Housing advice jobs in elmstead, greater london

We are looking to recruit a dedicated and enthusiastic individual to join our Information & Advice team provide information, advice and support to people aged 60 and over, living in Waltham Forest. The purpose of the job is to deliver advice to those housebound or not able to travel to The Hub, so it will involve home visits throughout the Borough. It will include assisting clients to maximize their income through providing benefits calculations, help to complete forms, provide advice resources and some supervision of volunteers. You will have good interpersonal skills, have proficient database skills and enjoy working as part of a team. Experience of benefits advice and another language is desirable.

About Kinship

We are Kinship. The leading kinship care charity in England and Wales. We’re here for kinship carers – friends or family who step up to raise a child when their parents aren’t able to. 

Together, let’s commit to change for kinship families

About the role

Our advice service provides over 2,000 kinship carers a year with easy access to expert advice and support to empower them to:

- realise their rights

- access the support to which they are entitled

- take the next step forward in tackling their challenges

- and navigate their way through a sometimes complex and confusing system.

We’re developing our advice service and investing in our team to make sure that we can support more kinship carers effectively. You’ll be part of a supportive team who keep kinship carers at the heart of their service.

The role of Advice Worker is pivotal in supporting kinship carers to access the right information, services and entitlements.

In this role, you’ll provide generalist advice and information to kinship carers in line with kinship carers’ preferred methods. Often, this will be by telephone, including taking live calls on our advice line, and by email. You will also need to respond to enquiries using video conferencing, text and other channels as we develop the service.

The type of person we’re looking for:

You will either have significant experience of providing advice to individuals on their rights, or you will have significant experience of providing support to kinship carers.

We will provide the training you need to undertake the role, as well as opportunities for development and progression.

You will need to be resilient and able to remain calm in difficult situations. You will have an eye for detail to identify the key issues requiring advice and the relevant legislation, guidance or practice. You will be firm, sensitive and professional in your approach and will be clear and assertive as you support kinship carers to get their needs met quickly and effectively.

The team work remotely, but there is the option to work from our office in London.

Key responsibilities include:  

Advice provision:

· Respond to enquiries through a range of incoming channels. This includes taking calls on our advice line, as well as responding to enquiries submitted through our website, via internal referral or other channels.

· Provide high quality advice and information to kinship carers on their rights, entitlements and responsibilities in relation to: welfare benefits, local authority allowances, support from children’s services, kinship care arrangements and options, housing, sources of educational, parenting and legal support and other issues that may be required.

· Address all safeguarding concerns in line with policy.

· Make referrals and signpost to other services as necessary.

· Where appropriate, provide additional advice or support to enable the client to take action or undertake follow-up action on behalf of the client to move the case on.

· Facilitate access to our advice service for people with diverse needs.

Service quality, consistency and data management:

· Respond to all enquiries in line with Kinship’s advice service framework, standards and performance targets.

· Ensure independence, impartiality and confidentiality when dealing with kinship carers.

Professional and service development:

· Maintain an up to date knowledge of relevant legislation, policy and guidance.

· Support continuous development and improvement of the service.

Essential knowledge, abilities, skills and experience include: 

· EITHER:

a) Minimum of 2 years recent experience of delivering advice work on social welfare issues (e.g. benefits, housing, education or social care) to members of the public.

OR:

b) Minimum of 2 years recent experience of providing support to kinship carers.

OR:

c) Experience equivalent to, or a combination of, a) or b) above.

· Experience of working with socially excluded or marginalised people and their
families. 

· Detailed knowledge of the statutory systems that people with advice needs frequently encounter.

· Knowledge and evidence of good understanding of safeguarding issues and good practice.

· Excellent interpersonal skills, and particularly, a sensitive and professional telephone manner.

· Excellent written communication skills in English.

· Proven ability to research complex information and communicate this in an easily understandable way. 

· Proven understanding and practice of keeping accurate and appropriate case records. 

· Ability to work flexibly, collaboratively and effectively as part of a team.

· Ability to organise and prioritise a busy workload without close supervision.

· Confident in using digital tools, and an ability to learn new tools.

· A demonstrable commitment to apply equality, diversity and inclusion principles in all areas of work.

· Willingness to travel across England on occasion, as required (such as for events), working flexibly in response to the need.

· Right to work in the UK.

IMPORTANT: See attached Job Pack for full job description, person specification and other details

Kinship are an equal opportunities employer. We warmly welcome applications from appropriately qualified people from all sections of the community and aim to promote diversity. 

What we’ll offer you 

Kinship offers 30 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays (pro-rata for part-time) as well as a generous pension scheme. This permanent role is open to flexible working. We have an excellent wellbeing offer including the Employee Assistance Programme. We will invest in your professional development with training and career development opportunities.

Kinship is committed to championing equality, diversity and inclusion.  We believe our work is greatly enhanced by the varied backgrounds, experiences and views represented within our teams.  We aim to create inclusive teams, celebrate differences and encourage everyone to join us and be their true self at work. We therefore encourage applications from anyone who fits our values, whatever their religion or belief, sex, gender identity, race, age, sexuality or disability and are actively seeking candidates that can bring real innovation and commitment to us. 

