2. Liaise effectively with outreach venues to provide an outreach advice service to patients or service users of the agency.

Transcription

1 Job Description Bilingual Advice Worker Bradford East Grade: Family Action Grade 2 point Hours: 22.2 hours per week Accountable to: Service Manager Function: The post holder will deliver welfare rights advice including benefits, debt, housing, and income maximisation in GP surgeries, Children Centre s and other community venues. The post holder will travel between outreach venues across the Bradford East parliamentary constituency, and will work autonomously and flexibly to ensure the smooth running of the service. Key tasks 1. Provide comprehensive and accurate advice covering the full range of benefits and welfare reform changes, providing a generalist advice service in the following areas: benefits, debt, housing, immigration, consumer problems and fuel poverty and empowering service users to undertake action on their own behalf where appropriate. 2. Liaise effectively with outreach venues to provide an outreach advice service to patients or service users of the agency. 3. Carry out in depth benefit and income checks and ensure income is maximised through take up of appropriate welfare benefits and grants.

2 4. Support clients through the process of negotiation with creditors in order to stabilise their debts, both priority and non-priority, working with the Specialist Debt Advice Worker to prevent where possible court actions for debt against clients. Prepare financial statements and assist clients in prioritising debts. 5. Act for the client and take on casework where necessary to progress the client s case, and ensure a holistic approach to advice delivery by assisting clients with other related problems, referring to other agencies or Family Action services. 6. Negotiate with third parties as appropriate on behalf of clients both verbally and in writing. 7. Maintain accurate and organised case records, utilising the Advice Pro electronic case management system, and undertake follow up work, meeting deadlines and inputting/providing statistical information for monitoring purposes in line with the requirements of the funders and the Service Manager. 8. Identify cases where more specialist benefits or debt advice is required and refer clients to Specialist Benefits, Debt, Immigration, Housing Specialist advice. 9. Support volunteers and non advice staff to undertake low level tasks such as form filling, explaining letters and making simple enquiries to other agencies. 10. Keep up to date with case law in benefits, by attending training, seeking consultancy from specialist/senior advisors, reading periodicals/on line information and undertaking training in order to develop skills and expertise in identified areas of welfare rights advice. 11. Work at all times to the Advice Quality Standard policies and procedures and work towards the level one immigration where required. 12. Attend internal and external meetings as requested by the Service Manager. 13. Ensure you have an understanding (appropriate to your role), and comply with, Family Action s procedures for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and domestic abuse.

3 14. Comply with Family Action s Health and Safety Policy, Data Protection Policy and protect the health, safety and welfare of themselves and others. 15. To comply with Family Action s Diversity & Equality Policy and our Ethical Policy in every aspect of your work and positively promote the principles of these policies amongst colleagues, service users and other members of the community. 16. Plan and prioritise your work appropriately and meet all targets and deadlines as set by funder and Service Manager. 17. To be able to evidence Family Action s values at all times, which underpin Family Action s mission of building stronger families by: a) Being people focused b) Reflecting a can do approach c) Striving for excellence in everything we do d) Having mutual respect for everyone we work with, work for and support through our services 18. Work flexibly as may be required by the needs of the service and carry out any other reasonable duties, as required, including sickness absence and annual leave cover.

4 Person Specification Bilingual Advice Worker Bradford East Advice Service 1. Educated to level three or above, with experience of welfare benefits case work, and evidence of a commitment to continuing learning and professional development. 2. Willingness to attend relevant training and apply it to the work including working towards OISC immigration level 1 or 2, if required. 3. Experience of managing your own caseload and ability to demonstrate an ordered approach to managing an advice work caseload methodically and within defined systems and procedures. 4. Ability to verbally communicate in either Urdu or Punjabi. 5. Up to date knowledge of legislation, case law and procedures relevant to Welfare Benefits and some knowledge of debt, housing and immigration advice procedures and process. 6. Desirable: Hold minimum OISC accreditation to give Immigration Advice at Level Excellent literacy and numeracy skills with the ability to carry out and prepare accurate benefit calculations and financial statements. 8. Ability to communicate clearly, effectively and professionally both verbally and in writing, with clients, colleagues and professionals from other organisations. 9. Ability to prioritise tasks, to identify and work to key dates, deadlines and to manage time effectively using own initiative. 10. Proven ability and willingness to meet targets, including organisational objectives and funder targets and to input /provide data for monitoring purposes.

5 11. Willingness and ability to attend relevant training, use supervision and consultancy effectively and keep up to date with legislation and regulations, apply learning to your work. 12. Excellent computer literacy including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer and ability and willingness to learn how to utilise social media for the provision of advice. 13. Demonstrate an understanding of safeguarding issues and ability to work to relevant procedures/ standards appropriate to your role. 14. Commitment to Family Action s Equal Opportunities Policy and ability to reflect upon Equality and Diversity issues taking appropriate action. 15. Ability to work on own initiative and commitment to working effectively as part of a team. 16. Ability to communicate and engage both effectively and sensitively with clients. 17. Ability to advise and support volunteers and non advice staff undertaking low level advice tasks and check work undertaken is accurate. 18. Ability to travel across the Bradford East Constituency, to work flexibly, and a willingness to work out of hours on occasions. 19. Able to evidence Family Action s values at all times, which underpin Family Action s mission of building stronger families by: a. Being people focused b. Reflecting a can do approach c. Striving for excellence in everything we do d. Having mutual respect for everyone we work with, work for and support through our services