Support Group General Volunteers Jobs in London, Greater London

Hours: Full time, Mon to Fri, (37.5 hours per week)

Contract: Permanent

Location: Based at CAML offices in Mitcham and Morden and outreach locations. The post-holder may be required to work anywhere in South London

Salary: £29,930 - £33,256 dependent on experience

Annual Leave: 25 days, Charity Day, plus public holidays

Pension: The charity operates a pension scheme

The charity offers an employee assistance programme

Deadline: 6pm, Sunday 16th June 2024

Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth (CAML) is the leading advice charity supporting individuals and families primarily across the London boroughs of Lambeth and Merton but also wider London.  We provide a range of information, support and advice services.  We also work to raise awareness and understanding of the challenging issues affecting our clients and communities.

We are looking for an experienced Adviser/Caseworker or Supervisor to join our team in this new role.  If you are passionate about supporting individuals and families in need, relish supporting valued team members to reach their potential, have minimum of one year Citizens Advice Adviser (post certification) experience, are a natural team leader, enjoy delivering training and are interested in joining a dedicated professional team we would love to hear from you.

This role will support people with mental health difficulties referred by South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust (SWLSTG) as part of their Community Transformation Programme. The service will support adults aged 18 years and over living in Merton who are experiencing mental health challenges and the carers of those individuals.

You will deliver a service providing advice for people that are referred from the Trust’s Single Point of Access (SPA) and other teams. You will manage an active caseload of people, providing a comprehensive advice and casework service to people experiencing mental health issues on issues such as benefits, income maximisation, debt and housing.

The service will also support people to access a range of opportunities in their community including services that support their social and emotional well-being, employment and volunteering opportunities and money and debt advice if needed.

The role will work in partnership with a team of health professionals and peer support workers, part of the role will be in supporting these professionals to identify where referrals are appropriate through feedback. Initial training will also be provided to all professionals on what outcomes we can achieve for service users.

Principal Responsibilities

Advice and casework

• Offer one off advice and casework (as applicable) to all clients referred via face to face appointments, online or telephone

• Ensure all clients are aware of the purpose and where to attend their appointment

• Ensure that all casework conforms to the Citizens Advice quality standards.

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

• Ensure that all work conforms to our systems and procedures.

• Interview clients using sensitive listening and questioning skills in order to allow clients to explain their problem(s) and empower them to set their own priorities.

• Being sensitive to clients’ needs and limitations to access support.

• Ensure income maximisation through the appropriate take up of income and application for discounts, including those relating to utilities, benefits, tax and housing.

• Provide full budgeting advice and where necessary refer for specialist debt advice and casework

• Research and explore options and implications so that clients can make informed decisions. Act for the client where necessary using appropriate communication skills and channels.

• Assist clients with other related problems where they are an integral part of their case and refer to other adviser/s (for example DRO intermediary) or specialist agencies as appropriate.

• Ensure that all work conforms to Financial Conduct Authority standards, the Advice Quality Standard and the requirements of the funder.

Project Management, co-ordination and partnerships

• Attend health management meetings (e.g. the Daily Integrated Allocations Meeting (DIAM) for referral discussions)

• Establish and manage an effective referral process from the SPA team and other SWLSTG teams/roles (e.g. Older Peoples Mental Health Team OPMH

• Keep in touch with local issues, developments and changes in procedures of other agencies including SWLSTG, other health service and the local authority. 

• Build relationships with peer support workers on the project

• Work to achievable targets in line with the criteria set by the funder.

• Refer clients to other advice services CAML offers and/or other local services for other associated issues e.g immigration advice

• Gather statistics and feedback in order to monitor and evaluate the service, ensuring that appropriate monitoring and data collection mechanisms are in place to demonstrate impact, outputs and outcomes and providing reports as required to the steering group, funders, and partners.

• Work with Head of Advice Services to produce reports and monitoring information about the service for the funder.

• Ensure that work reflects and supports the Citizens Advice service's equality and diversity strategy.

Capacity Building and Training

• Deliver information sessions for peer support workers and NHS mental health teams to share knowledge about mental health and advice

Research & Campaigns

• Have responsibility for tracking and reporting on research and campaign issues. Assist with policy work by providing information about clients' circumstances.

• Gather and provide as necessary information about clients circumstances, case studies and statistical information on the number of clients and nature of cases where is an issue.

• Monitor service provision to ensure that it reaches the widest possible client group.

Professional Development

• Keep up to date with legislation, case law, policies and procedures and undertake appropriate training

Other duties and responsibilities

• Carry out any other tasks that may be within the scope of the post to ensure the effective delivery and development of the service.

• Ensure wider Citizens Advice Merton & Lambeth colleagues/partners aware of this service.

• Demonstrate commitment to the aims and principles of the Citizens Advice service.

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

Person Specification

Essential

1. Experience of supporting people with mental health issues and the ability to empathise, and to deliver advice in a kind and compassionate way.

