Team Leader - Crisis and Resilience Fund Project

Derbyshire County Council; East Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

Derbyshire Welfare Rights Service, part of Derbyshire County Council, is recruiting a Team Leader for the Crisis Resilience Fund Project. The role leads a team delivering practical benefits support and casework to pension-age residents across Derbyshire, ensuring timely benefit claims, income maximisation and access to wider financial assistance.

You will supervise Benefit Support Workers, oversee workloads, coach staff, and drive service improvements while collaborating with Welfare Benefits

Qualifications

• Experience of supervising or managing staff
• Ability to allocate and monitor workloads
• Experience in coaching, mentoring and performance management
• Strong organisational and communication skills

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership and supervision for the Benefit Support Workers team across Derbyshire
• Plan and coordinate work activities, monitor quality and resolve operational issues
• Support recruitment activities and drive service improvements and new procedures
• Use performance data to identify opportunities for improvement and inform decision‑making
• Build and maintain relationships with partner organisations to support project delivery

Job description

Closing date: 11 October 2026

Team Leader - Crisis and Resilience Fund Project

Closing date for applications: Sunday 11 October 2026

Provisional Interview Date: 28 October 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join Derbyshire Welfare Rights Service as a Team Leader within our new Crisis Resilience Project. This is a key leadership role within an ambitious countywide programme that aims to improve financial resilience, reduce poverty, and maximise income for pension-age residents across Derbyshire.

The Crisis Resilience Project is funded through the Government's Crisis and Resilience Fund and will provide targeted support to older residents who may be experiencing financial hardship, missing out on benefit entitlement, or struggling to access the support available to them. Through proactive engagement, benefit claims support, and income maximisation activity, the project will help residents improve their financial wellbeing and maintain independence.

As Team Leader, you will lead a team of Benefit Support Workers who provide practical benefits support and casework to pension-age residents across Derbyshire. You will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of a high-quality, responsive, and effective service, whilst supporting staff to achieve excellent outcomes for clients. The role involves planning and coordinating work activities, managing performance, allocating workloads, monitoring quality, and resolving operational issues using sound judgement and decision-making.

A key focus of the role will be ensuring that residents receive timely support to claim benefits, maximise income, and access wider financial assistance. You will work closely with Welfare Benefits Officers and Senior Welfare Benefits Officers who provide specialist advice, casework, and appeal representation, ensuring a joined‑up approach to supporting clients and achieving project objectives.

You will provide day‑to‑day leadership and supervision for the team, supporting staff development through coaching, mentoring, regular supervision, and performance management. You will help create a positive and supportive team culture where learning, continuous improvement, and excellent customer service are at the heart of everything we do. The role will also involve supporting recruitment activities, implementing service improvements, developing operational processes, and ensuring that service standards are maintained.

Working alongside managers and project partners, you will contribute to the successful delivery of a significant countywide initiative. You will use data, performance information, and operational insight to identify opportunities for improvement and support effective decision‑making. You will also build and maintain effective relationships with colleagues, partner organisations, and stakeholders across Derbyshire to support successful project delivery.

We are looking for a motivated leader with a strong background in customer‑focused services and welfare benefits. You will have experience of supervising or managing staff, allocating and monitoring workloads, supporting staff development, and maintaining high standards of service delivery. Experience of working with older people, vulnerable residents, carers, or individuals facing financial hardship would be particularly valuable.

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong organisational and communication skills, excellent judgement, and the ability to motivate and develop people. You will be confident managing competing priorities, embracing change, and working collaboratively across teams and organisations to achieve the best possible outcomes for residents.

This role would suit someone who is passionate about helping people, enjoys leading teams, and wants to play a key role in delivering services that make a genuine difference to people's lives. It offers an excellent opportunity to combine operational leadership with meaningful, person‑centred work that directly supports older residents across Derbyshire.

Travel across Derbyshire may be required as part of the role. Hybrid working arrangements will be considered subject to service need.

These posts are funded through the Government's Crisis and Resilience Fund and are fixed‑term until 31 March 2029.

Please refer to the Job and Person Profile for full details of the knowledge, skills, and experience required. Applicants are strongly encouraged to demonstrate clearly within their personal statement how they meet each of the essential criteria.

This post requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check due to regular contact with vulnerable adults and/or children. A criminal record will not necessarily prevent appointment, as each case will be considered individually.

Provisional interview date - 28 October 2026