Customer Service Specialist - Real Estate

Real Estate Tax Specialist

The Real Estate Tax Specialist serves as a vital link between the City and its residents, providing high-quality, front-line expertise within the Real Estate Tax unit. This role is responsible for responding to customer tickets and inquiries, researching routine account issues, entering and updating account information, and processing standard documentation in accordance with established procedures. The Specialist bridges the gap between technical tax data and public understanding, ensuring that taxpayers receive accurate, empathetic, and efficient service regarding their property obligations and available tax relief programs.

This position is considered an Essential Personnel, which means that the incumbent is required to work when the City is closed due to public emergencies, critical or hazardous conditions or inclement weather.

Duties Include But Are Not Limited To

Front-Line Public Assistance:

• Provide direct assistance to taxpayers at the front counter.
• Monitor and manage customer flow via ticketing systems to ensure efficient and high-quality service delivery for citizens managing their real estate obligations.
• Interpret complex real estate tax billings and technical data, translating them into clear, easy-to-understand information for non-tax experts.

Account Management:

• Resolve customer complaints and billing disputes with professionalism, identifying when to independently settle issues and when to escalate to Real Estate Analysts or management.
• Perform credit research and execute bill adjustments or corrections to ensure account accuracy.
• Enter data into municipal systems, research and correct account errors.
• Assist citizens with applications and eligibility requirements for tax relief assistance programs.

Administrative & Billing Responsibilities:

• Assist in the creation of real estate bills participate in quality control reviews related to billing processes to maintain data integrity and accurate tax records.
• Support unit leadership with specialized real estate billing projects and seasonal tax cycles.
• As assigned, assist with training other employees on real estate related tax operations and processes.
• Maintain the departmental file system: compile documentation, prepare files, sort/organize documents, and file/scan documents as required.
• Assist with records maintenance activities in compliance with guidelines governing record retention and shredding/destroying confidential or obsolete documents.

Qualifications, Special Certifications and Licenses

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge (some combination of the following):

• Best practices related to customer service policies and procedures
• Real estate valuation
• Real Estate tax relief
• Municipal governments
• CIS billing system
• City of Richmond Assessors File
• Familiarity using standard office equipment

Skills (some combination of the following):

• Proficiency at Microsoft Office Suite
• Data entry
• Diplomacy
• Problem-solving
• Account management
• Oral and written communication
• Interpersonal communication
• Basic mathematics
• Customer service
• Researching
• Interacting with potentially irate or irrational customers

Abilities (some combination of the following):

• Multi-task
• Listen attentively
• Analyze information
• Work with diverse populations
• Work in a fast paced environment
• Analyze data to resolve customer issues or concerns
• Supplemental Information
• Basic math skills

Minimum Training and Experience:

• High School Diploma or GED
• Three years of customer service, reconciliation and adjustment experience
• An equivalent combination of training and experience (as approved by the department) may be used to meet the minimum qualifications of the classification

Licensing, Certifications, and Other Special Requirements:

• None required

Americans With Disabilities Act Requirements

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss accommodations.

Environmental Hazards: Working conditions may include exposure to travel to other locations within the City of Richmond as well as outside of the City of Richmond; exposure to hazardous physical conditions such as mechanical parts, electrical currents, vibrations, etc.; atmospheric conditions such as fumes, odors, dusts, gases, and poor ventilation; inadequate lighting; intense noise; and environmental hazards such as disruptive people, imminent danger, and a threatening environment.

Physical Requirements and Working Environment: Due to the nature of work assignments, incumbents must be able to perform detailed work on multiple, concurrent tasks, with frequent interruptions and under time constraint. While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, see, hear, finger (pick, pinch, type, or otherwise work primarily with fingers), and use substantial repetitive motions of the wrists, hands and fingers. The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, walk and reach extending hands and arms in any direction. In terms of the physical strength to perform the essential duties, this classification is considered to be sedentary, exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to move objects.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The City of Richmond provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

The City of Richmond is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, the City of Richmond will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodations. If you require reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to participate in the job application and/or the interview process, please contact Veronica Kenner, by email at HR-ADA@rva.gov.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

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