Job Description

Job Title:Adviser (Generalist and Debt Advice)

Department:Debt, Money and Advice Services

Responsible to:Advice Services Team Manager

Salary:£28,000

Hours:35 hours per week

Contract:31st March 2016

Job Description and purpose of the job

Toynbee Hall is a charity where people come for excellent local services and where they can share ideas and experience, gather information and knowledge that we use together to take action to change lives and eradicate poverty. Our programmes include free advice services, financial inclusion services, wellbeing services, including work with older people and community learning services supporting young people and new migrants.

The post holder will provide information, advice and guidance to clients through Toynbee Hall’s advice services, and will have a background in providing generalist advice (debt / housing / welfare benefit / employment). Advice will be delivered through a range of channels, including face to face, telephone, email, and other means.

The post holders will primarily work during normal office hours, however due to offering advice at different times, there is likely to be a requirement to work at different times e.g. evening, weekend or an earlier start, in order to meet the needs of service users.

The post-holder will also attend events to promote the service and to raise the profile of the service in order to ensure people know about our services and can access them.

Responsibilities

Debt Advice

  1. Provide the full range of advice activities to assist clients with debt and income maximisation problems, including those with multiple debts, both priority and non priority, owed to commercial and statutory creditors.
  1. Deal with contentious and complex debt advice problems, including mortgage and rent arrears, repossession cases, Council Tax, bankruptcy proceedings and Consumer Credit Act disputes.
  1. Advise on and assist with income maximisation issues, including assisting with benefit and tax credit claims and associated problems.

Generalist Advice

  1. Provide generalist advice in a range of areas including housing, welfare benefits, debt and money management, employment, family matters, education and health.
  2. Provide high-quality casework services to ensure that clients’ have access to relevant services, including access to disability benefits, housing, sources of financial support, such as grants, help to access health and specialist services, legal advice, etc.
  3. Liaise and negotiate with other statutory and voluntary organisations to progress the client’s case and ensure they receive all assistance available.

Advice

  1. Provide advice, information and guidance to the general public, and work flexibly across all our advice services.
  1. Provide advice sessions through outreach, at Toynbee Hall and telephone, email, and any other channel.
  1. To provide advice and information to the general public concerning their rights and/or liabilities
  1. To provide support and assistance to individuals in order to secure their rights through drafting letters where they are unable to do so themselves and ensure they are enabled to access information regarding their rights.
  1. Meet targets as set with line manager, which will change regularly depending on the needs of the services.
  1. Form effective working relationships with outreach agencies and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that a good service is being provided and the minimum number of clients are being helped at each location.
  1. Assist with the running of Toynbee Hall’s Free Legal Advice Centre as required, including covering evening and weekend sessions.
  1. Attend internal meetings and identify and act upon social policy issues.
  1. Be responsible for keeping up to date and detailed enquiry/case records and for keeping accurate statistical/monitoring records.
  1. Support the promotion and marketing of the advice services and Toynbee Hall generally.
  1. Comply with Toynbee Hall Equal Opportunities policy and work in an anti-discriminatory/non-judgemental manner.
  1. Work at all times within Toynbee Hall policies and procedures as detailed in the Advice manual and supporting documentation.
  1. Work as a member of a team, give and receive support, to work considerately and co-operatively and attend team/management/committee meetings as required.
  1. Attend appropriate training courses and conferences.
  1. Undertake early morning (from 8am), evening or weekend work if required with prior notice.
  1. Travel to outreach sessions in The City of London, East London and any other London areas.
  1. Keep up-to-date with relevant legislation, policies and practices.
  1. Liaise with other service providers in the area and to represent Toynbee Hall at appropriate forums as required.

Supervision and Support

  1. Participate in supervision and file/peer review of colleagues
  1. Participate in the supervision of volunteer advisers
  1. Ensure consistent quality assured advice by monitoring and checking case work

General

  1. To undertake other relevant work as required

Person Specification

Experience and knowledge

Debt Advice

  1. Recent full time experience or part-time equivalent (paid or unpaid) of direct debt and money management casework and advocacy.
  2. Knowledge of debt legislation and case law and an understanding of procedures in the County Court and Magistrates Court regarding debt cases.

General Advice

  1. Experience of providing generalist advice and information to clients across a number of areas of law
  2. Generalist advice level knowledge of various areas of lawincluding housing, welfare benefits, employment, health, debt and money management and family matters. If gaps exist the knowledge and ability to access this information.
  3. Recent experiences of working in a performance driven environment and evidence of meeting targets set.

Skills/Abilities

General Advice

  1. Ability to write detailed accurate case records and draft, letters reports and statements in plain English
  1. An ordered and disciplined approach to managing a challenging caseload, meet targets; plan and prioritise work in the face of competing demands on your time.
  1. Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to respond sensitively to clients
  1. Ability to research, understand and explain complex information both orally and in writing.
  1. Good knowledge of IT including familiarity with Microsoft Office applications, e.g. Word, Outlook or equivalents, and case management systems.
  1. Commitment and ability to taking part in social policy, research or evaluation activities as required, e.g. by responding to surveys.
  1. Commitment to working flexibly across all Toynbee Hall’s services, including evenings and weekends
  1. Understanding of and commitment to the organisation’s equal opportunities policies.

Desirable

  1. An ability to speak a Syhleti or any other community language

Learning and Development

Toynbee Hall provides all necessary induction and project training where necessary, and encourages and, where possible, supports the upgrading of appropriate skills and qualifications as well as other learning and development opportunities. All employees will receive regular support and supervision to facilitate their learning and development.

Volunteers

Volunteers are at the heart of Toynbee Hall’s work .The organisation is committed to involving volunteers in its continuous development and to offering volunteers the best of experiences. All Toynbee Hall staff members will be expected to support the volunteering ethos and to work alongside the volunteer team to promote and facilitate the involvement of volunteers wherever appropriate.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Toynbee Hall takes an outcomes and theory-based approach to its self-evaluation and monitoring. This means that the organisation is committed to gathering evidence of its effectiveness, and to using this information to learn, improve and communicate. All Toynbee Hall staff members will be expected to support this approach and to take part where appropriate in monitoring and evaluation planning and practice.

Location and Working Hours

This post is office based at 28 Commercial Street, London E1. It should be noted that this site is due to close in summer 2015 and therefore this role will be relocated ahead of this closure. Working hours will be 35 hours per week plus 1 hour for lunch each day.