This is a fantastic time to join a supportive and well-established team within an organisation with rapid growth ambitions. This role will be what you make it and we’re looking for someone to seize this opportunity!

About the role: 

This is an exciting opportunity to take the next step in your career by joining our Islington Housing First team in a part-time Specialist Housing First Worker role. Based in our Holloway Road office and working 18 hours across Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, this role puts you at the heart of transformative, person-centred support for individuals who have experienced long-term or repeat street homelessness.

As a Specialist Housing First Worker at Single Homeless Project (SHP), you’ll be a trusted and consistent presence in your clients' lives, guiding them as they move from street homelessness into their own permanent accommodation. You’ll provide intensive, flexible support that’s rooted in their needs and choices, building trusted relationships and walking alongside them as they begin to rebuild their lives. Whether it’s attending appointments, setting personal goals, or reconnecting with community resources, every step you take with a client contributes to lasting change. With a caseload of four people, you’ll have the time and space to make a deep and lasting impact.

This is a fantastic chance to develop your skills in a model of support that’s recognised nationally for its effectiveness and compassion. You’ll be part of a dynamic, recovery-focused team that values autonomy, trust, and meaningful engagement. Working closely with partner agencies and the local authority, you’ll gain valuable experience in collaborative working while supporting people to take control of their future. 

About you:

• A good understanding of the core principals of the Housing First model.
• Experience of working with clients who experience multiple disadvantages with a proven track record of achieving measurable outcomes.
• The ability to work effectively with partner agencies and develop contacts and networks across a wide range of local services to enable effective signposting.
• The sensitivity and flexibility to find ways to work with clients who may be mistrustful and have a low level of engagement with services.
• To be analytical in approach, respond calmly to crisis and deal promptly, effectively, safely and creatively to complex and challenging situations.
• A level of numeracy, literacy and comprehension to input data, the ability to be fully self-servicing in the use of emails and the common computer packages including SHP’s client recording system.

About us:

Single Homeless Project is a London-wide charity. Our vision is of a society where everyone has a place to call home and the chance to live a fulfilling life.

We help single Londoners by preventing homelessness, providing support and accommodation, promoting wellbeing, enhancing opportunity, and being a voice for change. From supporting people in crisis to helping people take the final steps towards independence and employment, we make a difference to 12,000 lives every year across all 32 boroughs.

We offer you more than a job; we offer you a chance to be part of a compassionate, driven team that's committed to making a real difference in people's lives. You'll have the opportunity to lead, co-create, and inspire change while enjoying a collaborative, growth-oriented environment.

Join us in creating a brighter, more hopeful future for individuals in need. 

Important info:

Closing date: Sunday 6th July at midnight

Interview date: Wednesday 17th July online via Microsoft Teams

This post will require an Enhanced DBS check to be processed (by SHP) for the successful applicant. 

Please note applications are reviewed for AI use in application questions. 

Salary - Grade 3 - £31,133 plus £5,023 London Weighting per annum pro rata

Contract - Fixed term until March 2026

Part Time - 30 hours per week over four days

Location - London Hub, based in Hackney

Closing date:  Wednesday 9th July 2025 at 11:30pm

Are you compassionate, proactive and collaborative with experience, knowledge of and/or proven ability in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy? If you’re looking for an exciting new career opportunity join Shelter as a Housing Rights Worker you could soon be playing your part in standing up to the housing emergency.

About the role

This role sits in the STAR Partnership which stands for Supporting Tenancies, Accommodation and Reconnections. We work in collaboration with Thames Reach, Stonewall Housing and Praxis, to support 4000 Londoners a year who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness, as well as working to improve Londoners’ ability to sustain a safe and secure home.

You will deliver high quality housing advice and advocacy in line with the hub’s local community priorities and the STAR Partnership framework and work with people who are experiencing homelessness and bad housing to identify issues facing local communities.  You will plan and deliver casework to individuals and communities to resolve their housing situation and engage with community groups, local organisations and individuals to understand local housing issues and raise awareness of people’s rights.

You will also work in local community settings and with community groups to deliver advice and rights awareness workshops and make sure that people with lived experience of homelessness have opportunities to share their story, give their opinions and participate in the design and delivery of Shelter services. Offering day to day support to volunteers, providing learning, shadowing and mentoring and being a consistent role model for our values are also key aspects of the role.

About you

You are able to listen to, engage and work with individuals and communities and with all stakeholders, including people with lived experience of homelessness. You will have experience, knowledge of and/or proven ability in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy and are able to progress to specialist level knowledge, as well as the ability to carry out casework related interviews, maintain detailed case records, advise and support clients to make informed decisions. A proven record of delivering group workshops and presentations is essential, as is a collaborative, flexible and professional approach to your work.

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice, support and legal services. And we campaign to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to us for help. We’re here so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own.

About the team

Our London hub specialises in providing housing advice and emergency homelessness work, intensive support to families, people experiencing domestic abuse and people experiencing multiple disadvantages. With 50 staff, we provide front line support to over 5,000 people a year and work to bring about systemic change with the ultimate aim of people being able to live securely in suitable, safe, affordable homes. London Hub’s priorities are improving the practice of local authorities and Registered Social Landlords and focussing on households disproportionately affected by the housing emergency.

