Welfare Benefits Advice and Support Officer

JOB TITLE:                        Welfare Benefits Support and Information Officer / Advisor

ORGANISATION:              Big Local Works – Charity No: 1182561

LOCATION:                       Big Local Works 4 Market Place, London SE16 3UQ

CONTRACT TYPE:           6-month / Fixed Term contract  (Sickness Cover)

REPORTING TO:             Charity Manager

General Information

Big Local Works (BLW) is a community-focused economic support and regeneration charity based in Bermondsey, South East London. We want to help create a thriving, inclusive local economy and community in which everyone can participate.

To make this happen, we maximise local people’s financial and economic wellbeing to reduce poverty and hardship, and give them support to find sustainable, active routes out of poverty, including through employment and enterprise.

We deliver our support in the community through three main services:

·         Expert welfare and benefits advice and advocacy for local people experiencing poverty and hardship

·         Employability Skills training and coaching to help people access ways of increasing their earned income

·         Start-up and enterprise support for clients who wish to start trading on the local ‘Blue Market’

Our current Welfare Benefits Advisor is on leave of absence, so this role is temporary cover until the end of the year. We are looking for someone for an immediate start.

The role of the Welfare Benefits Support and Information officer is the relief of financial need by the provision of free advice, information, support and advocacy for Southwark Residents

Key Tasks include:

·         To provide a generalist welfare benefits advice, information and casework service to clients using the services at BLW

·         To provide a review of possible benefit entitlements and support clients to make claims, submit forms and applications as appropriate.

·         Ensure advice service provided by BLW is effective and efficient, meets best practice and is of a consistently high quality, delivering a high level of customer care and client satisfaction.

·         To provide welfare benefits support in a variety of settings i.e. drop-ins and community spaces, to provide advice and information, and welfare benefit checks to ensure individuals have accessible support.

·         Help clients understand benefit decisions, represent clients who have been turned down for benefits, deal with reviews, and, where appropriate, prepare for and attend appeals tribunals.

·         Maintain detailed case records for the purpose of continuity of casework, information retrieval, statistical monitoring and report preparation.

What you need to bring:

·         A good understanding of the Welfare Benefits system to deliver an advice casework service

·         Good administration skills and ability to develop own caseload and prioritising work.

·         Ability to use IT, Word and Excel in the provision of advice

·         Ability to research, analyse and interpret complex information

·         Numeracy skills required to understand statistics and check calculations

·         Use IT for statistical recording, record keeping and document production.

·         Able to work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders

·         Keep up to date with legislation, policies and procedures and undertake appropriate training.

·         Demonstrate commitment to the aims and policies of the BLW’s service.

·         Abide by health and safety and safeguarding guidelines and share responsibility for own safety and that of colleagues.

·         A good understanding of- and commitment to the aims and principles of the charity and its equal opportunities policies.

·         Willingness to learn and develop skills in advice topics

You will benefit from

·         Holiday -  FTE 25 days plus Bank Holidays so for 6 month contract at (0.4 FTE)  it would be 5 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

·         A great working environment and culture within a small, but growing, charity dedicated to improving lives in our community

If you are passionate about supporting individuals and communities facing poverty and improving their lives, and have the skills and experience required for this role, please apply.

MAIN TERMS AND CONDITIONS

2 days per week (0.4 FTE)

Hours normally 9-5 pm but flexible to accommodate outreach, research and training needs

Annual salary: £12,000 for 2 days / week (£30K FTE)

DBS check essential