Job Introduction

Job Title:               Welfare Benefit & Debt Advice Officer

Salary:                   £29,400 - £32,550

Contract:               Permanent

Location:               Northwest

Weekly Hours:      35

So…. What is this role exactly?

This is an exciting opportunity for a Welfare Benefit & Debt Advice Officer to join our Money Advice Team covering the Greater Manchester area.

Our money advice team provide essential support to customers who find themselves in financial difficulty and are often vulnerable in other ways, they are real problem solvers and are offer a lifeline to our customers who are most in need.

We are looking for someone who has proven experience of delivering welfare benefits advice in a housing or public sector setting, has a positive and can-do attitude and is focused on securing great outcomes for customers and providing an excellent service.

What will my working week look like? 

No two weeks will be the same! You will be provided with a caseload of customer benefit and debt enquiries to manage independently. Some of your work will be completed by phone, remote working and other customers may require face to face support. You will work closely with customers who are vulnerable financially and often vulnerable for other reasons. We are looking for someone to cover the Greater Manchester area primarily, however this may vary based on business need.

What will I be responsible for doing?

There is an increasing demand for the YHG Money Advice Service in response to the cost of-living crisis and you will need to demonstrate resilience working in a demanding and challenging environment.

Your role will involve managing a varied workload, ensuring the effective prioritisation of cases and vulnerable customers, and managing your caseload.

You will liaise with other local service providers and partner organisations to provide the best possible outcomes for a broad range of financial and benefit issues facing our customers.

And what would make me stand out from the crowd?

To be a successful Welfare Benefit & Debt Advice Officer, here at YHG, you will be….

• A practising Welfare Benefit & Debt Advice Officer with at least 2 years’ experience.
• Skilled in effectively managing a customer caseload.
• Able to explore and resolve complex benefit queries.
• Passionate about customer service and outcomes for customers.
• A strong communicator with a high level of attention to detail and enjoy working as part of a fast- paced team.

Ideally you will …. 

• Have excellent customer care skills.
• Be well organised, self-motivated and a problem solver.
• Have strong communication and interpersonal skills.

This role is really suited to someone who can understand our customers and their circumstances, someone who isn’t afraid to ask questions, and through professional curiosity, can get to the underlying issues, someone who will make our customers feel supported and work with them to find solutions.

If you feel this could be the right role for you, we would love to hear from you!

Please check out the role profile, which is attached/available by visiting the vacancy on Your Housing Group’s website - www.yourhousinggroup.co.uk/careers.

That all sounds great, what’s in it for me?

In return we offer £29,400 - £32,550 for a 35-hour week, and 25 days annual leave (holidays also increase with time served) plus Bank Holidays, but our employee offering provides much more than just a competitive salary and holiday allowance.

We trust our people to manage their own diaries, if you need time for an appointment, the school run or an exercise class, as long as it fits with business needs, we’re open to what works for you too. And when you need to collaborate with your team, you can visit Youggle House – our wellbeing, social, collaboration and meeting space, in Birchwood, Warrington.

On top of this, we’ll provide you with a great benefits package, including a contributory pension where we match whatever you choose to contribute (up to 8%), an advanced level Healthcare cash plan through BHSF, that doesn’t just provide dental and optician cashback but also health and wellbeing benefits (such as 24/7 GP Access, money back from prescriptions and alternative therapy treatments) and an amazing discount scheme that gives you access to half price cinema tickets, subsidised gym memberships and a huge range of discounts with some of the biggest high street and online names.

For more of our great benefits, please see the benefits information sheet attached/ available by visiting the vacancy on Your Housing Group’s career’s website - www.yourhousinggroup.co.uk/careers.

And who are Your Housing Group?

Your Housing Group is a registered social landlord helping people at every stage of life to live in quality homes they can afford.

As one of the North’s sector-leading landlords, we are proud to play our role in tackling the UK's housing crisis by continually reinvesting in our 29,000 properties and tailoring our services to meet the diverse needs of our customers. We also build over 1,000 new homes each year.

We’re an employer of choice, over 88% of colleagues here recommend us as a 'great place to work'.

Additions

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 and therefore as part of the Group’s pre-employment checks, successful applicants will be required to complete a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check.

Closing Date: 27^th November 2024 

We review applications as they’re received and reserve the right to close this advert early; if you’re interested, please apply ASAP to avoid disappointment.

Your Housing Group values diversity and encourages applications from all communities. Your Housing Group operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for any applicants who declare they have a disability, if these applicants meet the minimum requirements for the role (as set out in the role profile and/or person specification) they will be guaranteed an interview.  Your Housing Group welcomes applications from our customers, however, access to confidential information and probity will be explored to determine whether there is a potential conflict of interest or security issue present which may prevent the Group from being able to proceed with the application. YHG2

Your Housing Group