Universal Credit and Welfare Benefits Advisor

Home Group

Location: Berkshire
Salary: £22,500
Closing Date: 29 June 2020
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WORK PERMIT:
All applicants must be based in the UK and confirm that they are able to prove their eligibility to work in the UK.

Job Description

Universal Credit and Welfare Benefits Advisor
Reading covering Berkshire and North Hampshire
Permanent, Full Time (37.5 hpw)
Starting Salary between £22,500 to £25,850 pa (depending on skills and experience) rising to £35,950 through length of service
Plus brilliant benefits!
 
At Home Group its critical we continue to deliver services for our customers during the COVID-19 outbreak, and our awesome colleagues are at the very heart of making that happen. We need Brilliant People like you to join us (and not just during this challenging time). We are doing things a little differently at the moment, so to keep you, our customers and ourselves safe well engage with you digitally where possible. 
 
Enabling our customers to live safely. Thats when it hits home!
 
We have a fabulous opportunity for you to join our awesome team across Berkshire and North Hampshire, in this sparkly new role of Financial Inclusion Partner. You will be joining a team of Housing Managers and two Community Housing Assistant, who work across this area to manage our rented housing stock.
 
Working in collaboration with our Housing Managers and the national Financial Inclusion Telephone Team, you will manage a caseload of customers, experiencing financial difficulty, providing advice and support to help sustain tenancies, maximise rental income and open doors to financial independence.
 
We are seeking a new colleague to join us who has experience of working with customers, who are in debt, in order to offer support to our residents, who are struggling to manage their finances and risk homelessness due to their debt with us. We are especially keen to receive applications from people, who have experience of using preventative and education based methods to work with at risk households.
 
We need our new colleague to be confident with creating debt management and budgeting plans, experience of arrears monitoring and collection processes and confidence to work in customer`s homes and engage with vulnerable and hard to reach individuals. You will work alongside Housing Managers to evidence that support is being offered to households with arrears. Ultimately, we need to see a reduction in debt but we want to make sure that our customers have the right support and information to do so. 
 
What makes us No. 7 in the UKs Best Super Large Great Places to Work , 5th Best Place in the UK for Great Places for Women to Work, 17th in the Stonewall Top 100 and  Investors in People Gold Standard€¦.? Its our brilliant people and culture!
 
About our team
Youll be working alongside our team who are super passionate about delivering on our Customer Promise to our customers across the region. To us were not just a team were a work family. We dont just love to support our customers, were there for each other too!
The team is managed by 3 Operations managers and 6 fabulous Housing Managers who have a wealth of experience working for Home Group as well as our shiny 2 new Community Housing Assistant so you can learn about Home Group together.  
 
Where youll work -
Youll work across region, with our customers with the greatest need. We dont want you to spend all your time in the car though, so you will have control over your own diary to plan your day effectively. The great news is that you will have the flexibility of working either from home or in one of our local offices and well give you the technology and kit to make that easy.
 
Working hours
Its the teams unwritten rule that you attend the important appointments in life, be it your childs school play, your partners graduation, or to get your new fridge delivered. You can elect to fit these around your working day or use your flexi to take the time off. Our focus is on getting the job done, not your working hours! We would expect your main hours to be worked Monday Friday but occasional evening and weekend work will be needed sometimes so that you can meet up with our customers who are at work themselves.
 
About you
Youll be passionate about Customer Service, and an advocate on welfare rights. Youll provide top notch advice and support to our customers to empower them towards financial independence. Youll work closely within the Housing Management team and with both internal and external stakeholders, aiming to support customers to sustain their tenancies.
 
Youll have a great understanding of welfare benefits and rights, and be up to date on recent reforms as well as knowledge on the DWP and local authority processes. Also youll be our go to person on local and national charities, and funding options available. Youll be a natural problem solver and be able to relate to people from all backgrounds, and be passionate to build our customers confidence in their finances.
 
Here at Home Group we have invested heavily in our future and use current and up to date equipment. Youll be issued with the latest kit, which could include a Surface Pro and mobile. So it's really important to us that you are technologically savvy (or at the very least not a technophobe!)
 
Experience essential
Its important to us that you have worked in a similar environment before and have experience of income collection and rent arrears processes used within housing services. It would also be great if you have delivered 1:1 support and coaching to individuals with debt issues and have a good understanding of the options available to them. Dont worry, we wont drop you in the deep end, well help to you understand how things work at Home Group!
 
It would be great if you had the some qualifications in financial advice, and some understanding of the benefits system however we appreciate that you might have the some great transferrable skills so were more interested in your experience than certificates!
 
As this is a community based role, you need to be able to drive around the Berkshire and North Hampshire areas, as well as having access to a car insured for business purposes. Dont worry, well pay you expenses to cover this use!
 
Youll have the chance to shape your own diary. However youll likely spend around 3 days or so per week on the road, and working from home or the office the rest of the time.
 
When you join, youll need to have a valid Enhanced Check under the Disclosure and Barring Service. The great news is that we will pay for that to be done if you dont have a transferrable one.
 
Want to know more?
If youre not reading this advert on our careers pages, press the APPLY NOW button to access lots of useful stuff! You can download the Financial Inclusion Partner Job Description, and find out more about Home Group. Weve also got some short films that show you what its like to work here, and we know youll want to find out more about our award winning benefits and rewards package!
 
To apply
Dont delay applying for this brilliant job, as we may close it early if we get lots of applications! Just upload your CV and if you have one, your covering letter (this will help us learn more about you!). If you need them, weve also got some great templates to help you.
 
Youre unique!
Home Group play a big part in tackling prejudice and discrimination, not just for our customers, but colleagues too! You can be yourself here, because we value everything that makes you unique. So, whatever your age, race, sexuality, disability, religion, or gender identity, we recognise and celebrate our differences. Together we make Home Group a great place to work!

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