delivery
• Support the collection of rent, reduction of arrears, and achievement of performance targets
• Lead on complex cases, customer complaints, disputes, and appropriate recovery action
• Monitor and review tenancies, with an emphasis on personal contact and tenancy sustainment
• Provide expert rent advice to customers, colleagues, and partner agencies
• Collate and analyse performance data to support management information and decision making
• Mentor and support staff, apprentices, and new employees
• Deputise for the Team Leader when required

You will have experience in rent collection, housing management, or a related field, with a strong understanding of relevant legislation and welfare considerations. You will be confident supervising staff, managing performance, handling complex cases, and delivering excellent customer service. Strong communication, organisational, and problem solving skills are essential.

Home / Hybrid Working Consideration
Applications for home or hybrid working will be considered for this post in accordance with East Lothian Council’s Home Working and Worksmart Policies which can be found here. Home or Hybrid working options can be discussed with candidates invited for interview.

Please Note:
All home/hybrid workers must live in the UK. Where an application for home-working is supported, it will be subject to a satisfactory trial period. Employees will be expected to attend Council offices for the duration of induction, and be on site in East Lothian workplaces, as required. Employees with a hybrid working arrangement in place will be office based and able to work from home, with permission, on an ad hoc basis.

INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY
This post is open only to current employees of East Lothian Council (this includes agency/casual/locum staff who are currently undertaking work for us).

Job Details

Responsible for the delivery of an effective and efficient service to collect Rent income to ensure that the Council has the finances to deliver high quality services to all East Lothian Council tenants. Provide support, guidance and advice to colleagues and external bodies by coordinating and monitoring the Teams performance to maximise efficiency of the service provision.

Ensure customers, the team and services are fully supported and all work is in compliance with the Council's policies, procedures and legislation with a commitment to achieve best value.

Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.

The ‘East Lothian Way’– values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.

Job Requirements

Relevant Qualifications
HNC/SVQ Level 3 or equivalent level of knowledge e.g. IRRV, Business Administration and/or relevant working experience.

Driving Licence
A full current driving licence is desirable for this post.

Level 1 Disclosure Clearance
This role requires Level 1 Disclosure Clearance to allow access to the Public Sector Network. ELC will submit a Police Act Disclosure application on behalf of the preferred candidate and receipt of the subsequent certificate will be required prior to commencement.

Please note:
If you have spent more than 3 months working or living out with the UK in the last 5 years then you will also be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Additional Information

For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link:
www.eastlothian.gov.uk/nonteachinginfo

If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/contact-us.

If you require further information about this vacancy, please call 01620 827868, or email us on recruitment@eastlothian.gov.uk

Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an ‘import data from my CV’ function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form. If, for example, due to a disability, you are unable to complete the on-line application form you can contact us for a paper application via the telephone number or email address above.