Advice caseworker jobs in Bracknell, bracknell forest

Citizens Advice Hounslow is a well‑established charity serving the London Borough of Hounslow. We work to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people who come to us for support. Our high‑quality, agile advice service responds to the issues and needs of our community, always putting people first. Thanks to our dedicated team of staff and volunteers, we support over 16,000 clients each year through our face‑to‑face, telephone and digital services.

We are now seeking an experienced, full‑time Welfare Benefits Caseworker to support vulnerable residents in building financial resilience. The role focuses on welfare benefits issues, income maximisation and challenging decisions, delivered through practical, hands‑on, in‑person support. The successful candidate must be able to work independently, operating from our offices as well as from various locations across the borough to ensure accessible, community‑based support.

We will offer the right candidate a generous salary with other benefits such as annual season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, generous annual leave, and the opportunity to develop professionally. You will be part of a warm and friendly work culture where opinions are valued.

For more information about the role please download the Job Description and Person Specification from our website via the Apply button.

Please note:We are unable to respond to applicants who have not been shortlisted.

We offer a range of employee benefits, including generous annual leave, pension contribution, and training and opportunities to continue your professional development.

We consider applications from all applicants who meet the person specification irrespective of sex, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief, age, or disability.

We are seeking two Regional Caseworkers to join our team, one in the Northern Circuit and one in the Northeastern Circuit. This role has a dual focus, combining casework responsibilities with stakeholder management, requiring the successful candidates to build strong relationships and rapport across their assigned circuit. You will also represent Advocate by attending events and delivering information sessions to raise awareness of our services and promote our work.

We are a national charity that matches people who need free legal help with barristers who are willing to donate their time and expertise for those who cannot obtain legal aid and cannot afford to pay. We believe that fair and equal access to justice is the foundation of our society, and the quality of your legal representation shouldn’t depend on the depth of your pockets, but the merits of your case.

We are the only pro bono charity to provide access to legal assistance in all areas of law, in all courts and tribunals across England and Wales. We exist because committed barristers care about access to justice for everyone. We have been facilitating free legal help since 1996 and have grown into a thriving organisation, working with almost 4,500 volunteer barristers. Our staff team comprises 23 staff and we have 13 trustees on our Board, which is chaired by Sharif Shivji KC.

About Care4Calais and the Legal Access Department

Care4Calais is a volunteer-based charity providing essential aid and support for refugees in France and the UK.

In northern France we operate year-round from Calais, working alongside communities in Calais and Dunkirk to provide warm clothing, bedding and service provision to displaced people who live in difficult and dangerous conditions.

Across the UK we collect and distribute clothes, shoes, mobile phones and other essential items, as well as providing psycho social support and interaction, including language lessons, sport and music workshops. We also help with vital access to medical and educational services.

Our Legal Access Department is an access to justice project that exists to support people seeking asylum in the UK by facilitating access to legal representation and offering holistic support to people throughout the asylum process. The department, made up mostly of specially trained volunteers, works tirelessly to ensure that people feel informed, empowered, and far less isolated and alone. We conduct one-to-one, complex casework for people seeking asylum for a variety of matters, over the years we have supported thousands of people to secure legal representation. Our current casework channels include securing legal representation and support for people’s asylum claims, challenges to unsuitable accommodation and potential removal from the UK (for example under the current UK-France ‘One in One out’ deal), and support for young people in their age dispute matters. Our teams work remotely across the UK. The Department seeks to adapt and amend our services based on the needs of the communities that we work with.

About the role

The aim of the role is to support and inspire volunteer teams to undertake the individual one-to-one casework and support that lies at the heart of what the Legal Access Department does, furthering access to justice for people seeking asylum and refugees. The Casework Manager will be responsible for the casework conducted by our Asylum Team, which focuses on securing legal representation for our client's asylum claims and offering holistic support through the difficulties of the asylum process. Casework managers will use their experience and understanding of the UK asylum system and conducting complex casework to guide their teams, working collaboratively with each other and the Head of Department to respond with agility to a fast-moving policy environment.

