Essence Information and Advice Officer

J O B V A C A N C Y

Essence Information and Advice Officer

Permanent Position

17.5 hours per week, £21,658 per annum (pro rata)

We are looking for a highly organised, self-motivated Information and Advice Officer with excellent communication skills and a wide knowledge and experience of attaining welfare benefits to achieve income maximisation for older people and their carers who are living with a mild to moderate dementia diagnosis.

At AUKS, not only can you expect a competitive salary, generous annual leave and pension entitlement, you can also expect to be supported in your ongoing personal development and work alongside people who are passionate about supporting older people to achieve good mental and physical wellbeing.

**Must drive and have access to a car for work purposes.**

Key working Relationships:

- AUKS Client Services Manager / AUKS Essence Manager and service staff
- Statutory and Community VCS providers
- Older people
- Carers and Carer Organisations
- Other clinical and non-traditional provider groups as required

**Background**:
After a dementia diagnosis, the Essence Service is the first port of call for people in Sunderland with mild to moderate dementia and those who care for them.

Age UK Sunderland is working in partnership across the city of Sunderland to provide this free dedicated service for people with mild to moderate dementia and their carers.

The service offers a wide range of practical support by giving information in areas around health, wellbeing and legal issues while ensuring people are aware of how to access services that are of benefit to them.

**The I&A Officer post**:

- The Essence I&A Officer will be responsible for providing first tier advice on all welfare benefits for people with mild to moderate dementia and their carers, whilst managing a caseload of individuals supporting the self-management of their needs.
- The post holder will work closely with the Essence support workers in the identification of referrals to Information & Advice
- The post holder will also identify unpaid carers and enable access to appropriate services.

**Key Responsibilities**:
The post holder will be an excellent communicator and develop a wide knowledge of the services offered by non-traditional providers in the Sunderland area. The post holder will require strong organisational skills, must be flexible in approach, able to exercise initiative and demonstrate a consistently high standard of professionalism, being aware of the need for confidentiality and integrity.

**Tasks**:

- Provide accurate and timely advice on the entitlement of all welfare benefits, keeping up to date with changes in legislation.
- Adhere to necessary administrative and information systems in line with AUKS recommendations.
- If appropriate to act on behalf of and with the permission of clients, including correspondence, filling in forms and seeking information from third parties.
- To carry out home visits, deal with telephone enquiries and appointments.
- To organise I&A surgeries as and when necessary on and off site.
- To signpost and make referrals where appropriate to other organisations.
- Provide information to support any quality assurance or inspection frameworks as and when required.
- To develop and maintain links with other information and advice service providers within the city of Sunderland
- Participate in the independent file review process.

**Information and Data**:

- To be proficient in using Microsoft Office packages and other identified IT systems, supporting other team members in their use
- To record relevant client documentation on identified IT systems as required
- Facility for learning new software packages which may be in continued development
- Support completion of client referrals, record electronically and feedback to team members
- Ensure the adherence to KPI service targets
- Extract caseload information from the client database as required, and undertake analysis of caseload information for audit and performance management purposes, including running reports and converting data into charts and tables for sharing with the team
- Input client contact data onto the client information management system e.g. Charity Log updating client details where necessary and periodically use reports to ensure client details are correct in line with GDPR
- Be responsible for updating the electronic service directory on a regular basis, sourcing referral criteria and ensuring these are accessible to all relevant parties in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements

**Client Support**:

- Ensure older people’s requirements are managed smoothly with no fragmentation in service delivery.
- Ensure appropriate actions from referrals to the service are completed in a timely fashion
- Communicate with professionals and members of key partners maintaining and developing partnerships as required
- Communicate effectively with members of the public, older people an