Information & Advice Officer For West Lindsey

Job Title: Information and Advice Officer

Age UK Lindsey is a local, independent Charity whose mission is to promote and improve the wellbeing of older people aged 50+ in North Lincolnshire, East Lindsey and West Lindsey, helping make later life a fulfilling and enjoyable experience by tackling loneliness, isolation and poverty.

We have an exciting opportunity to recruit a new Information & Advice Officer within our Social Welfare Advice delivery team working in the district council area of West Lindsey. The role involves:

• Managing a complex caseload and providing Social Welfare Advice to State Pension age people within Benefits, Health/Care and Housing i.e. calculating benefit entitlement, form-filling, contacting third parties, drafting letters, acting on the client’s behalf to progress their case and promoting their rights and safety.
• Offering a diagnosis of the client’s enquiry, explaining the legal issues/options involved and how they might apply to the client’s particular circumstances, explaining implications/consequences clearly, and potentially carrying out negotiation or challenging incorrect decisions/actions made by third parties.
• Information and Signposting to Local/National Agencies/Services appropriate to individual needs.
• Promoting Digital Inclusion, reducing Loneliness and increasing uptake with Social Activities locally.

Our Information & Advice Service is a thriving and well-respected entity of Age UK Lindsey, supporting older people in our area to claim over £2.8 million in unclaimed Welfare Benefits last year. We are a quality-assured service and hold the Advice Quality Standard. As this is a technical Social Welfare Advice role, you will receive a comprehensive induction and training package, as well as participate in continuing professional development and have ongoing Supervision and external assessment. Previous experience is not essential but you will need to demonstrate that you are capable of learning and applying the technical and legal aspects of Welfare Benefits delivery, as well as other Social Welfare subject areas (based on demand).

You will need to be a compassionate and highly communicative individual committed to making a difference to older people’s lives. The ability to work as part of a team, manage a large/diverse caseload of vulnerable clients and work diligently at all times are essential for this role, as is good literacy, numeracy and information technology skills.

Our clients are at the centre of everything we do and we are caring, fair and respectful in the way we treat people. We are accountable, transparent and open in the way we run our Charity. We are inclusive, positive and welcoming. We offer our staff work-life balance, a comprehensive benefits package and the opportunity to work as part of a close-knit, supportive team in roles that are really rewarding.

PLEASE NOTE:

• This role will be supporting clients who live in the district council area of West Lindsey. It is essential therefore that you live within West Lindsey. We have an office at Barton-Upon-Humber and our Head Office is in Horncastle – you will be expected to travel to both occasionally, as well as complete 3+ home visits per week in the local community of West Lindsey (but most of your hours will be worked remotely from your own home).
• Having a confidential and functional workspace at home without distractions is essential. Our client management system is web-based, we do a lot of work as a team via Microsoft Teams, and you will be given a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone which allows voice calls using a broadband connection (instead of an analogue phone line), so reliable and strong internet connection is crucial.
• Working days and hours are relatively flexible and will be agreed with the successful applicant. 18 hours can be worked over 3 or 4 weekdays (not Friday's) and start/end times are negotiable.
• Please ensure you complete all of the application questions and work authorisation below comprehensively as your responses will be considered when we do our screening and shortlisting for interviews.

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: £11.50-£11.78 per hour

Expected hours: 18 per week

Benefits:

• Additional leave
• Bereavement leave
• Casual dress
• Company events
• Company pension
• Employee mentoring programme
• Free or subsidised travel
• Health & wellbeing programme
• Sick pay
• Work from home

Schedule:

• Day shift
• No weekends

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Caistor, Lincolnshire: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)

Application question(s):

• What relevant experience and skills do you have?
• Do you require a work permit to work in the UK?' YES/NO
• Do you hold a valid driving license – (if applicable) YES/NO
• Do you have your own transport? YES/NO
• Are you related to any Trustee or member of staff at Age UK Lindsey?' YES/NO
• In the event of being employed we will request employment and character references and may complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if the position requires one – please consent below:

I agree that the organisation may apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for an Enhanced or Basic Disclosure, if the position requires one, and to previous employers for reference purposes YES/NO
Age UK Lindsey has a Recruitment of Ex-offenders policy that may be viewed on request.

• Are you able to provide two references including one from your last employer?' YES/NO
• Please read the Job Applicant Privacy Notice on our website and consent below:

I agree that the information provided as part of my application will be processed by Age UK Lindsey for the purposes of processing and dealing with my application in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.' YES/NO

I declare that to the best of my knowledge that the information I provided above is true and correct.

Experience:

• similar role: 1 year (required)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 16/09/2024
Expected start date: 01/11/2024