Responsibilities

Volunteer Management

• Lead existing team(s) of volunteers to undertake their specified roles as agreed with the Head of Department
• Conduct quarterly 1:1s with volunteers to give and receive feedback, reaffirm commitments, review caseloads, support with more complex cases, and ensure volunteer wellbeing. Escalate any issues and/or concerns to the Head of Department where necessary.
• Motivate and engage volunteers, taking into account the remote nature of the roles, collaborating with other Casework Managers.
• Facilitate regular team meetings and/or virtual drop ins for volunteers to ensure continued engagement and space to raise issues or concerns.
• Support volunteer caseworkers undertaking their roles, providing advice on casework and stepping in to support clients where required. Provide casework cover when volunteer caseworkers are otherwise unavailable.
• Supervise the casework conducted to ensure that volunteer caseworkers adhere to casework procedures so that every client receives the same level of service. Where volunteers may struggle to adhere to procedures ensure that concerns are identified and raised in a timely manner to reach an appropriate solution.
• Support volunteers to raise safeguarding / protection concerns through the appropriate channels. Escalate concerns where necessary. Support volunteer caseworkers through debriefs.
• Recruit, train and onboard new volunteers with the support of the Head of Department as required.
• Manage own, limited, complex caseload of clients where required to support the volunteer casework team.

Casework Management

• Oversee the appropriate collection and management of confidential client information and data, ensuring that volunteers adhere to organisational policy at all times.
• Keep team procedure documentation up to date, implementing changes where required to keep pace with the ever-changing policy environment. Work with the Head of Department to proactively adapt the casework services provided to suit the needs of the communities we work with.
• Work with the Head of Department to proactively identify systemic issues seen regionally and/or nationally and influence the direction of the Department. Contribute to evidence gathering and furthering strategic litigation cases supported or undertaken by the Department.
• Report on team progress to the Head of Department via pre-arranged channels and format.
• Attend relevant external meetings representing the organisation as needed, ensuring that knowledge and learning is shared across the department.
• Build and maintain robust understanding of the policy landscape impacting people seeking asylum in the UK, identify and attend external training opportunities, ensure that any learning is passed on to other staff and volunteers across the organisation.
• Build and maintain relationships with key partners and stakeholders, including, but not limited to local authorities, legal teams, and other NGOs focused on support of people seeking asylum.
• Attend and contribute meaningfully to team meetings

Person specification

1. In-depth understanding of the UK asylum system
2. Dedication to social justice with a clear understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable populations, or a willingness to learn about these
3. Ability to work sensitively with a diverse range of people, demonstrating cultural competence, respect and compassion
4. Able to build positive relationships with a range of stakeholders including those from displaced communities, legal teams, and other charities
5. Clear leadership ability, with the capability to act with initiative and drive
6. An understanding of the volunteer experience including potential challenges volunteers may face
7. Self-motivated and used to managing multiple priorities to meet deadlines
8. Collaborative team member with excellent verbal and written communication skills
9. Strong digital literacy, including ability to work on Google Workspace and Office 365
10. Resilience in the face of challenging and emotionally demanding situations, with a positive and solution-oriented mindset

Whilst not essential, we welcome applications from people with the following skills

     12. Proficiency in one or more of the languages spoken within asylum seeking communities, such as, but not limited to:               Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, Dari, Kurdish Sorani, Tigrinya or Amharic

     13. Experience leading and managing volunteer teams from varied backgrounds

Application process

Please apply via CharityJob and submit your CV and a letter of interest. In this, please outline your interest in the role and how you meet the criteria set out in the ‘person specification’. Please include any skills, relevant experience and examples of how you exemplify each point. We recognise that skills and experience come from more than just employment history and encourage anyone who meets most of the specification for this role to apply, even where this experience comes from outside traditional employment structures. If you are interested in applying but do not have all the experience necessary, we encourage you to contact us at admin [@] care4calais .org to set up an informal chat with our staff. We can discuss why you would like to apply for the role and what skills or experiences you have which could be relevant.

The recruitment process will include two interview stages which will both be conducted online. We will be reviewing applications as they arrive and reserve the right to close the advert before the closing date. Care4Calais receives a very high volume of applications for roles we advertise and therefore we are unfortunately unable to offer feedback to applicants who are not successful in securing an interview. We do, however, thank you for your interest and taking the time to apply for this role.

Care4Calais is dedicated to cultivating a diverse and inclusive work environment and recognises that this is invaluable to our ability to serve the communities we work with. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds including from Black, Asian and Minority-Ethnic communities, people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, and people with lived experience of the UK or EU immigration systems.

