Housing and welfare benefits advisor jobs in bracknell forest, berkshire

Hours: 25 – 35 hours per week. All hours to be worked between 9 – 5 Monday – Friday. We will consider full days or shorter days to meet personal commitments.

Contract: Permanent 

Responsible to:  Information & Advice Manager 

Location: White House Community Centre, Hampton and at community locations / homes across the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Some home working is also possible in line with Hybrid Working Policy. 

Salary: £28 – 33,000 FTE DOE plus 5% pension contribution pension contribution. Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Blue Light card and Age UK discount schemes. 

Work as part of a team giving great support to local older people 

Age UK Richmond upon Thames is a local independent charity supporting older people across the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. We provide a wide range of useful and well utilised local services in Richmond upon Thames designed to improve wellbeing and enhance independence – including information & advice; a wide range of social & wellbeing centres and sessions; support after hospital discharge; digital skills development; Dementia Friendly Richmond; mental health peer support and home services such as handyperson, housekeeping and gardening. Partnership is a core part of our work – we work in close collaboration with other voluntary sector partners and wider organisations to maximise our impact and reach. Our friendly and committed team of 50 staff and 100+ volunteers support over 4,000 local older people each year. 

Our Information & Advice service is a central part of our organisation. Our small team of staff supported by excellent volunteers provide free and confidential Information & Advice to older people across the borough on a range of topics. The main area of support is to claim welfare benefits and other forms of financial support – but also includes a range of other topics such as accessing care & support; independent living; sorting out paperwork and housing.  

We currently have an excellent opportunity for a Welfare Benefits Advisor to join the team.  The role will include: 

• Providing welfare benefits & financial advice, including advising older people on the financial support available, making applications on their behalf and following through applications to result.

• Providing Information & Advice on other topics older people require support with.

• Providing support via home visits, over the phone and in community settings.

We are looking for: 

• Experience of giving information & advice.

• Experience of welfare benefits advice work and completing benefit forms.

• Good understanding of the welfare benefits system for older people.

Access to a car is required.

Please click redirect to recruiter to be taken to our website for the job description and how to apply. We will interview as and when we receive suitable applications.

About Refugee Action Kingston

At Refugee Action Kingston (RAK) we're dedicated to helping the successful integration of refugees and people seeking asylum into the local community. With over three decades of experience, we provide a comprehensive range of services including welfare support, immigration and legal advice, education, counselling, and career guidance.

RAK employs 15 staff and currently has nearly 200 volunteers. In 2023/24 more than 2,000 people benefited from our services

What we can offer you

· Work in a highly respected organisation punching above its weight – providing quality support to over 2,000 individuals and families a year

· A friendly and supportive environment, with an experienced team of professional teachers, counsellors, solicitors and advisers and a dedicated team of experienced volunteers

Opportunities for flexible and hybrid working

· Real potential for a creative thinking individual to build on and shape a dynamic responsive programme

Our values

· Empathy: we put ourselves in the shoes of those we work with.

· Enterprise: we're innovative and resourceful in our approach to supporting refugees and people seeking asylum.

· Empowerment: we strive to empower our clients, helping them achieve their aspirations.

Role overview

The main duties of the post

· Overall strategic development and management programmes for adults at the Community Hub

· Collaborative work with and engagement of project partners and other agencies in the borough

· Ensuring Monitoring and evaluation takes place

· General responsibilities within the organisation

1. Overall strategic development and management of the Community Hub Programme

Manage and develop the Community Hub providing activities, personal development opportunities and information for refugees and people seeking asylum.

Line manage ESOL Coordinator with supervision and appraisals supporting their CPD

Work with the ESOL Coordinator and volunteers to develop activities and client engagement within the project.

Plan and ensure delivery of short courses, workshops and events either in house or facilitated by partners.  Promote local activity and encourage client participation in line with the requirements of the Big Lottery funding.

Oversee project activities in all venues ensuring practical and active implementation of all policies and procedures, particularly Health and Safety, Risk Assessments, and Safeguarding 

Work with Volunteer Coordinator to support and supervise volunteers to a high standard.

Manage Venue bookings

2. Collaborative work with and engagement of project partners and other agencies in the borough

Source and work with project partners on successful delivery of activities and events within the project and promotion of wider activities in the borough

Build relationships to facilitate client progression and promote the organisation

Work with the volunteer coordinator to use local networks and food resvue partnerships to ensure the provision of Food and refreshments

3 Monitoring and evaluation

Ensure up to date records are maintained on the RAK database

Maintain and further develop Monitoring and Evaluation, recording participation and achievements implementing rigorous consultation processes for all participants, regular surveys and clients focus group activities

Prepare reports for the funders

4 General Responsibilities within the organisation

Team responsibilities including attending staff meetings, dealing sensitively with service users and facilitating internal and external referrals.

Work within the team to deliver a holistic service for clients.

Work within the team to undertake duties to ensure a clean and safe working environment.

Represent RAK at external meetings as agreed with the CEO, attend training, keep

up-to-date with changes in the asylum system.

Undertake any other duties that may reasonably be required.

Please note the duties outlined in this Job Description may be reviewed and amended from time to time.