JOB DESCRIPTION –HARDSHIP COORDINATOR

Post :Hardship Coordinator(Job Share)

Employed by:Midlothian Financial Inclusion Network

Salary:£23,232 pro rata

Hours of working :24.5 hour/week

Term:Fixed term until 31 August 2015

Base :Midlothian Council offices, Dalkeith

Job Purpose

  • To coordinate and improve the resources available for hardship in Midlothian.

Main Tasks

  • Provide a single point of contact for local organisations with clients in need;
  • Establish and standardise referral systems, in partnership with the providers of hardship services;
  • Inform voluntary & statutory staff about sources of support for people in hardship such as local food banks, the Welfare Fund, welfare rights, credit unions & budgeting advice;
  • Manage a small FacilitationFund to allow people to travel to receive support.
  • Work to increase the range of hardship provision, by work with other food-providing organisations such as community cafes. Other avenues such as 'gifts in kind' and other donations will be developed;
  • Any other task required to coordinate and improve hardship services in Midlothian;

Monitoring and Evaluation

  • Take a lead role in gathering the information required for reporting back to the Big Lottery Fund;
  • Take a lead role in gathering the information for a bi-monthly report to the MFIN MARCH sub-group;

Partnership and integrated working

  • Work as part of a small collaborative team;
  • Contribute to the work of MFIN, for example, by contributing to their newsletter and website on hardship issues.

Responsible To

  • Nominated Director of MFIN
  • Report to MFIN MARCH Sub-group

Decisions to be made in the course of the Job

  • The post holder will hold responsibility for managing a work programme and budget agreed with their line manager.
Contacts
  • Partner organisations (Midlothian Council & Changeworks), MFIN member organisations, voluntary and community organisations, NHS Lothian

Hours of Work

  • 24.5 hours per week. Some evening and/or weekend work may be required.

Annual Leave

  • 4 weeks per year pro rata, plus public holidays pro rata

Supervision

  • This post will be supervised by a named member of the Board, who will provide regular support and supervision.

PERSON SPECIFICATION – HARDSHIP COORDINATOR

Qualifications

An appropriate qualification in community work, social work, community learning and development or a related field is desirable but not essential.

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with statutory organisations and the Third Sector
  • Understanding of welfare reform and hardship issues
  • Understanding of referral systems
  • Experience of developing projects
  • Experience of effective networking
  • Experience of capacity building

Desirable

  • Experience of outcome-based evaluation systems
  • Ability to manage databases and electronic communication

Given the geographical location of Midlothian the use of a vehicle is desirable but not essential.

Skills and Abilities:

  • Good communication and numeracy skills
  • Good computer literacy and keyboard skills
  • Confidence and competence in presenting oral reports and/or information to a wide variety of audiences.
  • Excellent organisational skills and the ability to set and achieve realistic targets.
  • Ability to work as a member of a team and to link with a wide range of other projects.

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