Advice Caseworker

**Advice Caseworker (Tendring)**:
**17 hours per week Salary £11,220 pa**:
**Fixed term for 1 year**:
Age Well East is a values-driven organisation with a passion for making the greatest difference to people by supporting and empowering them to live happier and healthier lives. We are looking for an Advice Caseworker to work with us with flexible working hours and hybrid working available. In return, you will receive a competitive salary of £11,220 pa.

**Our Vision**:
To be the go-to place for people to feel connected, informed and included as they grow older.

**Our Values**:

- Trust
- Excellence
- Community

We have gone through significant growth since 2017 and provide a wide range of high-quality services across Essex. Each year we support thousands of people through advice and information; befriending; emotional support services; and friendship groups and activities. Our long-term ambition is to continue to grow so that we can make a difference to lives of people across Essex by continuing to develop our services and look for new areas of innovation.

**What do we offer?**:
Age Well East is growing our reach and activity because of the high demand for support. It is an exciting time to be a part of what we are doing, and this opportunity is about genuinely making a big difference to people. We take great pride in what we do, who we help and how we transform lives.

Benefits include:

- 24 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, plus a birthday day and closure between Christmas and New Year (all leave is pro-rated accordingly for part-time)
- 5% Employer Pension Contribution
- Health Assured health package
- Death in Service Benefit
- Virtual GP Service
- Generous sickness benefit (after qualifying period)
- Free on-site parking (head office)

**Location**:
Hybrid working with a base in Tendring, with some travel and visits to our head office in Colchester.

**The Advice Caseworker Role**:
To advise and support people across Tendring ensuring that clients and their family members receive assistance in a timely and effective way. Utilising experience of delivering advice across a range of settings the Adviser will also build, maintain, and extend successful relationships with internal and external partners and empower clients to maintain choice and independence over the decisions which matter to them.

**Main Duties and Responsibilities**:

- Caseload management.
- Identification and assessment of needs for welfare benefits, housing, care and wider issues with relation to income and health circumstances.
- Assessment of housing, care, and wider advice issues upon receipt of referrals.
- Working collaboratively with clients, family members where appropriate to support problem solving and evaluate potential solutions.
- Supporting clients to access services and entitlements which will where appropriate support independent living.
- Supporting clients with the resolution of complex cases for benefits including reconsiderations and appeals and issues relating to care and housing.
- Supporting clients and family members living with the impacts of disability to claim blue badge disability parking permits through the Local Authority digital system.
- Delivering a person-centred approach to advice & welfare utilising the most appropriate channel of support for differing stages of the advice journey.
- Working proactively to identify and develop relationships with partner agencies effective for improving holistic support for clients and their families.
- Use of CRM to create and record case details.
- Liaison with clients to capture stories and case studies.

**What we are looking for**:
**Essential**:

- Experience of providing advice within a benefits, housing, or care environment.
- Experience of managing safeguarding issues under supervision of a senior team.
- Experience of using information technology including Microsoft packages and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to record data.
- Experience of working in a way which adheres to confidentiality and data protection legislation.
- Communication skills.
- Interpersonal skills
- Record keeping skills and attention to detail.
- Time management skills.
- Empathetic and supportive.
- Driving license and access to own vehicle.

**Desirable**:

- Health, social care, or voluntary sector experience of supporting people.
- Experience of delivering training within a group setting.
- Experience of and ability to build strong partnerships and networks.
- Experience of providing informal advocacy for people in relation to benefits, housing or care issues.
- Ability to involve people with lived experience of ill health, disability, or financial exclusion to share their personal stories and experiences to help shape and develop the service.
- Qualifications and/or training in advice including welfare benefits, housing and/or care.