Welfare Benefits Specialist

The Welfare Benefits Specialist role is part of SEL Mind's exciting new expansion of one-to-one support delivered through the Southwark Wellbeing Hub. This full-time role will provide in-person support to help clients understand their entitlements and challenge negative benefit decisions.

As Welfare Benefits Specialist, you will maintain a caseload of clients with mental health issues, supporting across the full range of welfare benefits. You will work closely alongside an Advice Specialist for non-benefits needs, and with colleagues across the Southwark Wellbeing Hub to ensure joined-up support where needed. 

The main working site is a community centre in SE17, with regularly-scheduled work in community centres in SE16 and SE5. As a key part of expanding equitable access to specialist advice, the role will work across the Borough of Southwark, meeting people across a variety of voluntary and statutory sites. Organisation and communication are vital to good case management, so you should have strong planning and prioritisation skills and be able to work independently and flexibly. 

The role will involve:

• Ensuring excellent case management across the full range of welfare benefits to a caseload of people with mental health problems, with regular case reviews
• Supporting clients including income-maximisation, calculating benefit entitlement, drafting or writing letters, negotiating with third parties, and preparing/presenting cases to tribunals and courts as appropriate
• Maintaining effective communication with SWH teams to support clear pathways into other services, delivering a joined up service 
• Ensure that all casework conforms to accepted high quality advice provision including well-organised written records, conflict of interest checks, and a key dates system

Successful applicants will be expected to undergo an Enhanced Level Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Closing date: Wednesday 6th May (11:59pm)

Likely interview date: Friday 15th May

We encourage early applications as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications.

About Us

SEL Mind supports people with mental health problems and dementia in the boroughs of Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. We are proud of our diverse workforce and know that our organisation is made stronger by the variety of backgrounds, experience, and ideas within it. We promote a culture of inclusion and representation, and are working hard to build a workforce that even better reflects the communities we support.

SEL Mind is somewhere that you can be your authentic self without fear of discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, neurodivergence, gender, age, lived experience of mental health problems or anything else that’s part of who you are.

Read more about staff benefits and why staff love working here on our website.