SUMMARY OF MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

The Highland Macmillan CAB Partnership, established in 2004, provides a welfare benefits advice service across the Highland region (excluding Lochaber) to people affected by cancer and their families. Based at Raigmore Hospital, our award winning team works alongside the Macmillan Person Centred Care Project and other professionals, such as Clinical Nurse Specialists and GPs, to provide holistic, high quality advice and assistance to our clients at any point in their cancer journey.

We are seeking to recruit an additional welfare benefits caseworker to join our friendly team.

The successful candidate will provide holistic advice to our clients on a range of welfare benefits issues, offer advice and information to maximise their income and ensure they are receiving the correct entitlements. This will include conducting full benefit checks, carrying out better-off calculations, assisting with revisions, supersessions and appeals of benefit decisions and also assisting client to navigate their benefit claims. The role will require the candidate to provide advice on all areas of entitlements for clients such as energy, grant applications or assistance with health costs for example. The post will require someone who has in-depth experience or understanding of the benefits system, ideally in provision of advice, information and representation.

This role will suit a resilient and empathetic person who is able to work under pressure but enjoys the challenges of advice delivery and is able to work in a non-judgmental and impartial, confidential manner.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1) Service Provision

• Provide a full welfare benefits casework service to people affected by cancer, including UK and Scottish disability benefits, and other sources of financial support, such as charitable grants, energy advice and help with health and travel costs.
• Assist clients to prepare for benefit appeals and provide representation at Tribunals as required.
• Liaise and negotiate with other statutory and voluntary organisations to progress the client’s case and ensure they receive all assistance available.
• Ensure that all work conforms to the bureau's Quality Standards at the appropriate level.
• Assume responsibility for the day-to-day management, maintenance and prioritising of own case load.
• Maintain, to a high standard, detailed (computerised) case records for the purpose of continuity of case work, statistical monitoring, information retrieval and report preparation in line with the requirements of Citizens Advice Scotland and Macmillan Cancer Support.
• Refer clients on to colleagues or other agencies as appropriate for specialist help with issues that fall outside the remit of the service, including housing, debt and employment.
• Provide advice, information and cancer-specific benefits awareness training to colleagues and other health and social care professionals working with the client group as required.
• Support Citizens Advice Scotland and Macmillan Cancer Support’s social policy work by providing case studies and feedback on issues of concern for people affected by cancer.

2) Service Design and Development

• Gather statistics and feedback in order to monitor and evaluate the service, provide information to the Health Projects Manager for reports to advisory groups, funders and partners.
• Assist with initiatives for the improvement of services to people affected by cancer
• Develop working relationships with health professionals supporting the client group
• Network with other professionals in the advice work field
• Represent the project at meetings with other agencies as appropriate

3) Professional Development

• Maintain an up to date knowledge of the benefits system and policies and procedures relevant to the post.
• Identify your own personal strengths and weaknesses, including identifying personal training needs, and attending in-house and external training courses and meetings as appropriate
• Undertake training and personal development in order to develop skills and increase knowledge and understanding of cancer and its treatments, and its impact on people affected by cancer and their ability to access financial help.
• Prepare for and participate in internal team meetings, supervision and appraisals.

4) Adherence to Citizens Advice Scotland Policies and Procedures

• Have responsibility to uphold the Aims and Principles of the Citizens Advice Scotland Service and its Equal Opportunities policies.
• Abide by health and safety guidelines and share responsibility for own safety and that of colleagues.
• Any other duties commensurate with the post.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate the following:

• Considerable recent experience (paid or unpaid) in advice work or related field
• Recent representation experience (paid or unpaid), or willingness to undertake training
• Good current knowledge of the UK and Scottish benefits systems, particularly that relating to people affected by cancer, sickness and disability benefits
• An understanding of the issues affecting people affected by cancer
• Experience of managing a complex caseload
• Ability to work under pressure, on your own initiative, but also to be part of a team
• Ability to work in a systematic manner and plan own workload
• Excellent organisational, communication and report writing skills
• Good IT skills – especially word-processing, and database entry
• Good working knowledge of the statutory and voluntary agencies in the area
• Understanding of community care issues
• An ability to deal with clients and other professionals in a sensitive manner
• Evidence of ability to carry out training in benefit issues to CAB staff and outside agencies or equivalent experience
• Commitment to the principle of a client driven, volunteer led service
• Commitment to the aims and principles of the CAB service
• Commitment to CAB & Macmillan Cancer Support equalities policies

Responsible to: Health Projects Manager

The Trainee Caseworker will provide advice and information (money advice and benefits) service to people in East Lothian. Full training will be given.

Contractual Conditions: The post will necessitate travel throughout East Lothian. There will be a balance of home working and being office based.

Background information

Clackmannanshire Citizens Advice Bureau, based in Alloa, is an independent and innovative advice organisation providing holistic advice to the residents of Clackmannanshire at the bureau premises and outreaches at various partner locations. We have been delivering a valuable, high level service to the community of Clackmannanshire for over 50 years, dealing with issues including benefits, debt, energy and housing. Last year we dealt with over 33,000 issues. We currently have 27 paid staff and 25 volunteers working to deliver the general advice service and our projects and as Board members.

All bureaux are members of Citizens Advice Scotland (the Scottish Association of CABx), and as such must meet specific conditions of membership related to standards of service and other matters. Each operates as an independent charity. This bureau is a limited company as well as a registered charity, governed by a board of directors/trustees.

