Finance Benefit Debt Caseworker

About the Role

Working within the Catch22 Justice team (London region) this post presents an exciting opportunity to become a frontline practitioner within our Finance Benefit and Debt (FBD) services. Commissioned by Her Majestys Prison and Prison Service (HMPPS) this service is focused on rehabilitating and supporting adult males exoffenders who have experienced the Criminal Justice System and are currently on probation. Our aim is to understand and address their financial needs by exploring the causes of their finance and debt needs such as their motivations rationale habits behaviours and social capital. In addition looking at how to tackle and address their financial hardships and improve their wellbeing ensuring they are confident to address them independently in the future.

As a Financial Wellbeing Advisor you will be joining an enthusiastic energetic experienced and supportive team with a collaborative and hardworking culture and a passion for social impact.

Working autonomously following standardised processes you will have the opportunity to manage your own caseload of Service Users undertaking the ongoing assessment and management of their individual needs capacity and motivation to rehabilitate. This will include delivering and accessing riskinformed interventions in partnership with local providers to support rehabilitation.

About You

You are exceptionally well organised and process driven. Keeping on top of workloads and following processes effectively in order to clearly communicate information and balance working pressures skilfully. You will help others to do the same in a professional and organised manner to successfully keep on top of a high demand service. You will have the ability to bounce back quickly when encountering inevitable setbacks and during times of high pressure.

Your written output is excellent and you have an eagleeye for detail. You will produce high quality case management entries in a timely way incorporating diverse feedback from a range of voices. You will constantly check back to documentation guidelines or other information sources to ensure that no question or task has been missed.

You will be proactive energetic and a fast learner. You will receive plenty of supervision and guidance and will bring energy curiosity and thoroughness. You will have the opportunity to manage a lot of interesting cases and will gain new skills quickly enhancing both the team and your longterm career. You will have an interest in services that make an impact on peoples lives.

You will be professional and easy to be around There will be periods that require significant amounts of effort to get things done and the learning curve will be steep. You will relish the opportunity to get stuck in and will be professional committed and motivated to our collective success.

Qualifications

Main Duties & Accountabilities

Supporting our service users holistically

• Undertake structured assessments to understand the specific finance benefit and debt (FBD) needs of the service user. Constructing tailored action plans accounting for these needs to aid their rehabilitation based on information provided by their probation officer.
• Support service users to claim the correct benefits gain access to relevant entitlements and manage under/overpayments alongside obtaining a national insurance number personal photo identification birth certificate or other documentation.
• Help service users to access banking and financial services to meet FBD needs through supporting service users to develop online banking skills.

Building working relationships with stakeholders

• Signpost service users to relevant agencies/organisations that will support them with their FBD needs.
• Ensure brilliant solutions come together through the interplay of the FBD team and working closely with FCA Specialist advisors.

Horizon scanning research opportunity scoping and continuous improvement

• Demonstrate proactivity researching services that create opportunities to build a wider support network for service users.
• To share innovative ideas within the team and work collaboratively to help support the development of the service.
• Continuously spot opportunities for our work to be higher quality utilising support to make change happen. For example developing new content with teams and analysing our resources for improvements.

Grow your internal relationships and take Catch22 forward

• Build strong relationships with colleagues in the team and beyond ensuring you seek out opportunities for collaboration across the organisation.

Qualifications :

Qualifications

• Good basic education including Maths and English GCSE or equivalent.
• Skills and experience working with Microsoft Office suite: Word PowerPoint Excel.
• Evidence of continual professional development.
• Desirable: Any qualification relevant to working with those in the Criminal Justice System.

Knowledge

• Experience of working within the Criminal Justice System offenders and/or disadvantaged people.
• Knowledge of how financial issues can impact on reoffending.
• Confidence to incorporate wellbeing strategies within the role to promote emotional resilience and healthy coping mechanisms to support their progress
• Desirable: the importance of risk assessment and management and knowledge of local partners/statutory agencies/associated services.

Skills and Abilities

• A good relationship builder with strong interpersonal skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to write compelling narratives and present engagingly.
• Ability to manage multiple and competing priorities simultaneously and able to manage a process from beginning to end.
• Research skills.

Other

• Share Catch22 values.
• Awareness of and commitment to Equality and Diversity.
• Desire to develop and undertake training as required.
• Willing to travel and work flexibly across London.

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