There are currently around 60 individuals working in the Hub, including the Strategic Lead, Lead Solicitor, Service Managers, Team Leaders, Solicitors, Legal Advisors, Housing Rights Workers and Support Workers, Family Support Workers, DIY Skills Advisors, Administrators and Receptionist. We also have a range of volunteers.

About Shelter

Home is a human right. It’s our foundation and where we thrive. Yet every day millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.

We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything

We need ambitious, passionate people to join us. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. To win this fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, equitable and transparent. We are committed to combating racism both within and outside Shelter. We welcome you on our journey to becoming truly anti-racist.

Safeguarding Statement

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.

How to apply

Please click ‘Apply for Job’ on the advert. You are required to submit a CV and a supporting

statement with responses to the below bullet points. Please limit your word count to 350 words per point. Ensure your answer is a specific example related to your own experience:

• Your knowledge and experience of housing and homelessness advice and advocacy and the ability to progress to specialist level knowledge
• Your ability to listen to, engage and work with individuals and communities
• Your experience of delivering and/or ability to deliver group workshops and presentations

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them

Title: Advice Services Manager

Responsible to: Operations Manager

Hours: 35 hours per week

Salary: £36,000 - £42,000 FT (depending on experience and qualifications)

Based: Willesden, NW10 2JR; Haringey borough (including Hornsey, N8 9LP) + other locations if required

Contract: Permanent (subject to continuation of funding)

Please Note: DBS check will be required

JOB OVERVIEW

Do you want to work for an organisation that makes a real difference, every day, to people from all walks of life? This is an exciting opportunity for someone already working in an advice role and looking to take the next step in their career to join the Brent Irish Advisory Service (BIAS) as Advice Services Manager.

The Advice Services Manager will take the lead on BIAS’s day-to-day advice services, managing a small team of welfare and housing advice specialists to ensure that we provide the highest-quality service to our clients. You will need to have experience of delivering front-line benefits and/or housing advice, strong people skills and the ability to build good working relationships with staff and clients, along with excellent organisational abilities to ensure that casework and projects are delivered on time.

In 2025, BIAS is expanding its successful Brent-based welfare and housing advice service into Haringey borough. The Advice Services Manager will work closely with the Operations Manager to build and develop the new advice service in Haringey, ensuring that we replicate our excellent quality of service, strong record of positive outcomes and loyal client base.

This role will also involve working with the leadership team to help identify areas for future development and support grant applications and reporting, which will give you the opportunity to have a direct impact on shaping the organisation’s future strategy and direction.

If you are an experienced advice specialist and are looking to step up but don’t have all the skills required, please consider applying as we are willing to consider appointing the right candidate as a training and development role.

KEY WORK AREAS AND MAIN DUTIES

Staff management

• Managing a small advice team, ensuring the quality of the advice provided.
• Providing support, supervision and training to staff on the delivery of advice services, ensuring that appropriate advice is provided and casework deadlines are met.
• Ensuring good teamwork and lines of communication between staff and partner organisations.
• Creating a positive working environment in which equity and diversity are promoted and staff can do their best.

Quality and service delivery

• Leading the welfare advice services in both Brent and Haringey boroughs, and contributing to further expansion.
• Maintaining a small personal caseload (approximately one to two days’ work per week).
• Working with the Operations Manager to ensure that BIAS complies with Advice Quality Standard (AQS) requirements.
• Leading on monitoring service delivery, recording outcomes and ensuring efficient allocation of resources.
• Managing all aspects of risk relating to advice delivery, complaints handling, safeguarding and GDPR.

Operational support

• Working with the leadership team as required on operational matters, including planning, strategy for future development and grant applications and reporting.

These are the basic duties required of the Advice Services Manager. However, it is necessary for all staff to be flexible and you may be required from time to time to perform other reasonable duties which are required for the efficient running of the organisation. We will also offer training opportunities to support your career development.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK. This role will be based in our advice offices in Willesden and Haringey[1] but there may be some options for flexible working (i.e. one or two days per week).

ABOUT BIAS

BIAS is a local charity which has supported England’s largest Irish community in Brent for over forty-five years. We deliver our support through our welfare advice drop-in service, our active ageing clubs and our Be-a-Friend volunteer scheme. We raise over £2 million in extra income for the most vulnerable every year and have over 3000 attendances at our club services. BIAS has exciting plans for further expansion in 2025 and has a range of medium- to long-term grant funding, including from Ireland’s Emigrant Support Programme.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter. Your cover letter should demonstrate how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for this role (detailed in the PDF job description), with supporting examples.

The deadline for applications is 6th July 2025 but we encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible as interviews may be carried out on a rolling basis.

[1] BIAS is currently running its Haringey advice services from the Hornsey Vale Community Centre, with plans to establish a permanent office in Haringey later in 2025.

BACKGROUND

Ashiana is a ‘by and for’ women's led BME VAWG service with 30 years’ experience in delivering a holistic range of specialist services to South Asian, Turkish and Middle Eastern women affected by VAWG.

OUR SERVICES

Ashiana runs three refuges with a total of 29 bedspaces; specifically for women aged 16-35 fleeing forced marriage. This multi award winning project is the only service of its kind in the UK and is highly innovative in terms of addressing an area of significant need not met in other refuge provision. Within these refuges we designate a number of bedspaces for women with no recourse to public funds. We offer an advice and support service to women and girls who are experiencing VAWG, enabling them to make informed decisions and exit violent relationships. We provide a legal service supporting women with no recourse to public funds to help resolve their immigration status.

