Senior Advisor

Catch22 ,
London, Greater London
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Overview

Job Description

Company Description Community Links is a charity, rooted in east London, providing support and opportunities to thousands of people, from our community, every year. We have been transforming lives for over 40 years. Our Advice Team, comprising of paid and volunteer advisers and lawyers, provides a range of legal services, including: * A Form Filling Clinic, assisting with the completion of Benefit and Housing Registration Forms, * Specialist Benefit Tribunal, Appeals' Representation * Expert Housing Advice from solicitors * Accredited Debt Advice provided by qualified experts, * Consumer and Employment Legal Advice given by pro bono lawyers Additionally, by virtue of Help through Crisis, our Social Worker-led program, providing emotional and practical support and guidance, we are able to offer a comprehensive, wraparound service. Job Description You will be connecting people to the support they need, enabling them to support each other and build capacity within the community to identify and overcome issues and prevent them from occurring again. As a senior advisor you will be, your day-to-day responsibilities will be: * Assisting clients with high-quality welfare benefits advice, including casework. * Assessing the wider situation of the client and appropriately referring to internal and external support. * Delivering advice in the most appropriate way to clients: face-to-face (including at outreach locations), via phone, by email and online. * Coordinating our 'open door', 'benefits check' and 'form filling' services, including triaging clients when they first arrive at Community Links and providing general advice. * Supervising staff and volunteers, whilst working sportively with other members of the Advice Team, both paid and voluntary. * Delivering training, for example, to clients with the aim of improving their understanding of basic advice * Providing cover for other advisers when required. * Meeting individual service level targets as set out by the Program Manager. * Keeping accurate, auditable records of interactions with clients. Completing all necessary paperwork and uploading required monitoring information onto our IT system (easy to use, Advice Pro). * Reflecting on your work and sharing learning on the needs of beneficiaries with your line manager, and our policy, fundraising and evaluation teams, to improve our service, lobby for wider change and secure funding. * Carry out any other tasks that may be within the scope of the role to ensure the effective delivery and development of the service. * Attend all necessary training and development activity, including keeping up-to-date with legislative changes, as required to maintain competence. General Abiding by Health & Safety guidelines and sharing responsibility for your own health and safety and that of colleagues. Please see the attached job description. Qualifications To be successful as a Community Links Senior Debt Adviser you will need: * Two years' experience of giving welfare benefits advice, at casework level * Specialist knowledge of welfare benefits, including legacy benefits and universal credit: * Eligibility to benefits * Challenging decisions * Backdating * Over-payments * Overlapping benefits * Small grant applications (eg Family Fund) * A desire to develop and undertake training as required * A track record of providing excellent service to all beneficiaries who will use the service by offering high standards of customer care at all times and the capability to meet organisational standards in the provision of a responsive service. * Strong record keeping capabilities * Excellent letter drafting skills * Good IT and administration skills, and excellent organisational skills, with the ability to plan and prioritise your own workload. * The means to manage a caseload to Advice Quality Standard and general funders' criteria. * Able to work effectively, in a professional supportively and empathetic manner, with beneficiaries seeking advice, assessing and escalating any risk concern should they arise. * A clear communicator, skilled at building relationships with stakeholders, colleagues and volunteers within your team, and more widely across the staff body. * Ability to work both collaboratively and on your own initiative, and encourage a good work ethic. * The proven means to work well under pressure. * The aptitude to contribute positively to the future development of the Advice Service. * Competence to work to deadlines and adapt to developing need, with a flexible approach and can-do attitude. * Willing to share Community Links and Catch 22 values. * A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. * Willing to undertake reasonable travel. Please find following a link to the job description and specifications [Bryony, please can we add a link here?] Additional Information * Salary: up to 33,000, (job share considered) * Contract : 35 hours, per week * Deadline for completed applications Sunday, 28 June, 2020 Community Links

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