Revenues Service Manager

Leeds Safe Roads Partnership; Leeds; On-site; GBP 60,000 - GBP 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A public sector organization in Leeds is seeking a Revenues Service Manager to lead the revenues collection team. The successful candidate will drive performance improvements, manage relationships with stakeholders, and ensure compliance with local regulations. This role offers opportunities for professional development and a competitive salary package. If you are a results-driven leader passionate about improving services, we encourage you to apply.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Flexible working arrangements

Professional development opportunities

Pension scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in leading a large team and managing performance.
• Strong knowledge of local authority revenues collection legislation.
• Proven ability to develop and implement performance management frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the revenues collection and recovery team.
• Develop and implement operational processes.
• Ensure achievement of performance targets and standards.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical thinking

Relationship management

Collaboration

Education

Degree or professional qualification

Job description

In the role of Revenues Service Manager, you’ll thrive on supporting the team and service, would you like to be part of something bigger and join us in our ambition to become the Best City, working together as a Team for Leeds? Do your values match ours, and do you have something to offer?

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

As a Revenues Service Manager, you will bring to the role:

• A results-driven approach: The ability to ensure corporate and performance targets are consistently achieved, including in‑year and arrears collection, while minimising risk and maintaining exceptional data quality and accuracy.
• Strong leadership and collaboration skills: Experience in driving performance improvements by working closely with Council managers and team leaders to optimise end‑to‑end Income Operations processes, recommending procedural and process enhancements.
• Analytical thinking and innovation: A talent for leading business improvement initiatives through data analysis, research, and creative problem‑solving. Confidence in identifying opportunities to enhance processes, technology, and procedures, and influencing departmental strategies for continuous improvement.
• Relationship management and representation: The capability to build effective partnerships with other local authorities and external stakeholders, actively participating in benchmarking and liaison groups. Confidence in representing the Council at external meetings and collaborating internally to support business development and performance.
• Professional expertise and adaptability: A commitment to staying up to date with legislation, industry standards, and best practice. The ability to provide expert guidance to internal teams on regulatory changes and service delivery improvements, ensuring resilience and compliance across operations.

About the role

Under the strategic direction of the Head of Revenues, the Service Manager will lead and inspire a department within the Revenues Service. This pivotal role is responsible for ensuring the precise, secure, and timely administration of income collection and recovery for council tax, business rates, and sundry income, in alignment with national, corporate, and service‑level standards.

Key Responsibilities

As the next Revenues Service Manager, you will lead and inspire the team to achieve excellence in income collection and recovery processes. You will provide expert consultation, support, and guidance to team members and colleagues, facilitating informed decision‑making and approving critical decisions. Ensuring the provision of high‑quality, professional services, you will build strong relationships with residents and stakeholders, maintaining a customer‑centric approach within performance, cost, and quality parameters. Additionally, you will play a crucial role in the development and modernisation of operational processes, driving change management initiatives, and empowering staff to realise their full potential.

Role Impact

The Revenues Service Manager will be instrumental in delivering effective and professional services, building robust relationships with stakeholders, and ensuring the highest standards of customer‑focused service. This role is key to the continuous improvement and modernisation of our operational processes, supporting the team through change, and creating an environment where staff can thrive.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

• a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role contact Matthew Waite‑Wright, Head of Revenues, call 0113 535 2720 or email [e-mail]

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s or Adults’ barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex‑offenders policy.

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you’ll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job Purpose

Senior strategic and operational lead for a revenues collection team within the Revenues Service, managing one of the key areas: Council Tax Administration, Council Tax Recovery, or Sundry Income.

The post holder will ensure delivery of an excellent customer focused service, delivering on performance targets and progressing new ways of working with the automation of processes across the service. The Service Manager will work closely with the team to develop and implement a performance management framework, focusing on the development and wellbeing of staff, and instilling a culture of continuous improvement.