Counselling is offered for women and girls affected by VAWG. The counselling service works from an integrative stance, with the focus of providing a holistic service whereby we also work alongside other services and provide specialist domestic violence group work. The emphasis of therapeutic work with our clients is from a trauma informed model.

We also deliver an education programme for young people in secondary schools in East London aimed at preventing domestic violence and enabling young people experiencing domestic violence to access appropriate services. The prevention service includes delivering a whole school approach in schools to young people as well as group work to women and girls across North East London boroughs as well as community engagement activities and delivery. We deliver a range of awareness raising workshops for young people in the community and training on domestic violence for professionals in the voluntary and statutory sector.

PRIMARY TASK

The post is instrumental in overseeing the delivery of a comprehensive package of services and care for women in our refuges. To provide a safe environment and a service that is appropriate to the needs of young BME women particularly those from South Asian, Turkish and Middle Eastern communities and to support ex-clients following resettlement.

The post holder will have a caseload of clients and be responsible for providing advice, advocacy, casework and support to women and girls, advocating on behalf of these women and making others aware of their particular needs. The post-holder is required to demonstrate sensitivity and an awareness of the culture and needs of  minoritised communities in all aspects of their duties and responsibilities.

Please see the attached the full job description

About Citizens Advice Camden

We are a well-respected local charity with more than 85 years’ experience of delivering free, independent and impartial information, advice and casework services which meet the changing needs of local residents. Our aims are to provide the independent, impartial, confidential and free advice people need for the problems they face and to improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives.

 We target our services at the most vulnerable in our community. Our client profile closely matches local indices of deprivation with most of our clients coming from the most deprived wards in the borough. We identify trends to ensure our services remain agile and able to respond to changing and emerging advice needs.

​​About Our Community Advice Team

​Our Community Advice service is at the heart of our work—delivering generalist advice through face-to-face, telephone, video, and digital channels. The team ensures that people in Camden can access support across a wide range of issues including benefits, housing, employment, and more. We are proud of our strong volunteer base and the collaborative environment that supports both clients and advisers.​

​About the Role

As Advice Supervisor you will be a key member of our Community Advice team, supervising and contributing to the delivery of our core service. You will help ensure we provide a quality advice service to Camden residents across face-to-face, telephone, video channels and other digital developments and ensure the targets, outputs and outcomes of all the generalist advice contracts and/or grant agreements are met.

​​Ideally, you will already be an experienced Advice Supervisor; however, we will consider offering this role as a development opportunity if you are an experienced Generalist Adviser wanting to progress your career. You will need to have experience in delivering high quality generalist advice and casework and be able to demonstrate the potential to support others with varying levels of experience to do the same.

Closing date for applications: 9.00am Wednesday 23 July

​Interview date: week commencing 28 July​​

​Interviews will be held on Zoom.

​Citizens Advice Camden is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage applications from all sections of the community.

​The successful candidate will be required to provide documentary evidence of their right to work in the UK.

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

We are looking for Domestic Abuse Housing Advocates to join our team

Salary: £26,000 - £32,000

Location: Hammersmith with travel to other service locations Finsbury Park and Stratford

Hours:   35 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.  

Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check. This role is also subject to Police Vetting.

About us

Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women and girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending.  We believe in empowering women and girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community. 

We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies.

Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability. 

About the role:

As a Housing Domestic Abuse Advocate, you will provide intervention, advocacy, and support to survivors of domestic abuse. Working within a fast-paced team, you will help empower women and ensure that the voice of survivors informs every stage of their journey towards improved safety. You will have your own caseload of survivors who hold social tenancies with local authorities or housing associations, and you will encourage them to engage with our service and ensure they have access to support. You will also co-ordinate the provision of multi-agency support which focuses on working with domestic abuse survivors to maintain their tenancies and prevent homelessness.

About You:

To be successful as the Domestic Abuse Housing Advocate you will need the below experience and skills:

You will bring solid experience of supporting women who have experienced domestic abuse in all its forms; coming from a sector with transferrable skills or possess a feminist/VAWG degree and be keen to learn and to train on the job. You will have a good understanding of violence against women and girls with a particular focus on the dynamics of domestic abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, so-called ‘honour-based violence’, forced marriage, stalking and harassment) and its impact on women, children, families, and communities. You will have proven skills and experience in conducting comprehensive assessments of needs and risk for survivors experiencing domestic abuse, including carrying out short risk management and safety planning. We will expect that you have experience in assessing the needs and safety of any children that women using the service may have and an understanding of the criminal justice system and relevant legislation with regard to legal and civil options, housing, benefits, matrimonial and children. Lastly you will bring your knowledge of safeguarding practice, procedures, and legislation.

With many skills and qualities to add to this role, if you have good IT literacy, data collection and monitoring these skills are maximised in your role. If you have experience or have been trained or are qualified in the fields related  to substance misuse, criminal jusice, law, social work or domestic abuse we would love to hear from you. 

