Job Description
Job title: Welfare Benefits / Financial support Officer
Reports to: Advocacy Manager, or current manager if already employed by HAD
Salary: £25,480 pro rata
Hours: To be agreed
Times of work: To be agreed
Location: The Wealdstone Centre, Wealdstone, HA3 7AE
Job purpose:
• To increase equality and quality of life for Disabled people who will use the service
• Ensuring an efficient Welfare Benefits service, including for Appointeeship clients
• To provide a flexible and responsive casework service
• To provide payroll and finance support for people who work in and use HAD´s services
• The efficient working of administrative systems including Charity Log database
Main tasks and responsibilities:
• To manage own workload and support work of colleagues
• To ensure accurate advice and information is given to clients.
• Provide detailed casework for clients in the area of Welfare Benefits including where necessary calculating, negotiating, drafting or writing letters and telephoning.
• Assist clients with other related problems where they are an integral part of their case and to refer to other advisors or specialist agencies as appropriate.
• Make home/outreach visits when there is no other means of working with a client.
• Maintain detailed case records for the purpose of continuity of casework.
• Ensure an up-to-date client database is maintained and all monitoring information is collated on an ongoing basis.
• Negotiating and liaising with local authorities, and other statutory and voluntary sector bodies where necessary.
• To lead HAD’s work at Welfare Benefits Tribunals
• To do payroll for people who use HAD´s services
• Ensuring training in areas of Welfare Benefits to keep abreast of new legislative changes, policies and practices.
• Contribute to ensuring that all quality marks are adhered to and kept up to date.
• Keep in touch with local issues, development and changes in procedures of other agencies.
• Provide assistance to other staff across a range of Welfare Benefit issues.
• Work through digital and in person meetings with clients
• Support for and representation at Welfare Benefit Tribunals
• Promotional work on Welfare Benefits and SWiSH services
• Represent HAD at appropriate events and activities.
• Commitment to the aims, values, principles and policies of HAD.
• Attend relevant internal and external meetings as required.
Commitment/ behaviour at work
• The postholder will at all times treat every person encountered through their work with HAD in a respectful and helpful manner.
• The postholder will be skilled, reliable and efficient, ensuring that resources available are not wasted and are used in the best interests of HAD’s clients.
• The postholder will work within HAD’s policies and procedures at all times, thus ensuring good practice and attitudes, including, but not exclusive to:
- Equality
- Confidentiality and data protection
- Communication
- Understanding HAD’s main aims
- Health and Safety
- Providing good quality service
- High personal standards of work, and behaviour at work
- Security of information, premises and colleagues
Values
• Must be able to work within social model of disability
• Must share HAD’s mission and aims
• Commitment to supporting HAD’s development in all areas
• A willingness to work positively with people with a range of impairments from all different groups and backgrounds
• A positive attitude to being managed
• Proactive and enthusiastic about keeping up to date with best practice in work area.
• A good team worker, and positive about partnership working
Line management
• The postholder will participate in training, mentoring, supervision and appraisal
as appropriate to the role.
This Job Description outlines the main duties and responsibilities of the post. Minor
changes those appropriate to the role may be made. Major changes to the role will
be reviewed with the post-holder as and when required,
Person Specification
Welfare Benefits Officer
Experience
1 Experience of keeping records E
2 Experience of using IT to manage a work load E
2 Experience of using IT to communicate E
3 Experience of working within the voluntary/ community sector D
4 Personal experience of disability E
5 Experience of reporting in varying formats on work outcomes E
6 Experience of providing services to the public E
Knowledge
1 Knowledge of disability and disability issues E
2 Knowledge of computer systems (eg. Access, Excel, Word) D
3 Knowledge, or ability to quickly learn key issues which are
relevant to the role E
5 Willingness and ability to learn to supervise volunteers E
6 Some knowledge of welfare benefit issues, and quick to pick up
what is required for the role E
Ability
1 Able to work well in a team E
2 Able to work under own initiative, including communicating
information as required to others at relevant times. E
2. Able to work flexible working hours E
4. Able to deal appropriately with confidential information E
5. Good interpersonal skills E
6. Ability to liaise in an effective and timely way with all partners of,
and staff within HAD E
7. Flexibility to learn new skills and adopt new ways of working to
meet changing requirements of the role E
8. Efficient and able to meet deadlines E
9. Proactive and enthusiastic about keeping up to date with best E
practice in work area
10. Ability to be reliable and punctual at all times E
11. Physical and other ability to carry out required tasks E
Qualifications
1 Good written and oral communication E
2 Good standard of IT literacy D
3 Numerate E
Values
4 Able to work to Social Model of Disability and all of HAD’s aims E
5 Must be able to demonstrate positive attitude towards diversity
in people, and towards equality E
6 Must be able to work in an empowering and respectful way to all clients, colleagues and others whom the work brings postholder into contact with. E
7 Must be positive about being managed E
Please note that having previous experience in working in welfare benefits, payroll
or finance will be an advantage
Download the application pack below:
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