Beneficiary Support Coordinator Jobs in Birmingham
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 South East region, which includes:
- Berkshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Guernsey
- Hampshire
- Isle of Wight
- Jersey
- Kent
- Oxfordshire
- Surrey
- Sussex
There will be occasional travel around the South East Region 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 ten SSAFA branches in the South East, supporting them to administer casework for SSAFA beneficiaries. The wider support team includes a Casework Manager and a Regional Operations Support Manager.
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 South East Region would be valuable.
About SSAFA
SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity is a trusted source of support for the Armed Forces community in their time of need. In 2023 our trained teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 53,000 people, including veterans, serving personnel (regulars and reserves) and their families.
SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person and their family, any time they need us and in any way 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 20 March 2025. SSAFA reserves the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. As part of the selection process, you will be required to complete a verbal reasoning test and an IT assessment.
Interviews: 25 March 2025
Can you guide a team to deliver life-changing support?
Do you thrive in a role that blends leadership, casework, and strategy?
We are looking for Casework Services Manager to lead a team of Case Officers and Coordinators, ensuring they provide high-quality, person-centred advice and support. You’ll oversee case management, maintain quality assurance, and create a positive, inclusive work culture while managing recruitment, wellbeing, and team development.
On a day-to-day basis, you will be responsible for allocating and managing cases to ensure beneficiaries receive the best possible support. You’ll oversee caseloads, identify trends, and contribute to national planning while ensuring high standards through case reviews and audits. Managing area budgets and financial approvals will also be a key part of your role, alongside leading and developing a dedicated team of Case Officers.
What You Will Bring:
- Proven experience in a customer-focused environment
- Understanding of safeguarding and supporting vulnerable adults
- Knowledge of the UK benefits system
- Strong ability to provide advice and guidance
You will be contracted to your home address. You will be expected to work both there, using our collaboration tools to work with colleagues and beneficiaries and on a mobile basis at other locations in the West Midlands area, with occasional travel (incl. for monthly team meetings) beyond this area.
Driving licence is essential requirement for this role.
Come and be part of the leading Armed Forces charity, making a difference to the lives of those who have served to keep us safe and protect our way of life.
Here at RBL, we aim to support our people and their wellbeing, with a package including generous paid holiday allowance and pension scheme contributions, and a range of optional benefits and discounts.
For more detailed information about the role, please see our Vacancy Information Pack attached to our direct advert.
RBL is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive organisation, reflecting the diversity of the armed forces community and of wider society. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and personal characteristics.
We may close this vacancy early if we believe we have enough strong applications to be able to successfully fill the role(s). Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
Deaf Unity is seeking an Organisational Development Consultant with experience of successfully supporting small charities through growth and change.
We are planning the transition from a freelance to a PAYE salary structure and require support with:
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Designing an appropriate staffing structure
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Benchmarking salaries
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Business and financial planning
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HR/employment systems and policies, related training
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Governance
The overall aim of this commission is to establish an effective and well-managed staffing structure for the organisation, with strong systems and policies embedded across our teams. Ultimately this will build Deaf Unity’s stability and resilience for the long-term.
Deaf Unity: mission and purpose
Deaf Unity is a deaf-led charity (CIO), based in London, that works to empower, nurture and train deaf individuals. Our particular focus is on three main points of transition that are pivotal in enabling deaf people to realise their potential – and to thrive within and contribute fully to society. These transition points are:
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leaving school to enter further/higher education
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entering the workforce
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progressing in the workplace
We work with our community in London to identify the barriers deaf people face at every stage of this journey, empowering them to make informed choices and to succeed. We partner with stakeholders (universities, employers, voluntary sector partners) to decrease, overcome or eradicate these barriers altogether.
From our home base in London, we work alongside our community and partners to develop and deliver new initiatives in response to clearly identified needs. We directly engage 300+ deaf people each year: inspiring and supporting school-leavers to take their first steps into higher education; empowering graduates and employees to navigate the world of work with confidence; and connecting deaf people with each other to build community, tackle isolation, mobilise around key issues and break down barriers to learning and employment. Sharing and dissemination of our work (including online to reach the national community) goes on to engage far greater numbers.
Deaf Unity generates much of its income from providing interpreting and consultancy services and delivering training (British Sign Language and deaf awareness courses). This activity fully aligns with our charitable mission and generates essential unrestricted funding to support our wider activities. Income in the year ending December 2023 was £115,316, of which over 80% was generated from course delivery and interpreting services. That year we generated a surplus of £11,102.
Context for the commission
To date, deaf Unity’s programmes have been delivered entirely by a freelance team: CEO, administrator, tutors and project managers/coordinators leading on different streams of activity. We have recently recruited a Training and Operations Manager (freelance) to lead on training and interpreting services.
Activity continues to grow. Turnover in 2024 was c. £175,000 (final accounts are currently being produced), demand for courses is strong and we have had a successful year of fundraising.
Our activities engage a broad range of beneficiaries, participants and stakeholders: deaf students and employees; our local deaf community in London; and many different stakeholders – universities, employers and local councils – working with us to remove the barriers that disadvantage deaf people and prevent access to opportunity. We are proud of a track record of impactful interventions that have made a real difference in the prospects of deaf learners, jobseekers and employees.