We recognise that women often only apply to roles if they meet 100% of the criteria. We encourage you to demonstrate how your skills and experience would make you an asset to the role, and if you don’t have the exact skills/experience, tell us in your cover letter how you think you might grow and develop in the role.

How to apply:

Please submit your up-to-date CV with a supporting statement. Please note that only applications made via the job advert on the Advance careers page, and those that include a cover letter will be considered. 

Closing date: 6th July 2025 @23:59 *Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate

· Interviews are taking place on a rolling basis

*Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate.

What we can offer you - Employee Benefits: 

• A 35-hour working week
• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!) 
• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home
• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more
• Pension scheme
• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee eye-care scheme
• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles
• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation
• Organisation wide away days
• Thorough induction and training
•  Career development pathways 

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Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have special needs, please email contact the Talent Acquisition Team via our website and will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay and benefits.

Safeguarding

Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe.  We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks.  We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.

Are you passionate about social justice? Motivated to support individuals who have been marginalised or stigmatised due to their circumstances?
Completion of LLB, GDL, or SQE1 and minimum six months’ experience in social welfare legal advice and casework in areas such as crime, housing, benefits, or debt—then this opportunity could be the perfect fit for you.

We’re seeking a committed Legal Adviser to join our dynamic social justice legal team. You'll deliver at least two legal services, both in-person and virtually, to clients engaged with alcohol and drug treatment programmes, homeless day centres, and sexual health clinics. Our work centres on providing expert advice, assistance, and representation, particularly in the areas of debt, housing (including homelessness), and welfare benefits.

Following induction and training, you'll also provide legal support via Release’s national helpline—offering guidance related to criminal law and the criminal justice system in the context of drug offences. Additionally, you’ll contribute to our innovative Harm Reduction Hub, a drop-in service supporting people with legal issues linked to substance dependency.

Beyond frontline legal work, you'll have the chance to get involved in the organisation’s vital policy and advocacy initiatives.

Looking ahead, we are launching a limited-scope immigration service in mid 2025 and recently secured legal aid contracts in Community Care and Public Law. These developments may open future opportunities for you to broaden your areas of legal practice within our team.

BACKGROUND

For over thirty years, Asylum Aid has been providing legal representation to some of the most vulnerable people seeking asylum in the UK. Our welfare advice team provide generalist advice on welfare benefits, housing, asylum support and related issues to Westminster residents with refugee and migrant backgrounds who do not have English as a first language and who would otherwise be unable to access vital advice which enables them to avoid destitution, homelessness and food poverty. We deliver this advice as part of the Westminster Advice Services Partnership through a drop in and outreach at local community venues, and supported by local volunteers many of whom speak community languages.

The post of Appeals Support Advisor is a new post established with the benefit of a grant from Westminster City Council. The post holder will support clients with appeals and reconsideration requests in relation to welfare benefits and housing. This will allow us to provide a more comprehensive service for our clients, many of whom struggle to lodge appeals and reconsideration requests, and to gather evidence in support of their appeals without advice, due to language barriers.  The post holder will deliver advice in community languages, including with the assistance of interpreters, to local residents as part of our partnership work. Most of our clients are refugees, people seeking asylum and others with a refugee or migrant background. The Appeals Support Advisor will work with clients referred from Asylum Aid’s Information and Advice Service (including our weekly drop in) and from other partners in the local community. They will also provide training and supervision to the Generalist Advisor and our volunteers. External supervision will be arranged for the post holder.

The ideal candidate will be resident in or near to the City of Westminster and fluent in one or more community languages. In particular, fluency in one or more of the following is highly desirable: Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, Kurdish Sorani/ other Kurdish dialects, Somali, Amharic, Tigrinya.

As this is a new post delivering a specialist appeals and casework service from within our generalist advice team, it offers an exciting opportunity to set up and establish systems for the delivery of this service during the six month fixed term contract, including ensuring that case management processes are established which meet the requirements of our Lexcel quality mark and that clear referral procedures are established with the drop in service and our partners.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The post-holder will:

• Be part of a generalist advice service, with special emphasis on language support, as part of the Westminster Advice Services Partnership (WASP), a collaboration of advice agencies Asylum Aid, Westminster Citizens Advice, Age UK Westminster, and Deaf PLUS Westminster Advice Service.
• Provide specialist appeals casework and support to clients who do not speak English as a first language and need to challenge decisions, request  mandatory reconsiderations, internal housing reviews, lodge appeals in relation to welfare benefits and housing.
• Provide ongoing casework support up to the Tribunal stage, including helping clients to gather evidence in support of their mandatory reconsiderations and appeals and preparing for hearings (but not including representation at hearings)
• Where capacity allows, help to deliver generalist face to face and telephone advice and information, in a community language and English, to migrants and asylum seekers on issues related to welfare benefits, housing and asylum support in accordance with Asylum Aid’s contract within the WASP partnership, and taking responsibility for the quality of advice given.
• Provide training and supervision to the Generalist Advisor and to volunteers, supporting the development of their advice skills and ensuring the quality of advice delivered throughout the advice service.
• Maintain a high standard of electronic case records (using AdvicePro) for the purpose of continuity of casework, information retrieval, monitoring and evaluation of the service, and to help identify issues to be raised through policy advocacy.
• Ensure that all casework is conducted in accordance with the Lexcel quality standard, including by establishing case management procedures for the delivery of specialist advice which meet the Lexcel standard, and participate as required in annual Lexcel quality mark audits
• Attend external and in-house training organised by Asylum Aid and regular supervision sessions to develop and maintain the skills and knowledge required to help deliver a quality advice service, and to keep up to date with changes in welfare benefits, housing and asylum support law
• Cascade information, changes,  and developments in social welfare law, including learning from external training, to other staff and volunteers who assist with the delivery of the welfare advice service
• Work effectively with partners to provide a seamless service for clients, making and receiving referrals and maintain up to date information about other service providers for the purposes of referrals and signposting. 
• Be responsible for achieving relevant targets for quality and quantity set by the WASP coordinator
• Provide case studies and other information from the work of the advice service to support policy advocacy and strategic legal work in support of Asylum Aid’s vision of fair and dignified treatment of people seeking asylum, refugees and other vulnerable migrants 
• Carry out any other tasks within the scope of the post to ensure the effective delivery and development of the service.

