Senior Welfare Rights Adviser - Adult Social Care

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Job Description

Salary: £43,004

Location: 5 Pancras Square N1C 4AG

Contract Type: 1x Permanent & 2x Secondment/Fixed Term - 12 months

Hours: Full Time (36 hours)

Closing Date: Monday 30th September 2024; 23:59

About Camden

Camden is changing on the inside to make life better for everyone. Our residents and communities are at the heart of everything we do. We're home to the most important conversations happening today and we're making radical social change a reality, so that nobody gets left behind. Here's where you can help decide a better future for us all.

What You'll Be Doing

We are looking for someone to join our Welfare Rights Team based in Adult Social Care. You will provide specialist advice on welfare benefits, advising adults, who are unable to access benefits services in the community, and their carers. Referrals for our services are made by third parties and so the role involves a lot of partnership working. Advice will involve income maximisation, better off calculations, new benefit claims and benefit reviews/challenges and appeals at the First Tier Tribunal.

The role requires expertise in benefits coupled with an empathetic and patient approach as many of our people have serious health issues and often need to be visited in their own home. This is a core element of our service.

You will also maximise your impact through supporting other frontline Adult Social Care colleagues, health practitioners and community partners, and you will do this by giving 2nd tier advice, organising and delivering training, seminars and lunch and learn talks on welfare benefits and upskilling colleagues and community groups.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and will require an Enhanced DBS.

All About You

You will need to have an up-to-date extensive knowledge of welfare rights benefits, rules, changes and legislation.

An understanding of physical and mental health issues and how these impact on someone's life and on their ability to claim and retain their welfare benefits.

You will be passionate about providing good quality advice and information and will recognise that, when this is given in the right place and at the right time, it can improve the lives of Camden's citizens.

You will be working in a team where team collaboration is encouraged. You should also be able to work under your own initiative and can manage a complex and diverse workload.

You will also need to show evidence of the following:

• Two years' recent direct experience in giving detailed benefits advice and undertaking benefit checks, including a detailed knowledge of means and non means tested benefits, disability benefits, and with extensive knowledge of Universal Credit, natural and managed migration.
• Excellent communication skills both verbal and in writing. Including experience of training or giving talks to large groups of people.
• Ability to professionally advocate for people to the Department of Work and Pensions and other relevant organisations, and experience of working to deadline, representing in first tier tribunals, in person and by providing high quality written submissions for reviews and tribunals.
• Experience with supporting people to make benefit claims within deadlines.
• Trained by a known professional welfare rights organisation e.g. Advice UK, Child Poverty Action Group, Shelter, Citizens Advice, Rightsnet, or an identifiable freelanced trainer.

To find out more about what it is like to work at Camden, meet some of our People by visiting 'www.camdenjobs.co.uk/our-stories'.

How To Apply

To view the Job Profile, please CLICK HERE or copy and paste the below URL into your browser: http://camdocs.camden.gov.uk/HPRMWebDrawer/Record/10661569/file/document...

To apply for this job please follow the "Apply" link. In the 'Why you?' section of the application you will be required to demonstrate how you meet the role criteria noted in the Job Profile under the "About You" section.

What We Offer

At Camden, you'll receive a host of benefits. From flexible working to 27 days annual leave (+ bank holidays!). We also know that a work life balance is extremely important so we also offer family leave, loan schemes and access to our incredible staff networks. We also have an incredible pensions scheme.

Visit 'www.camdenjobs.co.uk/staff-benefits' for more details.

Inclusion and Diversity

We want Camden Council to be a great place to work and to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and those of Other Ethnicities, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equalities and justice remains at the heart of everything we do.

To discover more about Camden and our commitment towards diversity, equality and safeguarding, please visit https://www.camdenjobs.co.uk/inclusion-and-diversity

Anonymised Application - in keeping with Camden's commitment to inclusion the recruitment to this role is anonymised and supports the objective of reducing the impact of unconscious bias.

Asking for Adjustments

Camden is committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions. If you would like us to do anything differently during the application, interview or assessment process, including providing information in an alternative format, please contact us on 020 7974 6655, at resourcing@camden.gov.uk or post to 5 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG