Welfare Benefits Specialist Caseworker
- Recruiter
- Community Advice and Law Service
- Location
- Leicester, Leicestershire
- Salary
- £26,000 per annum
- Posted
- 17 Jan 2017
- Closes
- 31 Jan 2017
- Sectors
- Charity & Voluntary
- Contract Type
- Contract
- Hours
- Full Time
JOB DESCRIPTION
WELFARE BENEFITS SPECIALIST-LEVEL CASEWORKER/SUPERVISOR
Closing Date for return of completed applications - Friday 10th February 2017.
Aim of Post:
(1) To provide a specialist welfare benefits advice service and to undertake casework including, establishing eligibility and entitlement to benefits, maximising income, challenging decisions and representation at Social Security appeal tribunals for clients of the CALS.
(2) To provide supervision on matters of social security law to other advisers within CALS.
(3) To provide a general consultancy service to the volunteer co-ordinator with regard to the form-filling service and to other advise staff.
(4) To assist in the planning and operation of the peer review (quality assurance) element of the project
(5) To contribute to CALS planning and delivery of advice services in welfare benefits if required
Principal Tasks:
- Legal advice and casework in social security law
- To provide advice to clients of CALS on the range of matter types falling within the welfare benefits category
- To take cases on referral from a range of agencies as well as from clients who may contact CALS directly
- To act on behalf of clients with regard to the DWP, HMRC and other third parties
- To represent clients, as necessary, at first-tier social security appeal hearings, and to prepare appeals to the Upper Tribunal
2. Supervision and file review
- To provide technical support and consultancy on matters of social security law to CALS staff and volunteers.
- To conduct independent file reviews of an agreed sample of the welfare benefits cases.
3. Consultancy with regard to the form-filling service
- To co-operate with the Volunteer Co-ordinator in identifying clients approaching the form-filling service who require casework and/or representation on welfare benefits matters
4. Assistance with the peer review project
- To advise on methods of improving the quality of advice on welfare benefits matters provided by CALS advisers
5. Assistance with the planning of advice service delivery
- To co-operate with CALS project staff in devising methods of service delivery, including the provision of advice through other channels e.g. telephone, electronically (Skype, web-chat)
- To assist CALS staff in evaluating service delivery and methods
- To deliver updates and training to CALS staff and occasionally to external agencies
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Qualifications, knowledge and experience
- Supervisor standard in the Welfare Benefits category
- Recent experience of representing clients at the first-tier social security tribunal
- Experience of supervising less experienced advisers
- Experience of conducting independent file reviews
- Knowledge of and experience of working to the requirements of the SQM quality standard or Lexcel
- Experience of presenting information to others verbally and in written formats
- Experience of planning and evaluating methods of service delivery
Skills
- Excellent communication skills, verbal and written; in particular the ability to communicate information about social security matters clearly and effectively to clients and to colleagues within CALS
- Ability to engage with a wide range of organisations and service providers, across the voluntary and community sector as well at within statutory services
- Ability to work with others as a member of the CALS team
Aptitude
- Ability to plan and manage own workload and to work without close supervision
- Commitment to the aims of CALS and willingness to contribute to the success of the project and organisation
- Willingness to work outside normal office hours from time to time, as required