The post holder will need to be able to travel to and within Westminster to deliver advice at outreach locations as well as at a drop-in in or around the Church Street Estate. Travel expenses will be paid to attend locations away from Asylum Aid’s office(s) and the main location of our drop-in service (currently the Church Street library).

Other duties:

• Respect for client confidentiality at all times in line with Asylum Aid’s confidentiality agreements and consent forms. 
• To attend staff meetings as required.
• To undertake other duties which are generally compatible with the functions of the post.
• To comply with the organisation’s policies and procedures, particularly those relating to safeguarding, health and safety, diversity, equity & inclusion, confidentiality and security, as set out in the Office Manual as well the policies of other relevant partner organisations.

Person Specification

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• At least 12 months’ experience of supporting benefits appeals through to Tribunal stage and Housing Reviews
• At least 5 years’ experience of working face to face with clients to deliver generalist advice in different areas of law including welfare benefits and housing
• Knowledge on a range of issues on which advice may be sought including health and social care, housing and welfare benefits, including a thorough and up to date understanding of social security and welfare benefits legislation and policy  
• Experience of managing a case load
• Knowledge or ability to understand and use relevant legislation
• Have completed Advice UK’s Learning to Advise training or hold the Citizens Advice Generalist Adviser certificate or an equivalent qualification
• Be fluent in written and spoken English as well as a second language spoken by a substantial proportion of the Westminster population, ideally Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, Kurdish Sorani/ other Kurdish dialects, Somali, Amharic, Tigrinya (to a standard that enables accurate advice to be given in the language)
• Experience of working with interpreters in the delivery of advice
• Able to meet deadlines, work under pressure, meet performance targets and take responsibility for their work, while working flexibly within a team environment
• Able to relate to a wide cross section of clients in a non-judgmental way.
• Able to use a range of IT systems and packages confidently and competently to be able to support and encourage others in using online systems and resources to enable them to self-help.
• Able and willing to learn and assimilate new knowledge in a working environment.
• Able to give and receive feedback objectively and sensitively.
• Able and willing to work both on own initiative and as part of a team.
• Understanding of and commitment to the aims and principles of Asylum Aid service and commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Good understanding of the needs of migrants and asylum seekers and the issues and barriers that affect them in UK.

Desirable:

• Experience of specialist advice work, including appeals and mandatory reconsiderations
• Friendly, polite, and patient
• Experience of working under a relevant quality mark such as the Advice Quality Standard or Lexcel
• Understanding of the housing and other support available to people seeking asylum who do not have the right to work in the UK
• Experience of working with volunteers
• Experience of supervising other advisers, including volunteers  
• Demonstrable understanding of issues facing vulnerable clients whose English is not the first language and many with mental health problems.
• Lived or learned experience of the difficulties that migrants and refugee communities face when they have to deal with the UK welfare system
• Personal experience and/or Knowledge of the advice process and experience in the areas of either benefits, housing or debt.
• Experience of using interpersonal skills, including sensitive listening, and questioning skills to understand the needs of others,
• Ability to communicate with other organisations, housing, and welfare departments.

How to apply 

The first stage is to complete on our online application form on our website by 9am on 7th July 2025.

The website form will ask you to:

1. Upload a short covering letter. Please tell us why the position appeals to you, and how your

relevant skills and experience, including any voluntary experience and lived experience, matches the listed responsibilities and person specification. Please also state in your covering letter when you would be available to start the role.

2. Upload your current CV

3. Complete an online Equal Opportunities monitoring form – completion of this form will help us ensure that our recruitment procedures operate in such a way as to provide genuine equality of opportunity. The questions are entirely optional and this information will not be available to members of the selection panel.

Selection Process

We anticipate that we will invite candidates to an initial 15-minute online screening meeting week commencing 16 June 2025, followed by shortlisted candidates attending in-person interview week commencing 23 June 2025. We will also ask you to complete a short written task on the day.

We regret that we can only respond to applicants who make it to the interview stage.

Eligibility

Please note that the successful candidate must have the right to work in the UK (as a small charity we do not have the capacity to sponsor work visas).

Successful candidates will also be subject to a basic DBS check. If appointed, you will also be required to give your consent to the charity to receive regular updates on your criminal records status throughout your employment and to disclose any relevant convictions incurred during your time with us.

