Referral centre advocate jobs in Leeds, west yorkshire

At CAP, we celebrate diversity and strive to build an inclusive workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We warmly welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from Global Majority/UK Minority Ethnic candidates, as these groups are currently underrepresented within our wider workforce. We are committed to creating an environment where every individual can thrive and feel they belong.

Everything we do is rooted in our values. First and foremost, we are Christ-centred. The work that we do is guided by faith and the belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and God’s love. 

We are bold in fearlessly putting that faith into action to help others and challenge injustice, while also seeking to be compassionate in the way that we want to understand others and offer them meaningful care. We are collaborative in our approach, making time to learn from others and work together to take on UK poverty. And finally, we prioritise being joyful in the face of challenges, because our faith gives us confidence that change is truly possible.

Please note that the salary shown is for full time hours and would be paid pro rata for part time (22.5 hours per week). The actual pro rata salary is £19494.00) This role requires a DBS check and three forms of ID provided (one photo ID).

 Please see the attached Job Profile for a full list of responsibilities 

Skilled Worker Visa

From 22 July 2025, the Government increased the salary threshold and skills level for Skilled Worker visas. If you are applying for a Skilled Worker Visa for the first time, this role does not meet the current eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the immigration rules.

The Department cannot consider sponsoring you for this role unless you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously since before 22 July 2025. If you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously, please raise this during your vetting checks, and eligibility will be assessed in accordance with the immigration rules and transitional provisions in place.

If you are applying for this role and you do not meet the new eligibility criteria for sponsorship or the transitional provisions, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes. Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

The Department will continue to comply with the UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and the Civil Service. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria on the government's website.

Job Description

Context:

CAP's mission is to end UK poverty by equipping churches to reach their communities. We exist to empower and serve churches through exceptional partnerships, delivering impactful debt advice and coaching services. Providing accessible, community-rooted support to those facing financial and social challenges across the UK. Our approach is centered on empowering individuals providing holistic support to achieve financial resilience through expert debt advice and tailored coaching products. This approach goes far beyond financial stability, creating lasting personal and relational transformation and contributing to a society where all can flourish. We are committed to fostering strong relationships with our church partners, ensuring a collaborative and effective service that continually improves to meet the evolving needs of local communities.

Purpose:

The Enhanced Support & Grants Team Manager is instrumental in ensuring our clients who present with the most complex and vulnerable of situations receive specialised, tailored support to achieve financial stability and become debt-free. Including monitoring CAP’s Grants team who secure financial support for those accessing insolvency options.

Your key focus is to lead and empower a team of specialist Debt Advisors who operate at the intersection of complex financial distress and significant personal vulnerability. This involves not just triaging and assessing, but creating holistic, life-changing solutions while continuously monitoring and proactively intervening in clients' safeguarding and wellbeing needs. As the Team Manager, you will work in partnership with the Safeguarding Lead, exercising direct oversight over high-risk cases and proactively identifying and managing evolving areas of risk, in strict adherence to the FCA’s stringent guidance on vulnerable customers.

Personality:

We are strong collaborators and communicators, dedicated to building strong connections within our team, the Hubs and with local CAP workers, ensuring resources are allocated effectively and holistic client support is prioritised. 

We are confident decision makers and are comfortable working in high risk environments where situations can evolve quickly.

We are advocates for our team members, inspiring, empowering, and challenging them to reach their full potential, ultimately making a tangible and positive impact on the lives of those we serve; clients and churches alike. We think big-picture as well as about the details using data to make good decisions. 

We are decisive leaders who thrive in high-pressure, rapidly evolving environments, where the consequences of decisions directly impact vulnerable individuals.

Passion:

We are passionate about developing and empowering high-performing teams to deliver outstanding support to Service Delivery and our clients. We believe in creating an environment where advisors and case officers are equipped, challenged, and inspired to provide exceptional support to partner churches and clients. We are passionate about collaborating with regional partners to drive impactful change and ensure service level agreements are consistently met.

• Reporting to: Head of Church & Client Support

• Direct Reports: Enhanced Support Leads

Responsibilities

• Effective personnel management of staff, to facilitate the delivery of a high-performing debt help service in collaboration with the church through:

  • Ensuring adequate staffing by managing holidays, sickness and other absence within your team and across the Hubs

  • Regular catch-ups which include feedback on quality and output indicators, client outcomes and customer service. Bringing encouragement, challenge and coaching on how to improve these and seeking to empower team members.

  • Delivering effective team communication, both written and verbal, to engage staff members in business as usual and aid smooth change management. Demonstrating active ownership of organisational awareness and wider strategy.

• Workload management to facilitate an effective debt service by:

  • Collaborating with the Enhanced Support Leads, Enhanced Support In-Team Specialists, the Regional Team Managers and the Senior Hub Delivery Managers to ensure the workload is prioritised to meet agreed Service Level Agreements.

  • Participation in the wider Church and Client Support management team. This includes working with other Team Managers in your department, taking ownership of decisions pertinent to your area and covering responsibilities as needed when other managers are absent. Also included is attendance and participation on a directorate wide level and the willingness and ability to lead in that broader context where required.

• Overseeing Specialised Client Support 

  • Provide strategic oversight and guidance to the wider team of in-team specialists. This includes ensuring appropriate escalation pathways and adherence to best practices in safeguarding and the FCA’s consumer duty regulations. 

  • Responsibility as a Senior Safeguarding Officer and point of escalation for high risk situations across Service Delivery.

  • Being willing at times to speak to clients who are in high risk situations of vulnerability around mental health or domestic abuse.

  • Confidence in and experience of speaking about topics of vulnerability and safeguarding.

  • Ownership and strategic development of the Person at Risk of Violence procedures at CAP - oversight of current waiting times and development of procedures, such as a self-help pack.

• Overseeing the grants specialists workload

  • Oversight of the Grants team workload - engagement with specialist case officers, in particular channelling vulnerable client concerns.

  • Building and maintaining strong relationships with new and existing grant funders.

  • Budget oversight for grants obtained, with responsibility for coordinating quarterly reports for funders as required. 

• Management of Key Stakeholder Connection

  • Working alongside key stakeholders in the Agility and Mission & Movement directorates, to ensure the voice of those facing complex and vulnerable situations is integrated within all areas of the organisation.

  • Collaboration with Local CAP Workers; amplifying the consistent voice of Enhanced Support through training and information sharing. 

• External reporting

  • Oversight of the net promoter scores and outcomes for vulnerable clients; contributing to the content of the annual Consumer Duty report and the Foreseeable Harm risk register, representing Enhanced Support in this area.

• Mitigate risk by:

  • Proactively identifying and managing risks associated with supporting vulnerable clients, including financial, reputational, and safeguarding risks. Maintain robust processes and procedures to ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and internal policies.

• Foster a healthy team culture within their immediate team and across the department through 

  • Regular and effective stand-ups and team meetings, which include connections with Local CAP workers.

  • Encouraging engagement with wider CAP life and relevant regional events.

  • Monitoring, sharing and taking action based on the available data sources 

  • Bringing encouragement and challenge based on CAP’s cultural values, capturing and celebrating moments of faith.

• Champion the value of personal development by

  • Onboarding new staff and supporting them through their probation and sign-off process through regular reviews and goal-setting 

  • Facilitate team member engagement with CPD training and invest in long-term development through annual appraisals and development reviews 

  • Invest in their own personal development and attend relevant training within Service Delivery and across CAP

• Staff wellbeing 

  • Oversight of approvals for Service Delivery clinical supervision referrals.

  • Coordination of peer reflective practices groups with external providers.

• Strategic Direction

  • Proactivity in seeking out and encouraging continuous improvement, showing the ability to lead through change, leading to service improvements. To be available for general queries, strategic oversight and advice on operational impact during preparation and implementation of new processes and policy updates.

  • Work to empower Debt Advisors to feel confident in managing enhanced support cases to meet the demands of our target clients needs

• Any other tasks relating to these or other operational functions of the charity that are seen as necessary by your line manager

Skills required

• Confident decision maker

• Excellent communication at all levels

• Ability to produce excellent results through the use of team dashboards

• Ability to lead a team in actively promoting the cultural values of CAP

• Ability to develop strengths and skills in others

• Ability to challenge poor performance

• Ability to prioritise time, tasks and attention effectively in a pressured environment

• Able to hold a good balance between detail and the ‘big picture’

• Good strategic insight and understanding of organisational aims

• Ability to collaborate across teams and departments

• High emotional intelligence and ability to understand the human factors involved in the role

• Capable of maintaining own emotional wellbeing

• Skilled in techniques that assist in team strategy e.g. problem definition, ideation, LEAN methodologies

Experience:

Essential

• Experience of delivering results in a service based environment

• Experience of having to work using your own initiative

• Experience of supporting vulnerable people

• Experience in a safeguarding coordination role 

• Experience of leading and managing a team of staff

Desirable

• Experience of working within Service Delivery, and CAP debt help procedures

• Experience of leading a safeguarding or vulnerable client project. 

