Team Leader - Crisis and Resilience Fund Project

Derbyshire County Council; Matlock; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous Annual Leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Training and Development

Wellbeing Support

Travel expenses (where required)

Cycle to Work Scheme

Rewards and discounts

Job summary

Derbyshire County Council is seeking a Team Leader for the Crisis Resilience Fund Project within the Derbyshire Welfare Rights Service. You will lead a team delivering benefits support to pension-age residents, ensure high-quality services, and drive improvements across Derbyshire.

You will work with Welfare Benefits Officers, managing workloads, performance, and staff development while promoting collaborative, person-centred services. Hybrid working may be available.

Qualifications

• Experience supervising or managing staff.
• Experience with welfare benefits and benefit claims.
• Experience working with older people or vulnerable residents.
• Strong organisational and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Benefit Support Workers providing practical benefits support and casework.
• Plan and coordinate daily work activities, workloads and performance.
• Monitor quality and service delivery, resolving operational issues.
• Support recruitment, staff development, and performance management.
• Use data and performance information to identify improvements and inform decisions.

Job description

Team Leader - Crisis and Resilience Fund Project

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.

Employees have access to a range of support, benefits and discounts including:

• Generous Annual Leave Scheme 25 days annual leave per year (rising to 30 days after 5 years continuous service) plus 8 bank holidays (pro rata).
• Local Government Pension Scheme: Providing financial security
• Supportive management and team
• Training and Development: Opportunities for professional qualifications and ongoing training.
• Wellbeing Support Framework: Includes OH physician services, physiotherapy, CBT, and in-house counselling.
• Employee Wellbeing Support: Fast track physiotherapy, confidential psychological support services, Employee Assistance Programme, and "Wisdom" app.
• Paid travel expenses if required to travel to other sites (Terms and conditions apply)
• Cycle to Work Scheme: Promoting a healthy lifestyle.
• Our Derbyshire Rewards: a package of benefits, cashback and discounts.

More details on the benefits of working for the council can be found on our reward and recognition page

This post is 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 Suitability for Job how they meet each of the essential criteria.

If you have an questions about the role or want a informal discussion, please email [e-mail]

Provisional interview date: Thursday 26th November 2026

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Due to this post having access to children and/or vulnerable adults, the successful candidate will be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from obtaining this post, as all cases are judged individually according to the nature of the role and information provided. Click here to see our policy on criminal background checks.

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Important: Derbyshire County Council holds a sponsorship licence, but this role does not offer visa sponsorship. Please apply only if you already have the right to work in the UK without sponsorship, as applications that do not meet this requirement will be rejected.

We welcome applications from individuals who share our values — being Collaborative, Innovative, Empowered and Accountable. These values describe who we are and what we stand for as a council. They help shape our culture, encourage consistent behaviour and guide how we work together to make a positive difference for both our employees and the residents we serve.