Adjustments

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we’ll always endeavour to be as accommodating as possible. If you require a different format of the application form, such as large print or Word format, or if you would like to discuss any specific requirements, please get in touch with us.

ABOUT US

We are National Energy Action (NEA) – and our vision is to end fuel poverty. Our work to improve and promote energy efficiency brings social, environmental, housing and employment benefits. We believe everyone should be able to afford to keep their homes warm and safe. However, low incomes, high energy bills and poor energy efficiency currently deny this to millions of households across the UK.  Never has this been more important than today.

Our teams are friendly, knowledgeable and are dedicated to what we do. We are proud of our expertise and proud of the service we deliver to our clients.

We offer colleagues a friendly, rewarding workplace and the chance to build a worthwhile career with a not-for-profit organisation that makes a genuine difference to people’s lives each and every day.

THE ROLE

This role offers a unique and rewarding opportunity to lead National Energy Action’s efforts to improve the lives of those experiencing fuel poverty, with a focus on enhancing building fabric and energy systems. The successful candidate will play a key role in advancing the organisation’s expertise and credibility in this area and will be a passionate advocate for energy efficiency as a vital solution to fuel poverty.

As our new Director of Homes, you will lead our engagement with governments, industry partners, consumer protection bodies, and research organisations to highlight the needs, opportunities, and challenges faced by fuel-poor households.

You will be a member of National Energy Action’s Senior Management Team, helping to shape the strategic direction of the charity. You will lead and support a dedicated team, managing innovative projects designed to deliver meaningful impact.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, you will oversee the development and delivery of high-profile demonstration projects and ensure that insights and evidence from this work are widely shared. You will also lead our influencing efforts, working with key stakeholders and policymakers to drive lasting change.

As part of our Senior Leadership Team, you will collaborate closely with colleagues across the organisation to help guide National Energy Action into the future.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO SUCCEED

To thrive in this role, you will combine strategic vision with a deep commitment to social justice and environmental sustainability. You’ll understand the urgency of addressing fuel poverty and the critical role that energy efficiency and retrofit measures play in creating warmer, healthier homes.

With a strong grasp of both the policy landscape and technical delivery, you will be confident navigating the complex challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

You will be an effective leader who can bring people together — within and beyond the organisation — to develop and deliver impactful projects. Whether influencing national policy, designing innovative demonstration initiatives, or forging partnerships across industry and government, you will be driven by the desire to make a tangible difference to the lives of those most in need.

You will need to be an excellent communicator, able to represent National Energy Action with credibility and authority in high-level discussions and public forums.

Strategic, collaborative, and highly motivated, you will play a central role in shaping the charity’s future direction and ensuring we remain a trusted voice in the national conversation on energy and fuel poverty.

Location: West London Welcome centre, Hammersmith, London 

Supervised by: West London Welcome Senior Caseworker 

Salary: £36,000 per annum (pro-rata)

Contracted working hours: Maternity Cover up to 12 months , 4 or 5 days a week - subject to extension

Start date: Flexible - starting on or before 3 September 2025

Staff benefits: Generous sick pay and annual leave, delicious free lunches, beautiful workplace with garden

Main purpose of role: To effectively support refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant members of the West London Welcome (WLW) community with casework and advice on a range of issues and work collaboratively with other staff and volunteers in our advice team.

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Job Description

Duties

• To provide advice and casework support within the WLW advice team to our community members on housing, benefits, asylum support, immigration, health, education, finances, and other issues.

• To keep track of the progress of our members’ cases and ensure that they receive ongoing and holistic support.

• To support our members to understand their rights and entitlements in the areas of housing, benefits, asylum support, immigration, health, education, finances, and other issues.

• To ensure that casework records are compliant with WLW policies and procedures.

General Duties

• Work collaboratively within the WLW advice team to develop the team’s shared skills and knowledge and provide each other with support.

• Help build positive, collaborative relationships with other local and national organisations supporting refugees, asylum-seeking people and migrants.

• To gather data to contribute to the monitoring, evaluation of and reporting on WLW’s work for fundraising, communications, advocacy and reports.

• To attend staff meetings.

• To support with operational and general needs of the charity and staff team, such as with Felix Project groceries delivery, occasional Gail’s collection, and generally helping when and where required when extra help is needed.

• To attend WLW community events and activities when required.

• To support and promote diversity and equality of treatment of our community at WLW.

Person Specification

Experience

• Essential: At least two years experience advising and performing casework on housing/homelessness and benefits and other related issues for people newly granted refugee status and others with the right to remain in the UK.

• Essential: Experienced in advising refugees, asylum-seeking people and migrants.

• Desirable: Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) Level 1 or Level 2 qualified in Asylum and Protection or Immigration.

• Essential: Up-to-date knowledge on one or more of the following issues: housing (particularly for refugees and asylum-seeking people), benefits, asylum support, immigration, community care, health, or related issues.

• Essential: Demonstrable commitment to migrant justice, anti-racism and equal opportunities for all.

• Desirable: Certificate in Generalist Advice work or equivalent qualification, or equivalent level of experience and skill. 

• Desirable: Lived experience of refuge or migration.