We offer additional working benefits, such as 5% employer’s pension contribution, free membership of an employer health plan, annual performance related salary increases, a flexible working scheme, ability to buy and sell annual leave, an e-bike loan scheme and a retail perks scheme.

About the role

This is a new role which offers an exciting development opportunity for the right applicant. You will work as part of a dedicated team providing support to the finance and HR functions of the bureau. Working closely with the Finance and Personnel Officers you will ensure that we maintain high standards in administrative and financial processes. The Administration Officer will ensure that finance processes are accurate and that tasks are completed on time and that HR systems work effectively and staff and line managers are supported. The post holder will also assist with other resource management activities. This is an evolving role therefore responsibilities are expected to change as it develops.

We are looking for a self-motivated, conscientious individual who has attention to detail, excellent organisational skills and ability to act with confidentiality and discretion. They should be able to demonstrate relevant experience but training can be provided for a candidate with the required skills and attributes.

About Citizens Advice Edinburgh

The Citizens Advice Service was first established in Edinburgh in 1939.

Over the years it has grown to deliver services from 5 main Bureaux (Dundas Street, Gorgie/Dalry, Leith, Muirhouse and Portobello) and over 20 project/outreach locations across the capital. In 2007 the separate Bureaux merged to form Citizens Advice Edinburgh (CAE).

Through a team of core and project staff and over 70 highly trained and committed volunteers, CAE provides a free, confidential, independent and impartial service to the citizens of Edinburgh on a wide range of issues including:

• Debt and money
• Welfare Rights
• Consumer issues
• Immigration
• Employment and workforce problems
• Housing
• Relationship and family issues
• Discrimination
• Health services
• Legal rights & responsibilities

The charity is a trusted and well-respected organisation. It enjoys high levels of client satisfaction and the excellence of its training programme is widely recognised. Its volunteer workforce and paid staff are fully committed and strive, with limited resources, to provide the advice sought by thousands of clients each year.

For a full overview of all our services and current work, please visit our website at: citizensadviceedinburgh.org.uk

Summary of Role

Citizens Advice Edinburgh works in partnership with the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board to deliver an outreach advice service from 8 GP Practices in Edinburgh. 4 part-time staff members provide weekly sessions for these sites.

The present vacancy comprises ½ day client contact and ½ day follow-up work for each of the following practices: Inchpark and Southfield. Please note that the specific practices may change. The total working hours are 14 per week.

The service is delivered on site at the practices, unless restrictions prevent this, in which case advice will be temporarily delivered by phone.

The project delivers welfare rights and health-related advice to patients of the named practices. Research indicates that resolving problems with benefits, debt, employment, housing, and family issues can have a positive effect on patient health. Embedding advice services within GP Practices has also been shown to reduce repeated contact between patients and GPs, and to successfully engage clients who have not sought advice elsewhere.

The successful candidate must be experienced in giving advice, particularly in relation to benefits, including appeal and tribunal work. They must have an understanding of the role within the healthcare environment and the impact of poverty on health.

The post holder will be required to assertively develop and maintain links with NHS staff, Community Link Workers, CAE specialists and external agencies.

The health sector can be a challenging environment in which to work. Clients are frequently extremely unwell and may present with multiple, complex advice issues. In addition to possessing the necessary practical knowledge, candidates will therefore require energy and resilience to make the project a success.

Responsibilities

1. Advice work and support

• Deliver Level 1-3 advice and support to patients in accordance with the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Providers (Benefits/Money/Housing)
• Work confidently in a practice setting, including accessing relevant practice systems (patient records and appointment bookings)
• Deliver advice remotely by phone and email
• Ensure accurate information and advice is given
• Maintain client confidentiality and, when appropriate, share information securely and efficiently
• Assist in audit processes
• Attend training to stay abreast of current legislation and proactively engage with Continued Professional Development

2. Case Management

• Carry a specialist case load and deliver ongoing support to clients, within the project remit (combination of short-term assistance and in-depth casework)
• Refer clients to other CAE volunteer or staff specialists where appropriate
• Manage referrals to external agencies and partner organisations

3 Project reporting and statistics

• Ensure that accurate, legible and comprehensive case records are kept
• Ensure that accurate statistics are available for reports as required
• Work closely with the senior management team and funder to demonstrate successful outcomes and develop the service

4. Other duties

• Take responsibility for maintaining records and completing reports on work and activities as required for funders, auditors or publications
• Develop strong working relationships with H&SC colleagues
• Carry out promotional activities as necessary to establish and maintain a steady flow of client referrals
• Implement organisational Equality Policies
• Liaise with project colleagues to share peer support and ensure consistency of service delivery
• Any other reasonable tasks as requested by the Senior Management team

Person Specification

Essential criteria

• Completion of CAB Generalist Adviser Training or equivalent
• Recent experience of delivering advice in the key areas of welfare benefits, money, debt, housing and employment
• Ability to understand and empathise with clients facing health-related issues
• Research skills
• Good interpersonal skills and case recording ability
• Ability to establish and maintain good relationships with NHS staff, Community Link Workers and other agencies
• Ability to work independently, under pressure, and with limited resources when required
• Excellent communication and IT skills
• Ability to work flexibly and pro-actively balance workload

Desirable Criteria

• Experience and understanding of the voluntary sector
• Experience of working in partnership with colleagues in related disciplines
• Experience of working effectively in outreach settings
• Demonstrable commitment to the aims and principles of Citizens Advice

Appointment subject to Right to Work checks and Disclosure check