We have an exciting opportunity for you to join Citizens Advice Oxfordshire working as a Generalist Locality Adviser.

You will be working as part of the Oxfordshire Advice Partnership, which is made up of Age UK Oxfordshire, Citizens Advice Oxfordshire,Citizens Advice West Northants and Cherwell, Oxfordshire Welfare Rights, Agnes Smith Advice Centre, Barton Advice Centre, and Rosehill and Donnington Advice Centre. The service is jointly funded by Oxfordshire County Council Adult Social Care and Child, Education and Families, and Public Health. It is focussed on meeting the needs of people living in Oxfordshire who are made more vulnerable by illness or disability, such as

• older people
• adults with learning disabilities
• adults with mental health problems
• adults with physical and sensory impairments
• adult and young carers
• young people aged 16+ with learning difficulties and or physical disabilities
• families with young children (particularly those with disabled children)

The overall aim of the service is to support people to live their lives as independently, successfully and safely as possible within the community by maximising income, helping to make the best use of the money available to them and managing debt, which will improve people’s choice and control and enhance wellbeing
As part of a team of Generalist Advisers and a wider team of Triage Advisers and Caseworkers you will receive referrals from the Triage team to provide generalist advice, with a particular focus on benefits advice and basic money advice. You will assist clients with benefits checks, completing forms, financial capability such as budgeting, and refer cases on to the caseworker team where casework is required. Callers who may be able to obtain assistance from another, more appropriate agency or service will be signposted on to other sources of help.
You will be based in the locality and where required offer face to face appointments at one of our advice centres, or at an outreach location as appropriate. You will also be required to support the Triage team to help with managing fluctuations in demand and waiting times.
Referrals will be made via the Oxfordshire Advice Navigator website, which will provide signposting resources to trusted websites and services. Where the client seeks a service, they will complete the online form which will populate a common task list. Callers to the helpline will be asked to leave a voicemail which will also be added to the tasklist for call backs. These will be triaged by the Triage Advisers and added to a county tasklist for the generalist advisers.

KEY WORK AREAS AND TASKS:

All clients will access the service via the dedicated website, telephone number or by email, and all contacts will be listed on a common task list for advisers to action. The service will provide:-

• An eligibility check
• Initial diagnosis of issues
• Self-help e.g. access to how to and advice guides, leaflets and internet based advice
• Assisted Information. Clients will be given supported information on how to progress their issue by the Triage team to help with managing fluctuations in demand and waiting times.
• Referrals will be made via the Oxfordshire Advice Navigator website, which will provide signposting resources to trusted websites and services. Where the client seeks a service, they will complete the online form which will populate a common task list. Callers to the helpline will be asked to leave a voicemail which will also be added to the tasklist for call backs. These will be triaged by the Triage Advisers and added to a county tasklist for the generalist advisers.
• Onward referral to locality based advisers or caseworkers for full advice where appropriate, and for face to face or home visits if required.
• Where advice required is in an area outside in the remit of this project callers will be referred to the most appropriate local service.
• Receive referrals through the county task list for the projects locality based generalist advisers.
• Taking into consideration the client’s ability to take the next step themselves, the complexity of the problem and the project resources, offer generalist advice and support, including form completion. This should be done remotely where possible, or face to face appointments and home visits where appropriate and necessary.
• Refer to the project’s caseworkers where it becomes clear that we need to take action on behalf of the client, or provide complex casework such as debt advice.
• Refer clients appropriately (both internally and externally) to suit client’s needs following agreed protocols, including making arrangements and informing clients of what to expect.
• Signpost clients appropriately, following agreed protocols.
• Use the Citizens Advice website and the Oxfordshire Advice Navigator website to find, interpret and communicate the relevant information.
• Refer to other specialist agencies as appropriate.
• Ensure that all work conforms to the Citizens Advice West Oxfordshire office manual and the Citizens Advice quality standard / Legal Services Commission’s Quality Mark / other funding requirements, as appropriate.
• Ensure that work reflects and supports the Citizens Advice service equality and diversity strategy.
• Maintain detailed case records for the purpose of continuity of casework, information retrieval, statistical monitoring and report preparation.

For full details of the role including , How to Apply , please visit our website
https://www.caox.org.uk/
Job Type: Part-time
Pay: £25,848.00-£26,396.00 per year
Expected hours: 12 per week

Benefits:

• Company pension

Work Location: In perso

You will be working as part of the Oxfordshire Advice Partnership, which is made up of Age UK Oxfordshire, Citizens Advice Oxfordshire,Citizens Advice West Northants and Cherwell, Oxfordshire Welfare Rights, Agnes Smith Advice Centre, Barton Advice Centre, and Rosehill and Donnington Advice Centre. The service is jointly funded by Oxfordshire County Council Adult Social Care and Child, Education and Families, and Public Health. It is focussed on meeting the needs of people living in Oxfordshire who are made more vulnerable by illness or disability, such as

• older people
• adults with learning disabilities
• adults with mental health problems
• adults with physical and sensory impairments
• adult and young carers
• young people aged 16+ with learning difficulties and or physical disabilities
• families with young children (particularly those with disabled children