Financial inclusion officer

Client

Local Authority in Ealing

Job Title

Financial inclusion officer

Pay Rate

£20.52 an hour PAYE

Hours

35 hours Mon to Fri (09:00:AM - 05:00:PM)

Duration

Initial 3 month contract

Location

OFFICER BASED in Ealing -Agile working will include min 3 days in office and visits 1 day with I day WFH.

All applicants MUST have UK driving license and own vehicle

Description

PURPOSE OF ROLE:

• Improve the outcomes for Ealing residents by providing a customer orientated service in line with Council values and objectives.
• To minimise the impact of welfare reform on residents in council or temporary accommodation through the provision of support with income maximisation, employment/training advice, budgeting and money/debt management.
• To establish key partnerships and working relationships with internal departments and other agencies to help residents access a wide range of financial services and support to help them sustain their tenancies.
• To work closely with the Neighbourhood Manager/Team Leader to capture learning outcomes from the universal credit experience of customers and feed into improvement plans for service development.

>Effectively manage a caseload of UC claimants, providing timely and comprehensive advice and guidance to ensure claims are managed successfully and that arrears are minimised, through face to face contact, in the office and in customer's homes and over the phone.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

1. To reduce the need for legal action against residents, reducing the Council's legal costs and homelessness and promoting the importance of paying rent and service charges through presentations and publications.
2. To check cases referred for legal action to ensure everything has been done in accordance with the pre court action protocol and to interview/visit the tenant to offer expert advice, aiming to reach a payment agreement that will prevent the need for legal action and avoid legal costs for the tenant and the council.
3. To work with the Court Officers to check cases prior to requesting council authority to commence eviction proceedings, to interview/visit the resident, to liaise with other agencies and services, aiming to reach a payment agreement that will prevent the need for eviction proceedings.
4. To support the implementation of Universal Credit delivery and provide relevant advice and support to residents across the borough.
5. To build close relationships with colleagues in the DWP to provide a joined up, comprehensive referral and advice service for Universal Credit claimants.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

1. Knowledge of housing law, housing benefit legislation and welfare reform.
2. Ability to negotiate rent/debt repayments with third parties on behalf of residents.
3. High standard of communication skills, demonstrated by the ability to draft correspondence without supervision; the ability to compile information into simple factual reports; and the ability to explain complex rules to service users over the telephone and face to face.
4. Ability to carry out basic calculations.
5. Ability to deliver customer services to a diverse community in a professional and courteous manner.
6. Ability to deal with multiple and difficult situations in a way that tries to resolve issues for the customer.

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