2. A minimum of a year’s post certificate experience in delivering advice at a local Citizens Advice or similar.

3. Understanding of the link between mental health and other protected characteristics particularly in the context of Merton demographics

4. Ability to act on clients behalf and negotiate with external services where necessary in writing and on the telephone

5. Knowledge, experience of, and demonstrable ability to provide good quality advice and casework and write ups that meet Advice Quality Standards (AQS)

6. Ability to prioritise own work, meet deadlines and manage caseload.

7. Good interpersonal and communication skills, verbally and in writing.

8. Proven ability to build relationships with partners. 

Desirable

1. Experience working in partnership with the Health Sector

2. Ability to deliver training

This job description and personal specification does not form part of any contract.

Professional Development

The successful applicant will receive comprehensive induction to the charity and our work.  We support team members in their professional development to ensure we’re up to date with legislation, case law, policies and procedures relating to benefits and debt and undertake appropriate training as agreed with your line manager. 

If you’re interested in the role and joining us, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please follow the link to our website for more information and to find out how to apply. The deadline for applications is 6pm, Sunday 16th June 2024.  If you do not hear from us, we are afraid your application was unsuccessful.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and will process your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018. Please refer to our online Privacy Policy for more information on how your personal data will be processed and stored.

We are excited to recruit a Community Organiser for our Abbey Parent Power project. This role offers a meaningful, paid professional development opportunity. The Brilliant Club will work in partnership with Cambridge Ahead, Abbey People, Cambridge City Council, Anglia Ruskin University and University of Cambridge to engage with parents in Abbey ward, Cambridge. The parental engagement model used will be based on the successful Parent Power South London and Oldham Parent Power projects.

•  Cambridge Ahead (CA) is a business, research and academic membership organisation dedicated to the successful and sustainable growth of Cambridge and its region in the long-term. We exist to be a catalyst for the success of Cambridge and quality of life across the city region. Our 50 members include major higher education institutions and some of the area’s largest employers, representing a workforce of over 40,000 in the Cambridge city region. We work alongside our members on a range of issues related to making the Cambridge city region economy more inclusive through our Skills Group, with the aim of widening access to the educational and employment opportunities available in the area. This includes working with employers who conduct educational outreach, provide learning materials to schools and offer work placements to local young people.

•  Abbey People aims to develop community cohesion and support the most at-risk in this deprived area through targeted community projects, provision of general support such as a community fridge, supporting access to education and employment and developing a culture of volunteering in the community. Abbey People exists to make Abbey a better place to live. It does this through partnership work, running and facilitating activities and events, networking the key stakeholders in the community and responding to identified needs within the local community.

•  Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, based in the city of Cambridge.

•   Anglia Ruskin is a vibrant workplace, and our University is gaining prominence both nationally and internationally. We have ambitious plans for the future, and we are determined that our students and staff will realise their full potential. Our main campuses in the cities of Cambridge, Chelmsford and Peterborough have been transformed with major capital investment. With an annual turnover of over £200m, we are a major force for higher education and one of the largest universities in the East of England.

•  The University of Cambridge is one of the world's oldest universities and leading academic centres, and a self-governed community of scholars. Its reputation for outstanding academic achievement is known worldwide and reflects the intellectual achievement of its students, as well as the world-class original research carried out by the staff of the University and the Colleges. 

Parent Power supports parents and carers to develop skills in community organising and expertise in supporting their child to access educational pathways, including university degrees, degree apprenticeships and further education options. The project empowers parents to make change to support their children’s future and ensure their they have a fair chance in education and their future careers.

Person specification

Time and Resource Management:

Essential
  • Able to plan sessions in an organised and efficient manner and adhere to agreed deadlines.
  • Excellent timekeeper, ensuring prompt arrival to meetings and 1-1s; well organised within 1-1s and sessions.
  • Capable of adapting quickly to new systems/ processes.

Desirable
  • Confident in using digital systems for delivery of online sessions in parent meetings.
  • Experience of creating resources.

External Stakeholder Knowledge and Management:

Essential
  • Ability to work in a way that promotes the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
  • Professional approach to problem solving with a range of stakeholders involved in the project.
  • Awareness of role as a visitor within a school and parent/carer community; understanding of the other commitments held by professionals within a school and by parent/carers.
  • Understanding of The Brilliant Club and Abbey People’s mission and the Widening Participation agenda nationally.

Desirable
  • Prior experience of community-focused work or hold a qualification at Level 4 or above (as listed here).
  • Understanding of and ability to relate to the barriers faced in the Abbey community and some of the ways these might be overcome.
  • Understanding of the current climate in the UK school system and some of the challenges young people and parent/carers might be facing.

Communication:

Essential
  • Awareness of how to engage parents.
  • Able to communicate in a timely and professional way with all project stakeholders.
  • Able to take a relational approach to communication with parent/carers, especially in 1-1s.
  • Able to explain research accessibly to non-expert audiences.

Reflectiveness

Essential
  • Able to identify strengths and areas of development, open to feedback.