Adviser (Scotland)

Please note - this role is homebased in Scotland, with some travel througout Scotland and to London required.

Independent Age is the national charity working towards ending financial hardship in later life.  

Our Helpline and expert advisers offer free information and advice to older people without enough money to live on, while our external training equips professionals with the information they need to support older people on low incomes. Through our grants programme, we fund and support hundreds of local charities working with older people across the UK.  We use the knowledge and insight gained from our support services and partnerships to highlight the issues experienced by older people in poverty and campaign for change.  

We believe no one should face financial hardship in later life. We would love to find individuals from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds to join us on this journey.

Responsibilities and Person Specification:

This new role is an integral part of the day-to-day delivery of our Advice and Support Service. The service is targeted at older people in or facing financial hardship, and provides information, advice and follow up support relating to a range of issues, including Welfare Benefits, Social Care and Housing. 

As an Adviser (Scotland) you will be responsible for providing specialist support to older people, their families and carers through our advice service with their enquiries relating to housing and welfare benefits in Scotland as well as providing generalist level support on a range of issues through our duty service.

You should have in depth, specialist level knowledge of Housing or Welfare Benefits in Scotland as they relate to older people. Experience of working within a high-volume advice setting and advice supervision framework such as the AQS framework.

We plan to further develop our advice offer in Scotland to cover advice around charging for Social Care, so whilst not essential, knowledge of this area, or a desire to develop will be beneficial.

For full details on the role and requirements, please review the job description and person specification.  If your experience doesn’t align perfectly with all the criteria in the person specification but you do meet most of them and are excited about the role, we encourage you to apply anyway. 

This is a full-time role, 35 hours per week, which you can choose to work over five days or a 9-day fortnight. We also are open to this role being worked on a part-time basis on a minimum of 21 hours per week.

What it’s like to work at Independent Age:

We celebrate diversity at Independent Age and champion the differences that make each of us unique. We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We aim to attract and retain a wide range of talent and create an environment where everyone can feel safe, protected, welcome and included.   

We offer great benefits including 28 days annual leave plus public holidays, a generous pension scheme with life assurance, and fantastic learning and development opportunities. We also offer a number of enhanced leave provisions and benefits.

We know that a good work life balance helps us perform at our best and supports wellbeing. Flexible working hours and hybrid working is standard for all. But if you need a different form of flexibility, we are always happy to talk flexible working. 

With an employee engagement score of 98%, colleagues say Independent Age is a great place to work. You can find out more about what it’s like to work at Independent Age by visiting the Careers page on our website.

Application Process:

To apply, please visit our website to submit a CV and a Supporting Statement, detailing how your skills and experience meet the criteria within the Job Description and Person Specification. 

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you require any specific arrangements or adjustments to enable you to fully participate in the recruitment process, such as having the job description in a larger text format or to apply in an alternative format, please get in touch with us via the email address on the ‘Contact Us’ page on our jobs site. 

To support our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion our hiring managers use anonymous shortlisting. Please don’t include your name, photo, or any information that could indicate your gender or age in your CV and supporting statement, and don’t include your name in the title of any documents that you upload. However, please do include all dates of employment.  

Independent Age is committed to safeguarding and follows Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding those we work with. We therefore ask that you supply your full work history with explanations for any gaps in the application documents you submit and, if offered the post, we will require a minimum of two employment references including your current or most recent employer. A Level 1 (Basic) Disclosure check will be carried out for the successful candidate.

Closing Date: Sunday 4th October 2026 11:59pm

Interview Dates: 

First round of interviews will take place online on Tuesday 13th & Wednesday 14th October

Second round of interviews will be held in person, in Glasgow, on Wednesday 21st October