Motivated person required to deliver the AIM HI Income Maximization Project across Midlothian.

The post holder will be required to provide holistic money and benefits advice to improve the circumstances and well-being of Midlothian families. The worker will provide help and assistance with checking benefit entitlement, completing benefit applications and challenging benefit decisions. The work will also include income maximisation, advice on budgeting, utility, housing and other issues including some assistance with debt (including housing debt).

Good interpersonal skills are essential and the post holder will work closely with referring professionals and be responsible for developing innovative ways to engage with some hard to reach groups.

14 hours per week with some flexibility. Combining the post with our other income maximisation vacancy will be considered. If you are interested in both posts please apply for both vacancies.

The Cost of Living crisis is unprecedented in social history and continues to have a devastating impact on the lives of many Stirling citizens. The need for advice, information and crisis intervention support around money, debt, shortages of fuel and food is huge and continues to grow.

The Cost of Living Support Worker is responsible for supporting volunteer advisers deal with the increase in casework / demand due to Cost of Living drivers.

The post holder will increase volunteer advisors capacity to deal with cost of living driven enquiries & support the main Bureau volunteer led generalist service to deal with the increased volume of enquiries.

The post holder will act as support and mentor to both office-based and remotely enabled advice volunteers ensuring they have the necessary support to deal with enquires effectively and efficiently.

General Responsibilities

• To act as the main point of contact and mentor for all advice volunteers seeking casework/advice support on Cost of Living driven enquiries
• To support bureau based & remotely enabled volunteers to assist in the delivery of the core advice service.
• To provide advice support for remote & bureau based volunteer workers particularly in relation to complex/crisis Cost of Living crises driven client enquiries.
• Provide advice for maximising income & support volunteer advisers in the provision of advice & assist people maximise their income by accessing such support as is available to them (e.g. benefits and grants).
• Provide advice & support volunteer advisers in the provision of advice for managing debt. Helping people identify their options and strategies, enabling them to get control of their borrowings or removing the burden of debt entirely.
• To undertake supervisory roles within the office – e.g. 2nd tier technical support on complex Cost of Living driven enquiries
• To communicate frequently with volunteer advisers to ensure they are satisfied, well-placed and any concerns are addressed.
• To help ensure the purpose of the Stirling CAB, its actions, policies, procedures and the role of the volunteer is clearly communicated, understood and implemented.
• To help represent and present the views of volunteers and volunteering related matters to senior management.
• Help ensure that the required monthly CAB statistics are provided to the Deputy Manager
• To carry out any other reasonable task requested by CAB management or required by the Board of trustees.

Accountability

• Provide written reports to monthly supervision sessions with Deputy Manager
• Attend annual appraisal
• Attend Annual General Meeting and quarterly reviews of role with CEO

Money Advice Scotland is Scotland’s money charity. Our mission is to be the driving force towards financial wellbeing for the people of Scotland.

We believe we will achieve this by supporting the money advice workforce, empowering citizens to get help and support, and advocating for fairer policy.

About the role

Over the past four years, the Workforce Wellbeing Project (formerly the Adviser Wellbeing Project) has given us the unique opportunity to document the experiences of staff within the free money advice sector and support their wellbeing through research, training, and community building.

The Workforce Wellbeing Officer (WWO) will be a creative and passionate communicator who can incite engagement and discussion on wellbeing topics in an inclusive way; acknowledging the sensitivity of wellbeing topics and the need to break down barriers – personal and organisational – which affect how wellbeing is addressed and supported in the workplace.

Victim Support Scotland – Empowering People Affected by Crime

We put victims and witnesses at the heart of everything we do so they are heard, have improved health and well-being, feel safer, more secure, and informed and that we are an effective organisation, that makes a lasting difference.

Who We Are?

Victim Support Scotland provides support and information to people affected by crime and campaigns for victim and witness rights. Regardless of whether a crime has been reported, or when it happened, our services are free, confidential, and tailored to individuals’ needs.

Our vision is that people affected by crime – victims, witnesses, and their families – are treated with dignity and respect and are at the heart of the justice in Scotland. Our mission is to ensure that all those affected by crime receive high quality support that will help them to recover from their experiences. All our work is guided and underpinned by our six core principles of being engaging and compassionate; inclusive and accessible; person-centred; adaptive, flexible, and responsive; collaborative; and knowledgeable and skilled. Now is the time to join Victim Support Scotland, helping us work towards the ambitions of our 5-year plan: Empowering people affected by crime: VSS Strategy 2021-2026.

VSS is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of all of our service users and has a thorough and rigorous recruitment and selection process including PVG scheme checks in place to ensure this commitment is met.

What is the role

Reporting directly to the Head of Service, you will be responsible for a team of Co-ordinators who in turn manage groups of volunteers to deliver and evaluate the support to victims and witnesses, our service users, at local court and community-based services. You will be responsible for ensuring, within your services, that VSS’s organisational objectives are being implemented at a local level and have a role in business planning to ensure that all service users within your local area are aware of, and have access to, the support they need. You will be responsible for all aspects of people management for staff in your area, ensuring that employees and volunteers are supported, knowledgeable and capable to deliver the support that meets service user’s needs.

Location:Inverness office, with travel across the locality and further afield being an expectation of this role.

We offer a 28 hour working week. You will also join a rota of Service Managers to provide remote management support around the country on an on-call basis. You will receive an additional allowance for this.

Primary location: Inverness, however be able to travel throughout Highlands and Islands Locality essential (this includes Elgin, Inverness, Tain, Wick, Fort William, Portree, Stornoway, Lochmaddy, Oban, and Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles).

Work pattern:Monday - Friday 8AM - 8PM & Saturday 10AM - 4PM (the work pattern can be in between these hours, further details can be discussed at interview stage)

What you’ll need to be successful

We are looking for a dynamic, driven, and motivated individual with a proven track record in managing and supporting the delivery of high-quality support and staff within our community and court services across the Highland area. You must have a degree qualification or demonstrable equivalent experience, continuing professional development and the ability to plan and organise complex workloads with shifting deadlines in order to meet specific targets, ensuring quality output. Good verbal and written communications skills, along with the ability and confidence to develop effective internal and external relationships which deliver organisational goals. And willingness to be flexible in working hours and able to travel as required. In return you will receive, regular training, supervision and opportunities to expand your skills including learning about the criminal justice system.

As well as being responsible for your team, you will have lead responsibility for safeguarding across the Locality Manager team. In this capacity, you will work closely with the Head of Service Delivery and peers to actively contribute to the continuous improvement of our safeguarding across the locally delivered services.

Further details of this role are available in the job description

Please note - This post will be subject to a satisfactory PVG check and two satisfactory references.

What we offer?

When you work for Victim Support Scotland, your wellbeing is important to us. Not only do we offer a generous annual leave package of 39 days (Pro-rata) for this post and a 35 hour week, but you will also have access to our free health cash plan which includes cover for you and your family across a range of benefits, which include, dental cover, access to a virtual GP, counselling, legal support and discounts on gym memberships, cinema tickets, retail and much more. In addition we offer a generous pension, enhanced maternity and paternity pay and access to a credit union. Supporting employee development is important to us and we offer comprehensive learning and development opportunities.

If you are looking for a role with a purpose, where you can really make a difference, then this may be the role for you.