Citizens Advice Stockport. Debt Admin Support Worker Vacancy Information Pack

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1 Citizens Advice Stockport Debt Admin Support Worker Vacancy Information Pack Closing date: 12 noon Thursday 28 th April 2016 Stockport District CAB is a charity ( ) and a company limited by guarantee ( ). Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN:

2 Citizens Advice Stockport Dear Applicant, Re: Debt Admin Support Worker Thank you for the interest you have expressed in the above position, this is a part time position 18 hours per week and will be based at our Marple Office Citizens Advice Stockport is a well established Citizens Advice, celebrating 77 years of continuous service to residents of Stockport in This pack includes the following information: 1. Background information to the Citizens Advice Service 2. Notes on filling out application 3. Job Description & Person Specification 4. Application Form 5. Monitoring Form Deadline for completed application forms to be returned to Chair chair@stockportcab.org.uk or post to Citizens Advice Stockport, Fred Perry House, Edward Street, Stockport SK1 3XE marked private & confidential. The closing date for a completed application (CV s will not be accepted) is Thursday 28 th April 2016 by 12 noon, applications received after this time and date will not be considered. Interviews to be held on Wednesday 4 th May Yours sincerely Chair of Trustee Board

3 Background notes on the Citizens Advice service The Citizens Advice service works to fulfill two aims: to ensure that individuals do not suffer through lack of knowledge of their rights and responsibilities or of the services available to them, or through an inability to express their needs effectively and equally to exercise a responsible influence on the development of social policies and services, both locally and nationally. The advice given by bureaux is free, independent, impartial and confidential. The service is non-judgmental, offering assistance as appropriate to all clients. It aims to be equally accessible to everyone who seeks or needs its help, regardless of age, class, race, religion, gender, disability or sexuality. All advice workers, whether paid or volunteer, are professionally trained to provide an accurate, quality service and to be supportive to clients. The Citizens Advice service works to: inform people about the law and how it affects them; about their rights and responsibilities; and about how they may be able to satisfy their needs advise people on the options available to them and on the potential consequences of different courses of action support people as they consider and decide what to do, listening to their concerns and helping them move forward assist people in pursuing their chosen course of action by negotiation, representation and referral to other sources of help needed influence those responsible for policies and services by bringing to their notice the problems people experience and recommending changes Citizens Advice deal with around 5.5 million new problems a year, giving detailed information, advice and support to people on every subject. The majority of problems concern benefits, debt and other consumer issues, employment, housing and the law. Citizens Advice is delivered from nearly 3000 locations across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 20,000 volunteers work in the bureaux, together with paid staff including bureau managers and specialist advisers. Together they provide the largest advice giving network in the UK. Each bureau is a separate charity managed by its own trustee board, and must meet membership quality standards in order to affiliate to Citizens Advice. The national association, Citizens Advice, provides a range of services to support bureaux in their work:

4 these include the website which advisers use to give advice, training, field support, quality audits, social policy, press and publicity, parliamentary liaison and information technology. Local authorities are the biggest source of bureau funding but provide less than 50% of the total, with the balance provided by a range of funders including the Lottery, charitable trusts, companies and individuals.

5 Guidance Notes For Applicants Application form Please complete your application and return it (as a Word document) by to chair@stockportcab.org.uk or by post to Chair, Stockport District CAB, Fred Perry House, Edward Street, Stockport SK1 3XE, marked private and confidential. All applications should be returned no later than the closing date referred to in the advert. If you return your application by there is no requirement to send a hard copy in the post. CVs will not be accepted as a substitute for the application form, unless specifically stated in the advert. The application form plays a key part in our recruitment and selection process. We use the information you provide about your skills, experience, career and education history to decide whether or not to invite you for an interview. It is important that you complete the application form as fully and accurately as possible, ensuring that you give specific examples which demonstrate how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for the role for which you are applying. Disability Please let us know if you require any adjustments to be made to the application process or would like to provide any information you wish us to take into account when we are considering your application. If you are selected for interview, we will ask you to let us know if you have any access needs or may require reasonable adjustments to the interview or assessment (if applicable) at that stage. Please be assured that we will be supportive in discussing reasonable adjustments with you at any stage of the recruitment and selection process. Entitlement to work in the UK A job offer will be subject to confirmation that you are permitted to work in the UK in accordance with the provisions of the Asylum and Immigration Act You will be asked to provide evidence of your entitlement to work in the UK if you are successful and an offer of employment is made. Please note that Citizens Advice Stockport does not hold a sponsor license and, therefore, cannot issue certificates of sponsorship under the points-based system. Diversity Monitoring Citizens Advice Stockport values diversity and promotes equality. We encourage and welcome applications from suitably skilled candidates from all backgrounds. Monitoring recruitment and selection procedures is one way of helping us to ensure that there is no unfair discrimination in the way that we recruit people. To do this we need to know about the diversity profile of people who apply for posts at Citizens Advice Stockport. This information is given in confidence for monitoring purposes only and is not seen by anyone responsible for making recruitment decisions. However, if you would prefer not to answer any of the questions we ask, please leave them blank.

