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Client
Local Authority in Croydon
Job Title
Benefit Advisor
Pay Rate
£20.92 an hour PAYE/£28.43 UMBRELLA
Hours
36 hours Mon to Fri (09:00:AM - 05:00:PM)
Duration
Initial 6 Month Contract
Location
HYBRID Working-Officed based in Bernard Weatherill House,Croydon 2-3 days a week
Description
Role Purpose:
To develop and provide a comprehensive welfare benefits max advice service for Croydon's Care Experienced Young People,CEYP, from diverse communities, to help address the effects of poverty and ill health by ensuring that residents maximise their income by claiming their full entitlement to all available benefits and tax credits. The post holder will undertake case work, assisting CEYP tenants to access all their entitlements and other sources of financial help, and will deliver training and support to social care professionals, council staff, and health/voluntary sector. The post holder will assist CEYP tenants to challenge incorrect benefit decisions and be responsible for gathering evidence to utilise the review and appeal processes.
MAIN DUTIES:
>Providing a full welfare benefits casework service for CEYP Tenants which will include all available welfare benefits and tax credits, including disability benefits and other sources of financial help, such as applying for charitable grants, energy efficiency support, travel costs and health costs. The post holder will encourage full take-up of the wide range of benefit entitlements by means of home visits and outreach advice sessions in a variety of locations within Croydon. A good understanding of Housing Benefit/Council Tax benefit rules is a crucial aspect of this role.
>To initiate, develop and promote targeted take up campaigns for residents, devising appropriate publicity to service users and help complete all appropriate benefit claim forms.
>To ensure that benefit decisions made by statutory authorities are correct and to challenge where necessary using the review and appeal process and to assist service users to prepare and present cases to the appropriate statutory bodies, and tribunals, including appealing cases to the Social Security Commissioners.
>To prepare cases for representation and benefit tribunal's by researching and applying relevant law and case law and seeking more specialist advice where needed.
>To assist service users with other related problems where they are an integral part of the case and refer to other specialist organizations as appropriate.
>To liaise and negotiate with other statutory and voluntary organizations to progress the service user's case. This will include assisting service users in communication with the department of work and pensions, inland revenue, and the council's housing/council tax department, particularly where service users have poor literacy, limited English, learning difficulties or mental health illness.
>To maintain detailed manual and computerized case records for the purpose of continuity of casework and information retrieval, in line with the requirements of the Legal Services Commission's Quality Mark at General Help with Casework Level.
>To design and deliver advice, information and benefit awareness training to health professionals, social care professionals and Council staff working with the community.
Essential knowledge:
High level of competence in providing in depth Welfare Rights casework - and an understanding of Housing benefit data programmes would be useful.
>Excellent knowledge of Housing and Council Tax Benefits and backdating rules.
>Excellent knowledge and experience in Universal Credit claims and eligibility
>High level of competence in preparing case for reviews and tribunals and representing clients.
>High level of competence in other advice areas that contribute to the income maximization of the client group, such as charitable grants, cold busters, housing, and low level debt advice.
Essential experience:
>Recent experience in providing benefit advice and support in a busy advice type
setting.
>Recent experience in representing service users at Appeal Tribunals
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