Assistant Benefits Advisor
Salary £24,000 FTE (rising to £27,000 per year FTE after 1 year and completion of training)
17.5 - 21 hours per week, 6.6 weeks holiday
Remote working with occasional travel for events and meetings in West Sussex
Are you passionate about working with SEND families?
Do you have the transferable skills and qualities to train as a benefits advisor?
We have an exciting opportunity for someone to join a rapidly growing caring charity with the benefits of flexible family friendly working (from home), generous holiday, pension scheme, travel expenses, laptop and phone provided.
Reaching Families was established in 2008 to empower, inform and support parent-carers and families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in West Sussex. We achieve this through the delivery of our services providing information, training and peer support.
Our Benefits Advice Service provides support to parents of children and young people with SEND in West Sussex applying for Carer’s Allowance, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independent Payments (PIP). Offering 1-2-1 advice sessions on the above benefits, support with claim checking of draft applications, information resources on benefits and other sources of financial support, and training workshops on DLA, PIP and Universal Credit.
We are looking to recruit a skilled and motivated Assistant Benefits Advisor to join our team
The post holder will be responsible for supporting our Benefits Advisor with the delivery of information, advice and guidance on Carers Allowance, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to parent-carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in West Sussex. This is a training role with the view to promotion to Benefits Advisor following completion of training.
Person Specification (essential):
• Understanding of challenges facing parents and carers of children with SEND
• Passionate about improving the life chances of children with SEND and their parents/carers, and families
• A highly motivated self-starter with a flexible approach to working life
• A creative and strategic thinker
• Committed to professional and personal development and lifelong learning
• Ability to work independently and manage a diverse and demanding workload
• Comfortable working with people from a diverse range of backgrounds
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Experience of using MS Office including SharePoint
• A good all-round education including GCSE’s (or equivalent) or NVQ level 2
See attached job description for details and full criteria
We welcome applications from all members of the community and value diversity in the organisation. Please contact us if you require any reasonable adjustments to be made to the application or interview process due to any disability or health requirements.
Closing date for applications is 12th January 2026
Interviews to be held in Littlehampton on 21st/22nd January 2026
To apply please complete the attached application form and share why you feel you fit the role and person specification (see attached documents)
Registered Charity
11 - 20
To empower, inform and support parent-carers and families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in West Sussex
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: Full time - Fully flexible between 7am-10pm including weekends.
Salary: £12.21ph
Are you looking for a rewarding career where you can really make a difference to individuals’ lives?
We are currently looking for support workers to work in the Minster on Sea area on the Isle of Sheppey.
As a support worker not only will you change people’s lives by doing something you enjoy. You will learn about yourself as an individual and gain some of the best life experiences.
What will you be doing?
As a support worker no two days are the same, and every day is different. Your role will consist of a variety of tasks as well as delivering person-centered support and promoting individuals’ independence. Some tasks involved in the role will include:
• Accessing the local community – accompanying them to go shopping, pop out for lunch or even a day out at the theme park!
• Daily living support – Assist with meal preparations, helping around the home such as vacuuming and washing clothes.
• Companionship – Sharing conversations and spending time together.
• Personal Care – Cleaning, showering and assisting with medication.
• Running errands – Assisting with tasks such as food shopping or picking up prescriptions.
• Supporting someone to achieve their goals in life.
Hours: Full time - Fully flexible between 7am-10pm including weekends.
Main Responsibilities
• To work with your staff team and others in the development of support, assisting people we support with plans which accurately reflect their own needs, strengths and wishes.
• To adhere to and remain familiar with all contents of the Company’s Policies and procedures, obtaining further information when required.
• Maintain effective knowledge of all company procedures and policies, help develop the company and its policies to provide outstanding support to every person we support.
• To ensure that all statutory requirements are adhered to, familiarise yourself with local commissioning and main contracts under which we provide support (SIS).
• Actively assisting in the prevention of accidents to people we support, staff teams and others.
• To deal promptly and effectively with all complaints and grievances as per company guidelines.
• To support and develop the successful operations of quality control and administration systems.
• To positively support the use of innovative technology, bring forward ideas for improvement and development.
• Receive supervision/appraisals and identify your own personal training needs. Attending training days.
• To be involved in the development/training of staff where necessary, supporting any new inductions act as a mentor to new staff promoting the culture and ethos of the company.
• Promote housing cleanliness and maintenance to a sociably acceptable standard including maintaining up-to-date Health and Safety and risk assessments.