6 Information, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities This is a key section of the application form which allows you to provide evidence of your experience, knowledge, skills and abilities that are relevant to the role as described in the role profile. Selection is based on an assessment of the evidence you provide against the requirements of the role as set out in the person specification. It is important that you tailor your response to clearly demonstrate how you meet each requirement. No assumptions will be made about your achievements and abilities. Please provide one example for each requirement. You should choose examples of past experience that clearly demonstrate what we are looking for, and be precise about what you did, how you did it and the outcome or result of your actions. Please try to limit your response to each criterion to a maximum of 200 words. A useful guide might be S.T.A.R: Specific give a specific example Task briefly describe the task/objective/problem Action tell us what you did Results describe what results were achieved Please provide recent work examples wherever possible. However, do remember that relevant examples from other aspects of your life, for example: voluntary or unpaid work, school or college work, family or home responsibilities, can also be given. Shortlisting outcomes Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview. Some positions may require additional assessments (practical task/test or assessment centre). If this is the case, you will have received details with the application pack - further details will be provided if you are shortlisted. References All job offers are subject to the receipt of two satisfactory references: One should be from your current or most recent employer or line manager (if you are employed through an agency), or your course tutor if you have just left full time education. The other should be someone who knows you in a work related, voluntary or academic capacity. Both referees should be able to comment on your suitability for the role. References will only be taken up for successful candidates following interview. Criminal convictions Anyone who applies to work within Citizens Advice Stockport will be asked to disclose details of unspent convictions during the recruitment process. Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working for Citizens Advice Stockport much will depend on the type of job you have applied for and the background and circumstances of your offence. However, we are not able to employ anyone with a

7 conviction for a sexual offence against a child or vulnerable adult, regardless of when the office took place. All other convictions will be considered on an individual basis. Criminal Records Bureau Disclosures are only requested where proportionate and relevant to the post concerned. If the post for which you are applying for requires a CRB Disclosure, this will be noted in the application pack.

8 Job title: Debt Advice Support Worker Stockport District Citizens Advice Job description Reporting to: Chief Officer & DSM Grade: NJC point 19 Salary 8939 (full time equivalent is 18,376) plus 7% pension contribution Hours: 18 hours per week Location: Stockport District Citizens Advice Marple Bureau. Role purpose: To provide an office based support service for debt casework across the District. Main work areas and tasks: 1. Work alongside the debt caseworker to support and participate in planning and scheduling work and to manage the appointments diary. 2. Act as first point of contact and to initiate communications with debt clients and third parties about debt casework by letter, telephone, fax and Administer debt casework documentation, including preparing financial statements and correspondence with creditors, managing correspondence, organising and filing case documentation, and adding entries to electronic client case records. 4. Prepare statistical reports on debt case outputs and outcomes for the purposes of monitoring and evaluation for Citizens Advice or other relevant agencies. 5. Input client information onto Citizens Advice data base and case management system. 6. Experience of and ability to use mail merge. 7. Contribute to general administrative support for the advice service at the Marple bureau. 8. Any other duties, appropriate to the grade of the post, assigned by the Chief Officer to support the administration of the District.

9 Stockport District CAB Person specification Job title: Debt Advice Support Worker Essential 1. Previous office-based administrative work experience demonstrating excellent organisational skills. 2. High level of skill in using Microsoft Word, and evidence of competence in using other software packages including mail merge and data base. 3. Ability and willingness to work flexibly as part of a small team. 4. Ability to research, analyse and interpret information. 5. Ability to monitor and maintain personal work standards. 6. Ability to prioritise workload and to work unsupervised. 7. Evidence of effective written and oral communication skills, and the ability to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds 8. Evidence of numeracy skills. 9. Understanding of and commitment to the aims and principles of the CAB service and CAB equal opportunities policy. 10. Understanding of social issues, including personal debt problems, and their implication for CAB clients and the CAB service. 11. Willingness to participate in training and development opportunities. 12. Willingness to travel to occasional meetings within the District or elsewhere.

10 Important information Deadline for completed application forms 12 noon Thursday 28 th April 2016 Interviews to be held on Wednesday 4 th May 2016 CV s will not be accepted Completed applications to be returned to : chair@stockportcab.org.uk Mark private and confidential and to: Chair Citizens Advice Stockport Fred Perry House Edward Street Stockport SK1 3XE