Responsibilities for Grade

• Lead and manage a Revenues collection and recovery team dealing with all types of Revenues queries and associated activity including recovery of income on behalf of the council.
• Lead continuous improvement in performance by developing and implementing policies, initiatives and strategies to improve both team and individual performance; and to share this best practice with the management team.
• Lead the team to develop, implement and monitor a performance management framework that accurately measures team performance in operational and service areas. Analysing this management information, including timely and accurate performance indicators and quality management tools in terms of team performance, individuals’ targets, income collection, grant claims and other returns, statutory obligations, corporate objectives and council policy.
• Ensuring that corporate and statutory performance targets including collection targets for in‑year and arrears collection are achieved by the team minimising risk associated with loss of collection whilst quality and accuracy of data are maintained.
• Lead performance improvements in team operations by working closely with the Council’s managers and other team leaders to ensure that end‑to‑end Income Operations processes are optimised, recommending procedural and process changes for improvement.
• Manage the full staff recruitment and development process, disciplinary issues, performance management and appraisal in line with Council policies and procedures.
• Working with the Compliance team to ensure that staff training & development needs are identified and that appropriate training consistent with the requirements of the service is offered, delivered and evaluated.
• Lead and manage business improvement opportunities by analysis of management information from across all teams, research, innovation and development of the team’s processes, technology and procedures; recommending improvements and influencing departmental processes.
• Working with the Compliance team to establish and implement a strategy for the improvement and awareness of quality and performance issues pertaining to the team’s operations across the wider income operations service.
• Identify and develop opportunities for joint working with other local authorities and partners, participating in benchmarking and other liaison groups relevant to the Team. Being the lead representative in attending and presenting the Council at external customer meetings and internal meetings with other Council functions necessary to aid business development and performance.
• Remaining up to date with professional standards, current best practice and technical knowledge in service delivery and advise the resilience partner and internal departments of any changes in legislation, best practice and guidance for application management that the Council considers necessary to maintain the services delivered to its customers.
• Supporting the Compliance Manager during the Annual Billing process to ensure the year end reconciliation process and account close down is accurately completed by as required.
• Lead the procurement of contracts and undertake contract management for services delivered with third parties such as external enforcement agencies and IT providers within the requirements of the Council’s decision‑making framework.
• Ensuring any complaints are responded to within specified timeframes and that the learning from these complaints is utilised to improve on service delivery.
• Duties which are commensurate with the grade, from time to time will include deputising for the Head of Revenues in event of absence, attending meetings, making decisions and to making sure that objectives are met.
• Keeping up to date with skills and knowledge of relevant business rates and council tax legislation and carry out other duties as necessary, appropriate to the grade and to ensure effective service delivery to citizens of Leeds.

Qualifications

Degree and/or appropriate professional qualification or equivalent substantial knowledge gained through practical experience across the service area.

Personal Specification Essential Requirements

It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities: Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate on the application form that they meet all the essential requirements.

Method of Assessment will be through one or more of the following Application Form, Test, Interview or Certificate.

Skills Required

• Ability to provide supportive leadership to a large group of staff which motivates, empowers, enables and develops them to achieve results.
• Ability to design and implement a performance management framework that optimises service delivery and drives improvement at a service, team and individual level.
• Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills, tact, diplomacy and listening skills to enable continual development of working relationships with customers, colleagues and all stakeholders.
• Ability to develop and implement new procedures to meet changing legislative and corporate requirements.
• Ability to actively seek opportunities to improve team processes, technology and procedures.
• Ability to co‑ordinate, plan and prioritise the workload and meet deadlines when faced with conflicting priorities.
• Ability to provide a customer focused service.

Knowledge Required

• Detailed knowledge and understanding of legislation, regulations, and performance information applicable to local authority revenues collection.
• An excellent understanding of good customer service principles and the impact legislation can have on customers of the Revenues service.
• Thorough understanding of principles and methodologies in relation to business process improvement and the understanding how technology can be exploited to optimise efficiency.
• Thorough understanding on the benefits and practical application of performance management and continuous improvement processes.
• Thorough knowledge of principles and methodologies in relation to staff and customer engagement and stakeholder management.
• Degree and/or appropriate professional qualification or equivalent substantial knowledge gained through practical experience across the service area.

Experience Required

• Experience of leading, managing and motivating staff; experience of working independently, proactively and as part of a team to deliver projects and improvements at a senior level in a large, public‑sector organisation.
• Significant proven track record of experience in working collaboratively with key stakeholders, establishing and maintaining positive working relationships.
• Experience of implementing change in relation to operational service delivery including new ways of working, restructures, procuring and mobilising external services and implementing new technology.
• Experience of managing competing priorities whilst delivering on performance targets and strategic objectives.
• Experience of implementing service planning, performance management and continuous improvement frameworks, making recommendations for improvements based on insights gained from industry‑related research and analysis of performance results.

Behavioural & Other Characteristics Required

• Willing to abide by the Council’s Equality & Diversity policy and the Council’s Health and Safety Policy in the duties of the post and as an employee of the Council.
• A willingness to work flexibly and as part of a team to meet the needs of the service.
• A willingness to deal with sensitive and confidential information in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations.
• Commitment to the principles and practice of continuous development and the development and support of others to achieve departmental, service and individual objectives.
• A positive commitment to improving the efficiency and quality of services and to keep up to date with legislative requirements.
• Satisfactory outcomes to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) and Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks and checks in relation to employment history, Identity and nationality and immigration status.