• Supporting people to maintain accommodation and grounds, recognise self-neglect and report any concerns.
• Recognising poor or bad practise and reporting at all times anything which concerns you.
• Promoting and adhering to all aspects of Health & Safety at work, making sure you report all and any issues that may be a risk to you or others.
• Positively represent the company values, culture and ethos at all times, represent our reputation and professionalism.
• Maintain professional boundaries at all times.
• Ask questions.
Qualifications
• We are looking for kind, caring individuals that are passionate about making a difference in people’s lives.
• PBS trained (Preferred)
• We’re all about working smarter and are paper free!, so you’ll need your own smartphone to stay on top of care plans, log notes and view rota’s.
• Drivers are preferred due to the location of the houses.
• Previous experience in the care sector is essential.
Employee Benefits
We provide all of our staff with an excellent training programme which includes online training courses, short courses as well as nationally recognised qualifications.
We also have a fantastic range of benefits for our staff which include:
• Quarterly employee recognition awards with the chance to win a £150 gift card of your choice.
• Fully funded qualifications to support you in your role and with career progression.
• Enhanced rates of pay over the Christmas period for support shifts.
• Your wellbeing matters to us! Our Employee Assistance Programme gives you 24/7 access to tools like health plans, mindful resources and free counselling to support your mental and physical wellbeing.
PCAS Kent is an Equal Opportunities employer, and we are committed to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of our service users. Therefore, this post is subject to appropriate references and an enhanced DBS check with the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Please note we are unable to offer sponsorship.
You may also have experience in the following: Support Worker, Care Assistant, Healthcare Support Worker
Community Support Worker, Social Care Worker, Domiciliary Care Worker, Residential Support Worker, Learning Disabilities Support Worker, Mental Health Support Worker, Personal Care Assistant (PCA), Support Practitioner, Care and Support Assistant, Outreach Support Worker, Independent Living Support Worker, Care Worker
REF-225 291
Thank you!
About the Job
Sophie Hayes Foundation (SHF) is a small but mighty charity, empowering women survivors of modern slavery and exploitation. It is an important time at SHF. Our new strategy ‘Sustainable Freedom from Modern Slavery’ launched in 2024 and this role is essential for the delivery of the strategy and ensuring that survivors of modern slavery, human trafficking, and exploitation have access to the support and opportunities they need to achieve their aspirations, independence and a positive future. With soaring numbers of referral to the NRM and thousands more victims living in fear of a hostile environment, this has never been more important than now.
At the heart of Sophie Hayes Foundation’s work will be the support to and empowerment of survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking and this role is critical to survivors’ journeys to sustainable freedom. We are increasingly aware of the precarity faced by survivors, especially during transitions moving on from support and at points of decision making from the NRM or Home Office.
Alongside a small, friendly and dedicated team, you will build pathways of support for a range of participants who are supported by SHF through connecting them to other community organisations. Your role will include assisting them to access safe accommodation, community support, mental health support and access to finances.
You will champion the voices of survivors through the work of the organisation, working with colleagues in CREW, our survivor network, to provide continued support to survivors’ long term.
About the Role
- Conducting initial welcome calls to participants to assess their needs and desired pathway into SHF
- Host Monthly 121 Check-ins with participants who don’t have support workers and during those sessions signpost to long-term support to widen their community support. Writing support letters when needed
- Actively engage with local, regional, and national partners and anti-slavery networks to build and maintain partnerships for survivor referral pathways to other organisations
- Work alongside the CREW Co-ordinator to run events which foster connection within our CREW network, such as a monthly coffee morning
- Support in the facilitation of in-person sessions whether CREW or part of the Programme delivery.
- Support in the facilitation of Programmes and CREW events
- Ensure highest levels of Safeguarding, compiling safety plans for participants and carrying out risk assessments where necessary.
- Accurate data input to and management of internal monitoring and finance systems, working closely with the Head of Programmes to analyse trends and contribute to reporting.
- Contribute to centring survivor perspectives in the work of Sophie Hayes Foundation by sharing and channelling learning from programme delivery to colleagues.
- Other duties which may arise under the implementation of the new strategy, as directed by the Head of Employability Programme.
About You
This role would suit someone who is passionate about supporting others and empowering them to take the next steps in their journey.
You may have prior experience as a teacher, caseworker or charity coordinator.
We are looking for a team member who is organised, efficient, reliable, empathetic and ready to get stuck in helping across our range of survivor services.
We welcome applications from individuals with a range of skills and experience drawn from their professional and personal lives, including those who may have lived experience of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.