Housing & Welfare Benefits Caseworker

Coventry Citizens Advice; Coventry; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

Coventry Citizens Advice is seeking a Housing & Welfare Benefits Caseworker to provide specialist, person-centred support to High Intensity Users of emergency and crisis services in Coventry.

Based at Coventry Citizens Advice offices with outreach work and regular travel to hospital sites, you will deliver practical early intervention, advocacy and coordinated support to improve housing and financial stability and reduce crisis presentations.

Qualifications

• Experience in housing, welfare benefits or financial wellbeing support.
• Excellent interpersonal and advocacy skills.
• Ability to work with partner agencies and meet agreed targets.

Responsibilities

• Provide casework support on housing, welfare benefits and financial wellbeing.
• Offer early intervention, advocacy and coordinated support to HIU individuals.
• Collaborate with partners and health/social care services to address underlying issues.

Job description

Salary £31,723 per annum (with progression within the salary scale up to £32,723 per annum)

Contract 6 months fixed term. Funded by NHS Coventry & Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) as part of the Neighbourhood Health Investment Programme. Potential for extension subject to continued funding and evidence of the pilot project’s impact.

Hours Full time (37 hours per week)

Responsible to Health & Wellbeing Project Manager

Working with REACH HIU Mental Health Caseworkers, Rethink Mental Illness, NHS Trusts, Emergency Departments, Ambulance Services, Primary Care Networks, the High Intensity Unit, Local Authority Housing teams, Housing Providers, Debt Advice services, Social Care, and other Neighbourhood Health and VCSE partners

Based at Coventry Citizens Advice offices and outreach work, with regular travel to hospital sites, the High Intensity Unit and partner meetings across Coventry

Job Purpose

The Housing & Welfare Benefits Caseworker will provide specialist, person-centred housing, welfare benefits and financial wellbeing casework support, to individuals identified as High Intensity Users (HIU) of emergency and crisis services in Coventry.

The REACH High Intensity User Crisis Prevention and Wellbeing Service is a specialised, non-clinical programme supporting individuals who frequently attend hospital Emergency Departments or rely heavily on crisis and ambulance services. The service recognises that housing insecurity, homelessness, financial hardship, welfare benefit problems, debt, fuel poverty, social isolation and other wider determinants of health can contribute to an individual’s distress, instability and repeated crisis presentations.

The postholder will provide practical early intervention, advice, advocacy, navigation and coordinated support to help individuals address these underlying issues, improve their housing and financial stability, and reduce the risk of further crisis presentations. Working alongside HIU Mental Health Caseworkers and the wider REACH Mental Health Alliance, the postholder will contribute to a holistic, whole-person approach that addresses practical and social circumstances alongside mental health and wellbeing needs.

The service is delivered through the REACH Mental Health Alliance, of which Coventry Citizens Advice is a partner, with funding provided through Rethink Mental Illness as lead partner. The post is funded by NHS Coventry & Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) as part of the Neighbourhood Health Investment Programme for an initial six-month pilot period, with a possible extension if the project success can be evidenced. The pilot will be reviewed to assess its impact, including its contribution to reducing pressure on and avoidable presentations to emergency services. Any continuation beyond the initial period will be subject to the outcome of the review and the availability of further funding.

Although the role is focused on the REACH HIU service, the postholder will also work as part of the wider Coventry Citizens Advice Health & Wellbeing team, maintaining a broad working knowledge of Citizens Advice, advice areas, appropriate to their training and competence and contributing to wider service delivery where required.

Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis.

We reserve the right to withdraw this job advert early if we find the candidate.

We will review the applications in an ongoing basis. We will try our best to work with the candidates availabilities when offering an interview.