An exciting opportunity to work part-time in mental health services as a welfare benefits adviser and caseworker. You will be a very experienced welfare benefits caseworker who wants to work in a supportive and inclusive team environment providing a telephone and face to face welfare benefits advice and casework service to NHS mental health service users.

Main duties of the job

To provide welfare benefits advice and advocacy to our Service Users to claim all benefits to which they are entitled and follow through to decision reviews, mandatory reconsideration and appeals/tribunals. We are an extremely busy department with a high level of referrals, dealing with complex welfare benefits case work.

You will be required to travel as the post can be operational from any site within the Trust which includes Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Beckenham, depending on referral requirements.

You will be expected to undertake your work with a high level of autonomy, carrying responsibility for a complex case load and statistical record keeping.

About us

Benefits:

We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family. We want you to feel like you are part of a close knit team at SLaM. It's important to us that you feel valued and appreciated and that is why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offer.

Some of our benefits are highlighted here:

• Generous pay, pensions and leave, we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
• Work life balance, flexible working and supporting a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
• Career development, There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes
• Car lease, our staff benefit from competitive deals to lease cars
• Accommodation, our staff benefit from keyworker housing which is available on selected sites
• NHS discounts, with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands through Health Service Discounts website.

Other benefits include:

• Counselling services
• Wellbeing events
• Long service awards
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Childcare vouchers
• Staff restaurants

Job description

Job responsibilities

• To manage a complex case load, prioritising levels of personal and other interventions in a way which ensures each service users needs are appropriately met and their benefits maximised
• To gain sensitive information from service users regarding their income and health in order to make successful claims
• To maintain accurate and up to date casework records in accordance with advice quality service accreditation and record statistics as required
• To train and support other disciplines to provide appropriate advice and advocacy to service users with less complex needs
• To maintain up to date knowledge of best practice and legislative changes within the field of welfare rights
• To build partnerships with other agencies and groups in order to enhance the capacity available to the Trust in delivering this work
• To ensure all staff teams are informed of changes in legislation and briefed on the particular implications these have on service users
• To be self-administrating and able to access and use various modes of communications such as websites, newsletters and professional publications.

Person Specification

Education

Essential

• English and Maths GCSE pass

Desirable

• A degree or relevant qualification in advice work/welfare rights/law

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Significant recent experience in providing welfare benefits advice and casework

Desirable

• Experience of providing welfare benefits advice in a mental health setting

Skills

Essential

• Knowledge of welfare benefit laws
• Ability to communicate in writing and orally to a high standard
• To have a good understanding of IT packages
• To be able to work independently and part of a team
• To be able to demonstrate an understanding of issues related to mental health and the link between poverty and ill health

Desirable

• Knowledge of welfare benefits laws, particularly those most relevant to patients with mental health problems

Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Bethlem Royal Hospital

Monks Orchard Rd

Beckenham

BR3 3BX

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

334-SOU-5559074-FR