This said, we have not reaped the full benefits of the partnerships and experience that have contributed to this success. A wholly freelance workforce means skills, knowledge, relationships and learning are regularly lost. We now wish to bring a core team into a salaried, PAYE structure to assure greater stability and continuity. We wish to invest in our people and demonstrate good employability practices, as champions of Deaf parity in the workplace. Specialist support is needed to ensure a good process, an affordable structure, and that appropriate systems, policies and structures are in place to support future work.
In late 2023, the Board of Trustees agreed a forward plan, setting out the charity’s objectives and the activities we plan to deliver over the next 3-5 years. Our work is guided by 5 high-level, strategic objectives. We aim that by 2028:
- Deaf Unity will have created in partnership with London schools a high-quality, effective careers advice pack/toolkit which can be accessed digitally by schools across the UK to inspire and support deaf learners on their FE/HE/vocational journey.
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Deaf Unity will be providing a comprehensive package of support around employability, that is recognised and in use by 5 leading nationwide employers and by the National Union of Students (NUS).
- We will be hosting in London a highly respected, impactful annual event for deaf people in work that is reaching 100 deaf people each year, directly or indirectly
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Deaf Unity will be able to evidence that the CIO is making a substantial positive difference in the lives of learners, students and employees - through quantitative and qualitative feedback including testimonials and case studies
- Our organisation will be stable, financially secure and resilient, supported by strong governance and management systems and effective partnership networks
This commission directly supports objective 5.
In parallel with this:
- Deaf Unity will work with an Evaluation specialist to develop a practical, effective evaluation framework and plan enabling us to capture and analyse our impact across the full range of our activities. This will enable us to improve the design and delivery of our services and activities, on an ongoing basis and to better evidence the charity’s impact and the difference we are making in people’s lives.
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Staff and Trustees will undertake training to address identified skills and knowledge gaps (a modest budget is allocated for this)
This programme of development activity is kindly funded by Trust for London.
In the course of the year Deaf Unity will also be working with a corporate partner offering pro-bono support to redevelop the website and advise on online course delivery.
Overview of role
The consultant will be required to lead and support Deaf Unity’s CEO and Board through a systematic approach to agreeing, implementing and embedding the new structure. We currently envisage that this will include:
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A review of the functions, skills and competencies required to deliver Deaf Unity’s forward plan
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Producing a proposed, costed staff structure, with salaries, rates of pay and conditions that are benchmarked against the sector and meet good practice e.g. in terms of Living Wage parity
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Business planning to include producing a revised budget for 2025 (currently indicative only) and an indicative budget for 2026, based on current levels of activity/growth, to ensure that the new structure is affordable. (An in-depth business development process is planned for a later stage, separate from this commission)
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A review of governance and existing policies
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Support with the transition process e.g. ensuring that the moving of any freelance staff to salaried contracts is compliant with the law and with good employment practice
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Development of a training plan (spanning the Board, staff and freelance team) to address identified skills gaps
We will however welcome alternative proposals for how this work might most effectively be structured.
Schedule
We aim to start work in mid April 2025, completing by end October 2025 (7 months). The consultant will be required to work flexibly throughout this period and this will be negotiated with you on appointment, bearing in mind your other commitments.
Time commitment: estimated 15-20 days over a 7-month period
Fees: Fixed fee is £8,250 inclusive of VAT and expenses
Specification
The consultant will -
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Inform and guide the transition to this new staffing model and way of working, to ensure the resulting structures are effective, affordable and compliant with statutory requirements and with best practice
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Provide hands-on practical support where necessary e.g. benchmarking salaries, drafting job descriptions, reviewing and updating budgets, reviewing policies
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Be aware of and alert to Deaf Unity’s ongoing, parallel streams of activity (e.g. evaluation work, development of website) and strive to maximise synergies and added value linked to these
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Have due regard throughout the process to Deaf Unity’s charitable objects, so as to ensure that all progress is made with these and the good of our beneficiaries in mind
Person specification
Essential
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Evidenced skills and experience in supporting projects of this nature for third sector organisations that have limited capacity and resources
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Comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of employment/HR law and practice
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An understanding of the operating context of a charity such as ours, that is reliant on mixed income streams including fees, public grants and charitable grants.
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Experience of business planning for the voluntary sector
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Exceptional communication and strong facilitation skills, coupled with sensitivity and a commitment to confidentiality
Desirable
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Some knowledge of British Sign Language
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Familiarity with the XERO accounting system
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Commitment to values of social justice and equity
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Experience of working with the deaf community
It is anticipated that you will work remotely: Deaf Unity currently does not use a main office.
How to Apply
To apply for this role, please submit an application of no more than 1000 words detailing your relevant experience and qualifications; two or more examples of past, comparable roles you have successfully completed and your interest in the project. Please provide details of two referees.
Please submit this by 5pm on 7 April 2025. Please use “Organisational Development” as your title.
This will be a Freelance contract. You will be responsible for paying your own Tax and NI contributions.
Interviews will be held online in the week commencing 14th or 21st April 2025
Deaf Unity celebrates diversity and opportunity. We strive to ensure the deaf Community and its members have access to the same opportunities as those in wider society and the same chances to contribute their talent and skills to the workforce. We will guarantee an interview for all deaf applicants to this role who meet the essential criteria.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.