Welfare and Affordability Officer

Bristow and Sutor Group; Redditch; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

20 days base holiday

Contributory Company pension scheme

4x salary life assurance

Training and career development

Employee Assistance Programme

Hastee benefits

Perks at work discount scheme

Job summary

Bristow & Sutor Group is seeking a Welfare & Affordability Officer in Redditch to drive customer welfare and safeguarding initiatives. You will lead interventions for vulnerable customers and collaborate with teams to ensure consistent support across the customer journey.

The role emphasizes coaching, policy review, and proactive improvements in customer care, affordability, and safeguarding, with a strong focus on empathy and equity across outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experience in coaching and supporting colleagues to manage vulnerable customer interactions sensitively and effectively.
• Detail-oriented approach to continuous improvement, proactive attitude to identifying and tackling areas for development.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills, able to identify and promote compromise to groups with contrasting priorities.
• Compassionate approach to customers, clients, colleagues, and external stakeholders, demonstrating the strength to both set boundaries and empathise.

Responsibilities

• Drive an outcomes-focused approach to Customer Welfare across operational teams, ensuring equity of outcomes for all customers through data-driven interventions to identify and address areas for improvement in the customer journey.
• Review implementation and training of customer-facing policies and procedures, including customer care, affordability, vulnerability, and safeguarding, to ensure continual improvement of colleague understanding and behaviour.
• Provide real time and post call coaching to colleagues, ensuring vulnerable customers received appropriate, empathetic and tailored support in line with company policies and safeguarding procedures.
• Manage Welfare inbox to ensure all cases handled within SLA.
• Complete reports to demonstrate impact of Welfare and Safeguarding teams, referrals and signposting, interactions with debt advice providers etc.
• Oversee the Welfare and Safeguarding functions, including recruitment, training, wellbeing support, monitoring performance and impact.

Skills

Coaching

Vulnerable customers

Communication

Negotiation

Empathy

Job description

Welfare & Affordability Officer

Salary: £30,000 - £32,000 per annum
Location: Redditch, West Midlands – Office Based

About Bristow & Sutor

With 50 years’ experience in Enforcement, at Bristow & Sutor we continue to develop and grow our business, working with many household names across a wide range of industries to support our clients and customers in Debt Resolution.

About the role

We're looking for a passionate and customer-focused Welfare & Affordability Officer to help drive positive outcomes for customers experiencing vulnerability, financial hardship, or challenging life circumstances.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in shaping and promoting customer welfare, affordability and safeguarding practices, ensuring our customers receive the right support at the right time.

What You’ll Be Doing

Key responsibilities include:

• Drive an outcomes-focused approach to Customer Welfare across operational teams, ensuring equity of outcomes for all customers through data-driven interventions to identify and address areas for improvement in the customer journey.
• Review implementation and training of customer-facing policies and procedures, including customer care, affordability, vulnerability, and safeguarding, to ensure continual improvement of colleague understanding and behaviour.
• Provide real time and post call coaching to colleagues, ensuring vulnerable customers received appropriate, empathetic and tailored support in line with company policies and safeguarding procedures.
• Manage Welfare inbox to ensure all cases handled within SLA.
• Complete reports to demonstrate impact of Welfare and Safeguarding teams, referrals and signposting, interactions with debt advice providers etc.
• Oversee the Welfare and Safeguarding functions, including recruitment, training, wellbeing support, monitoring performance and impact. Advocate for the needs of our customers and colleagues to maintain a strong customer support focus.
• Work with operational teams across the group, including contact centres, enforcement agents, learning & development, and customer service to design and deliver impactful interventions for customers and colleagues.
• Manage relationships with Debt Advice Providers and other customer-representative stakeholders to raise awareness of the support we can and do provide and maximise the support our customers can receive from them.
• Contribute to renewal and extension of Inclusive Service Kitemark certification across all business units.
• Support implementation of and compliance with existing and incoming industry standards including ECB, FCA, SRA, BPA, IPC etc.
• Administer Welfare Forum with the Group Social Responsibility & Customer Welfare Manager to seek and disseminate insights from customer-facing functions across the business.
• Work within the wider Welfare Officer team to ensure welfare coverage across holidays/absences.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who genuinely cares about supporting people and has the confidence to influence positive change.

You’ll ideally have:

• Knowledge and understanding of the forces of marginalisation in the financial industry.
• Experience in coaching and supporting colleagues to manage vulnerable customer interactions sensitively and effectively.
• Passion and drive to advocate for change in the name of improved customer and colleague welfare.
• Detail-oriented approach to continuous improvement, proactive attitude to identifying and tackling areas for development.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills, able to identify and promote compromise to groups with contrasting priorities.
• Compassionate approach to customers, clients, colleagues, and external stakeholders, demonstrating the strength to both set boundaries and empathise.
• Experience working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders, both internal and external.
• A passion for improving customer and colleague wellbeing.

We offer an excellent total reward package

• £30,000-£32,000basic salary
• 20 days base holiday
• Contributory Company pension scheme
• 4x salary life assurance
• Training and career development as you grow
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Hastee benefits
• Perks at work discount scheme