Skills

• Essential: Ability to build collaborative relationships with a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds, quickly establishing high levels of trust.

• Essential: Excellent oral and written communication and negotiation skills.

• Essential: Ability to communicate sensitively with vulnerable people.

• Essential: Effective time-management skills and ability to prioritise own workload.

• Essential: Ability to work flexibly and adapt easily to quickly-changing and challenging situations.

• Essential: Understanding of safeguarding and Equality and Diversity, and ability to challenge discriminatory behaviour.

• Desirable: Able to speak a language other than English that is widely spoken by refugee and asylum-seeking communities in London, such as Farsi, Arabic, Spanish, Tigrinya or Amharic.

Personal attributes

• Essential: Energetic, compassionate and empathetic.

• Essential: Ability to work quickly and efficiently.

• Essential: Be an excellent, confident, friendly, and fluid communicator, with the ability to connect quickly with people with ease.

• Essential: Understanding of working within professional boundaries.

• Essential: Lives in London.

• Preferred: We would ideally like the post-holder to live within a West London borough, in order to easily perform on-site casework, but this is not required.

We are looking for a female candidate to fulfil this role (Equality Act 2010)

Come and join us

The GROW Traineeship gives people with lived experience of homelessness and/or other related disadvantages (including but not limited to; contact with the criminal justice system, mental ill-health or substance use) access to paid employment, training and personal development opportunities. The traineeship lasts for up to 12 months, and each GROW receives personalised training and support to help remove some of the barriers that may have prevented gaining meaningful employment.

We are looking for people who are passionate about using their own experiences to help make change for people in London experiencing bad housing and homelessness.

About Shelter

A home is a fundamental human need, as essential as education or healthcare. Yet millions of people across Britain struggle on a daily basis with homelessness, bad housing conditions, soaring rents, discrimination and the threat of eviction. So, we are striving for change, with individuals, in communities, across society, and leading the way to a safe home. We need ambitious, best-in-class individuals who are passionate about our cause to join us at this exciting time. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

At Shelter we are united by our purpose to defend the right to a safe home. Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. We believe that to win that fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement for change. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, fair, equitable and transparent. We have committed to combat racism both within and outside Shelter and welcome you on our journey to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.

About the role

As a GROW Trainee, you will play an essential role in delivering Shelter’s purpose to defend the right to a safe home in East London. Our GROW Trainee will learn how to provide advice and advocacy to people experiencing the housing emergency and work alongside a team of advisors, solicitors, support workers and managers who work together to give communities easier access to support and advice. The successful candidate will be given extensive training, support, and supervision to support them to achieve this. They will also have access to a flexible personal budget to help in your own personal and professional development.

The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to community hub priorities and be involved in systems change work in the area.

The GROW trainee programme includes opportunities to get involved in developing services in London and across Shelter at a national level, using your experiences to influence our local strategic aims.

About you

We are looking for people who have experience of overcoming personal challenges and barriers and who are passionate about using their own life experiences to help make positive change for others. Good communication skills and the ability to make people feel heard will also be essential. Basic computer skills, e.g. word processing, the internet and email would be useful, but support can be provided. Above all, we need people with a real desire to develop personally and learn new skills.

Please note

This role is ring-fenced for those with lived experience of multiple disadvantage.  

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme. Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice, support and legal services. And we campaign to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to us for help. We’re here so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free of harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies. Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs sent by external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.

Citizens Advice Camden is looking for a committed Money Adviser – or someone ready to become one – to join our respected team, supporting people in North Camden with high-quality debt advice.

Citizens Advice Camden is a well-respected local charity with more than 85 years of experience delivering free, independent and impartial advice and casework services that meet the evolving needs of local residents. Our mission is to provide the advice people need for the problems they face and to improve the policies and practices that affect their lives.

About the role

We are recruiting a Money Adviser (or Trainee Money Adviser) to provide debt advice and casework to residents living within our funder’s area of benefit in North Camden. You will support clients via a mix of telephone, digital, and face-to-face appointments, helping them address complex debt problems and improve their financial wellbeing.

You’ll provide advice on the full range of debt issues – helping clients reduce their debts, increase their income, and gain the confidence to manage their money effectively. You’ll work towards achievable targets and high-quality standards, maintain accurate case records, contribute to local outreach work, and support clients in accessing income maximisation opportunities including benefits, grants and cost reductions.

Who we’re looking for

Experienced Money Adviser

We’re seeking an experienced adviser with:

• At least two years’ recent debt advice casework experience
• Ideally, the Certificate in Money Advice Practice (CertMAP) and
• Approval as a Debt Relief Order (DRO) intermediary
• Confidence in managing complex cases and working to quality standards
• A client-centred approach and a commitment to achieving positive, lasting outcomes

We will support your continuing professional development through supervision, training and opportunities to grow your expertise.

Trainee Opportunity

We also welcome applications from candidates who:

• Have significant experience in delivering generalist, benefits or housing advice
• Possess some knowledge of debt advice
• Are committed to developing into a fully qualified debt adviser

If this sounds like you, we can offer a trainee role with a structured training programme, ongoing support, and development opportunities.

Closing date: Monday 7 July

CVs are not accepted

Citizens Advice Camden is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage applications from all sections of the community.