• Experience of leading teams to meet key objectives or targets

• Mental health first aid training or similar experience

Culture

Working at CAP is more than a job; it’s a commitment to a community and movement. We believe that a healthy culture is the fuel for our mission. This means we prioritise spiritual rhythms in our week—including dedicated time for morning prayer, worship, and team huddles. We are a 'joy-filled' office, which means we celebrate every win, from a client becoming debt-free to a colleague’s personal milestone. We expect our team to be 'all in'—not just in their tasks, but in contributing to a supportive, laughter-filled, and prayerful environment.

CAP is a mission-driven, fast-paced, and deeply relational environment. You will find a culture that prioritises:

• Spiritual Rhythms: We start our days with prayer and worship, staying connected to our 'Why.'

• Celebration: We are 'Debt-Free' obsessed. We ring bells, share stories, and celebrate transformation.

• Collaborative Bravery: We tackle big problems (like UK poverty) by working across teams and daring to try new things.

• Inclusive Belonging: We want you to bring your whole self to work, knowing you are valued for who God made you to be.

Christian Commitment

• The candidate must be able to give both verbal assent to and practical demonstration of Christians Against Poverty’s Statement of Faith 

• Must be able to actively participate in prayer and worship, whether individual, small group or corporately, as an expression of one's own personal faith and in line with CAP’s Statement of Faith.

All adults working in or on behalf of CAP have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults. This includes:

• A responsibility to ensure a safe environment in which CAP services can be delivered. 

• Identifying children and adults where there may be safeguarding concerns.

• Following the CAP Safeguarding policy in addressing any concerns appropriately.

Other Responsibilities

• Being willing to pray with each other and fully engaged with our Christ-centred culture.

• Encouraging friends, family and other contacts to support the charity through the Life Changer programme and other fundraising initiatives.

• Attending annual CAP staff conferences and team revive days.

• Completing all compulsory CAP training within given timescales.

• This role falls within the scope of the FCA’s conduct rules, and you will be provided with training as to how these apply to the role. It is your responsibility to ensure that you follow these conduct rules.

The above job profile is a guide to the work you may be required to undertake but does not form part of your contract of employment and may change from time to time to reflect changing circumstances.

Educational requirements

• A levels or equivalent 

The Southmead Project is seeking an experienced and motivated Fundraiser to support the charity’s long-term financial sustainability.

The postholder will identify, research and secure funding from trusts, foundations, charitable bodies, statutory funders and other appropriate sources. They will lead on developing high-quality, persuasive funding applications and reports that clearly communicate the impact of the Southmead Project’s work and the needs of the people it supports.

Working closely with the CEO, Head of Finance and trustees, the Fundraiser will develop and deliver an annual fundraising plan, maintain a strong funding pipeline, and support the organisation to diversify its income. The role will require excellent writing, research, relationship-building and organisational skills, alongside a strong commitment to the charity’s values and mission.

• Develop an annual fundraising plan, alongside the Head of Finance and CEO.

• Carry out ongoing prospect research to identify new sources of funding from trusts, foundations, charitable bodies, statutory funders and other appropriate sources.

• Maintain a fundraising pipeline, ensuring that opportunities, deadlines, applications and reporting requirements are monitored effectively.

• Build and maintain a database of prospective and current funders, including key contacts, deadlines, funding priorities and application requirements.

• Monitor relevant local, regional and national funding opportunities, including being a sponsored charity at community events.

• Produce funding applications for trusts, charities, foundations and statutory bodies as an ongoing part of the charity’s income generation.

• Analyse data and feedback collected through outcomes processes for report writing.

• Build and maintain positive relationships with funders, partners and relevant stakeholders, including the corporate sector as part of the charity’s income diversification strategy.

• Attend monthly meetings with the Senior Leadership Team and trustee meetings as required.

• To work within the framework, spirit and ethos of the Southmead Project’s Equal Opportunities Policy, and actively engage in promoting the policy within the charity and in all dealings with clients and other agencies.

• To follow the Southmead Project policies, procedures and professional code of conduct as outlined in the Team Handbook.

• All members of staff, paid and unpaid, are required to undergo the   enhanced level of Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Please see job description for full details.