Generalist Locality Adviser

The role

Context of role:

You will be working as part of the Oxfordshire Advice Partnership, which is made up of Age UK Oxfordshire, Citizens Advice Oxfordshire,Citizens Advice West Northants and Cherwell, Oxfordshire Welfare Rights, Agnes Smith Advice Centre, Barton Advice Centre, and Rosehill and Donnington Advice Centre. The service is jointly funded by Oxfordshire County Council Adult Social Care and Child, Education and Families, and Public Health. It is focussed on meeting the needs of people living in Oxfordshire who are made more vulnerable by illness or disability, such as

- older people

- adults with learning disabilities

- adults with mental health problems

- adults with physical and sensory impairments

- adult and young carers

young people aged 16+ with learning difficulties and or physical disabilities

families with young children (particularly those with disabled children)

The service will provide at no cost to the Service User, independent advice to assist people with benefits, debt, budgeting and other financial and welfare issues.

The overall aim of the service is to support people to live their lives as independently, successfully and safely as possible within the community by maximising income, helping to make the best use of the money available to them and managing debt, which will improve people's choice and control and enhance wellbeing.

Role purpose:

As part of a team of Generalist Advisers and a wider team of Triage Advisers and Caseworkers you will receive referrals from the Triage team to provide generalist advice, with a particular focus on benefits advice and basic money advice. You will assist clients with benefits checks, completing forms, financial capability such as budgeting, and refer cases on to the caseworker team where casework is required. Callers who may be able to obtain assistance from another, more appropriate agency or service will be signposted on to other sources of help.

You will be based in the locality and where required offer face to face appointments at one of our advice centres, or at an outreach location as appropriate. You will also be required to support the Triage team to help with managing fluctuations in demand and waiting times.

Referrals will be made via the Oxfordshire Advice Navigator website, which will provide signposting resources to trusted websites and services. Where the client seeks a service, they will complete the online form which will populate a common task list. Callers to the helpline will be asked to leave a voicemail which will also be added to the tasklist for call backs. These will be triaged by the Triage Advisers and added to a county tasklist for the generalist advisers.

Role profile

Key work areas and tasks:

All clients will access the service via the dedicated website, telephone number or by email, and all contacts will be listed on a common task list for advisers to action. The service will provide:-

- An eligibility check

- Initial diagnosis of issues

- Self-help e.g. access to how to and advice guides, leaflets and internet based advice

- Assisted Information. Clients will be given supported information on how to progress their issue by the Triage team to help with managing fluctuations in demand and waiting times.

- Referrals will be made via the Oxfordshire Advice Navigator website, which will provide signposting resources to trusted websites and services. Where the client seeks a service, they will complete the online form which will populate a common task list. Callers to the helpline will be asked to leave a voicemail which will also be added to the tasklist for call backs. These will be triaged by the Triage Advisers and added to a county tasklist for the generalist advisers.

- Onward referral to locality based advisers or caseworkers for full advice where appropriate, and for face to face or home visits if required.

- Where advice required is in an area outside in the remit of this project callers will be referred to the most appropriate local service.

- Receive referrals through the county task list for the projects locality based generalist advisers.

- Taking into consideration the client’s ability to take the next step themselves, the complexity of the problem and the project resources, offer generalist advice and support, including form completion. This should be done remotely where possible, or face to face appointments and home visits where appropriate and necessary.

- Refer to the project’s caseworkers where it becomes clear that we need to take action on behalf of the client, or provide complex casework such as debt advice.

- Refer clients appropriately (both internally and externally) to suit client’s needs following agreed protocols, including making arrangements and informing clients of what to expect.

- Signpost clients appropriately, following agreed protocols.

- Use the Citizens Advice website and the Oxfordshire Advice Navigator website to find, interpret and communicate the relevant information.

- Refer to other specialist agencies as appropriate.

- Ensure that all work conforms to the Citizens Advice West Oxfordshire office manual and the Citizens Advice quality standard / Legal Services Commission's Quality Mark / other funding requirements, as appropriate.

- Ensure that work reflects and supports the Citizens Advice service equality and diversity strategy.

- Maintain detailed case records for the purpose of continuity of casework, information retrieval, statistical monitoring and report preparation.

Research and campaigns

- Identify research and campaign issues.

- Alert clients to research and campaigns options

- Assist with research and campaigns work by providing completing evidence forms, working with the Research and Campaigns Coordinator to carry out campaigning work and provide case studies.

- Record accurate statistical information to identify local and national trends and contribute to CAWO’s research and campaigns strategy.

Discrimination

- Identify if there is any question of discrimination.

- Be aware of Citizens Advice procedures for dealing with actual and potential discrimination issues.

Professional development

All clients will access the service via the dedicated website, telephone number or by email, and all contacts will be listed on a common task list for advisers to action. The service will provide:-

- An eligibility check

- Initial diagnosis of issues

- Self-help e.g. access to how to and advice guides, leaflets and internet based advice

- Assisted Information. Clients will be given supported information on how to progress their issue

- Keep up to date with legislation, policies and procedures and undertake appropriate training for the role.

- Read relevant publications.

- Attend relevant internal and external meetings as agreed with the line manager

- Prepare for and attend supervision sessions / team meetings / staff meetings / external meetings as appropriate

Administration

- As part of a wider team, work to achieve the targets set within the contract. This includes supporting the Triage team with managing fluctuating demand and waiting times.

- Provide follow-up calls to collect client satisfaction and outcomes information as required

- Use IT for statistical recording of information relating to social policy and funding requirements, record keeping and document production.

- Keep up to date with policies and procedures relevant to the role and undertake appropriate training.

- Ensure that all work conforms to the Citizens Advice’ systems and procedures.

Attend regular service team meetings and training

Other duties and responsibilities

- Carry out any other tasks that may be within the scope of the post to ensure the effective delivery and development of the service.

- Abide by health and safety guidelines and share responsibility for own safety and that of colleagues.

- Demonstrate a commitment to the aims and policies of the CA service.