We are a proud member of the Experts by Experience Employment Network (EBE), which aims to create a charitable sector led by individuals with lived experience of the asylum system.

As part of our membership, we are dedicated to creating inclusive employment practices that recognise and accommodate the unique circumstances and strengths of people with lived experience. We actively move away from a one-size-fits-all approach, ensuring our recruitment processes are fair, supportive, and accessible.

We warmly encourage applicants with lived experience to make use of the guidance and resources available on the EBE website (ebeemployment). In addition, applicants with lived experience are welcome to connect with the EBE support team for tailored assistance with completing the application form and, where available, one-to-one interview preparation.

Importantly, we recognise the significant cultural, linguistic, and experiential insights that individuals with lived experience of the UK asylum system bring to this role. As such, all applicants from this background who meet the essential criteria will be automatically shortlisted and invited to interview. If you are a candidate with lived experience, please let us know in your application. We respect that people’s identity is not defined by their past experiences and will not expect candidates to describe their lived experience at interview unless they wish to do so.

If you have any questions about this or need additional support with the application process for any reason, please contact us at admin [@] care4calais .org

About the role

Our passionate Regional Casework Coordinators are SSAFA’s front line of support for members of the armed forces community in need. They are the first point of contact for all beneficiaries into the Regional Office, assessing needs and allocating the case to one of our volunteer caseworkers.

You will sometimes handle complex problems from individuals who may be distressed, identifying the presenting and potential underlying needs to determine the best way to support the beneficiary. You will have ownership of cases from beginning to end, coordinating the casework process in a timely manner and ensure that the beneficiary journey is at the centre of the Service. You will have the opportunity to shape processes and procedures within the office which will lead to improvements in the service offered to clients.

To help you establish yourself in this new post you will receive excellent training and induction to SSAFA.

Whilst the post is homebased, to be eligible for this role you are required to live in the North East England or Yorkshire region, which includes North, South, East and West Yorkshire, Teesside, County Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. There will be occasional travel around these areas, and you may be required to travel at short notice for face-to-face meetings.

About the team

The team work remotely and pride themselves in maintaining a close working bond which ensures the smooth operation of the office. You will work closely with volunteers from the eight SSAFA branches in the Northeast and Yorkshire, supporting them to administer casework for SSAFA beneficiaries. The successful candidate will work as part of a team 8, which includes a Regional Casework Manager and a Regional Manager for Casework and Community Engagement.

About you

To carry out this role successfully you will have a track record of providing welfare advice in key areas such as housing, benefits, debt, disability, mobility or immigration issues. You will have knowledge of safeguarding and GDPR and experience in dealing with sensitive information and people in vulnerable situations. You will be able to provide excellent customer service by telephone, e-mail and face to face. You will have used Microsoft Office 365 to a high standard. It is important that you have experience of planning and managing your own workload, with minimal supervision.

It would be advantageous if you have an understanding of the way of life for today’s Armed Forces, veterans and their families and if you have experience of recruiting and supporting volunteers. An understanding of the voluntary sector and preferably the military charity sector landscape across the Northeast and Yorkshire would be valuable.

About SSAFA

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, has been providing practical, emotional, and financial support to our Forces and their families since 1885. SSAFA, is a trusted source of support for the Armed Forces community in their time of need; last year our trained teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 53,000 people in need, including veterans, serving personnel (regulars and reserves) and their families.

SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. We are here for that person and their family – any time they need us, in any way they need us, for as long as they need us.

Diversity and Inclusion at SSAFA

SSAFA exists to support a diverse range of beneficiaries within the armed forces community, and we believe diversity within our teams is key to ensuring we can deliver our services effectively. We thrive on differences and believe it is critical to our success as a worldwide charity. SSAFA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace that seeks to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We therefore encourage applications from all genders, races, religions, ages and sexual orientations, as well as parents, veterans, people living with disabilities, and any other groups that could bring diverse perspectives to our business.

SSAFA is committed to using the Disclosure & Barring Service to ensure we, as an employer, safeguard those we serve.

No agencies please. Any unsolicited submissions from agencies will be accepted as a direct application from the candidate and no fees will be payable.

Closing date: Midnight on Tuesday 09 June 2026

Interviews: TBC