Client Finance Officer

London Borough of Sutton; Sutton; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in the UK is seeking a Client Finance Officer to manage welfare benefits for vulnerable service users. This role involves acting as a corporate appointee and working closely with social workers. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills, empathy, and the ability to work in a small team. Duties include providing support on finance issues and ensuring compliance with legislation. Flexibility is required with mandatory office days every Thursday, plus another day as advised.

Qualifications

• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
• Ability to deal with members of the public in a sympathetic and tactful manner.
• Must be physically able to visit people in their own homes.

Responsibilities

• Act as a corporate appointee for welfare benefits.
• Work closely with service users, social workers, and support workers.
• Provide high quality support on welfare benefit and client finance issues.

Skills

Communication skills

Empathy

Teamwork

IT literacy

Organizational skills

Job description

About the Role and our Ideal Candidate

As the Client Finance Officer you will act as a corporate appointee for welfare benefits and also a court appointed deputy for certain vulnerable service users in accordance with Council procedures. Key roles will include working with service users, social workers and support workers to ensure that all service users receive their full benefit entitlement and providing training and guidance to staff on welfare benefits and financial procedures. You will work closely with the Social workers and where appropriate Housing Finance Rent Recovery Teams to ensure that appointees in owned and managed properties do not accrue rent arrears and are up to date paying any care fees.

To act as corporate appointee and court appointed deputy for a caseload of specified vulnerable service users and ensure that all financial arrangements are properly documented and managed.

Keep abreast of legislation and guidelines issued by the Department of Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and the Public Guardianship Office, and implement accordingly.

To provide high quality support to service users and staff on welfare benefit and client finance issues.

You need to be able to manage your caseload well, get to know your client base and trends in their finances. You will be prioritising key tasks regularly.

Be a team player - the team is relatively small so you should be able to be flexible enough to support team colleagues with their work and your line manager with ad hoc tasks where required.

Note that there are 2 mandatory office days, you will be required to work from the office every Thursday and also another day as advised by your line manager.

About you

• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively
• Ability to deal with members of the public in a sympathetic and tactful manner, often in a stressful situation.
• Able to prepare & present stats
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload
• Ability to work as part of a small team and be a team player.
• Ability to work with multiple agencies such as Housing Benefits / DWP, to deliver services for customers
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers and understand their needs, often in emotional and sensitive situations. Empathy & a good understanding of the issues faced by customers, e.g. vulnerable people
• Good level of IT literacy.
• Must be physically able to visit people in their own homes including properties that can only be accessed by stairs.

About Us

The Shared Finance Service ambition is to add value, inspire success and this role is part of the Shared Finance Service (SFS) team collectively responsible for delivering SFS activities to realise this ambition.

The Client Finance Team sits within the Adult Social Care Finance Hub. There are two other teams within this hub. The client Finance Team comprises of Appointeeship and deputyship functions, and protection of property functions. We currently have 4 staff within this team.

As the Client Finance Officer you will act as a corporate appointee for welfare benefits for certain vulnerable service users in accordance with Council procedures as well as a court appointed Deputy.