Welfare and Affordability Officer

Bristow & Sutor; Redditch; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

20 days holiday

Pension scheme

Life assurance (4x salary)

Training and career development

Employee Assistance Programme

Hastee benefits

Perks at work

Job summary

Bristow & Sutor is seeking a Welfare & Affordability Officer in Redditch to drive customer welfare and safeguarding practices. You will support vulnerable customers, coach colleagues, and collaborate across teams to ensure empathetic, data-driven interventions in line with company policies.

The role offers a comprehensive benefits package and career development opportunities, with an office-based position in the West Midlands.

Qualifications

• Knowledge and understanding of marginalisation in the financial industry.
• Experience coaching and supporting colleagues to manage vulnerable customer interactions sensitively.
• Passion to advocate for change in improved welfare.
• Detail-oriented approach to continuous improvement.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills to manage conflicting priorities.
• Compassionate approach to customers, colleagues and stakeholders.
• Experience collaborating with internal and external stakeholders.
• A passion for improving customer and colleague wellbeing.

Responsibilities

• Drive an outcomes-focused approach to Customer Welfare across teams, ensuring equity through data-driven interventions.
• Review implementation and training of customer-facing policies including care, affordability, vulnerability, safeguarding.
• Provide real time and post-call coaching to colleagues for vulnerable customers.
• Manage Welfare inbox and ensure cases meet SLA.
• Complete reports to demonstrate impact of Welfare and Safeguarding activities.
• Oversee Welfare and Safeguarding functions including recruitment, training, wellbeing and performance monitoring.
• Collaborate with contact centres, enforcement agents, L&D, and customer service to design interventions.
• Manage relationships with Debt Advice Providers and other stakeholders to maximise support.
• Contribute to renewal of Inclusive Service Kitemark across units.
• Support compliance with ECB, FCA, SRA, BPA, IPC standards.
• Administer Welfare Forum to share insights across the business.
• Ensure welfare coverage across holidays/absences.

Skills

Customer welfare

Vulnerability support

Coaching colleagues

Stakeholder engagement

Data-driven decision making

Communication skills

Empathy

Problem solving

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