Welfare Benefits Advisor

Halton; Widnes; Hybrid; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

34 days holiday + bank holidays

LGPS pension scheme

Life cover 3x salary

Personal development

Free car parking

Flexible working

Benefits platform access

Job summary

Halton Borough Council is seeking a Welfare Rights Adviser to join the Welfare Rights team. You will help residents claim entitlements and maximise income, with hybrid working opportunities and support across the council’s One Stop Shop and home visits.

The role requires strong written communication, numerical skills, and experience with national welfare benefit entitlements. A supportive team environment and diverse benefits are on offer.

Qualifications

• Ideally 5 GCSEs at grade C+ (incl English & Maths) or equivalent.
• Good written and communication skills with clear grammar.
• Ability to write letters and complete forms accurately.
• High level of numerical skills for benefits calculations.
• Team player capable of working under peak period pressure.
• Experience with national welfare benefit entitlements.

Responsibilities

• Provide advice and practical assistance to customers to claim entitlements.
• Maximise residents' income and resources through welfare rights guidance.
• Work with colleagues to support service delivery across the One Stop Shop and home visits.
• Support flexible and hybrid working arrangements where appropriate.

Skills

Written communication

Numerical skills

Teamwork under pressure

Customer advice

National welfare entitlement knowledge

Education

GCSEs incl English & Maths

Job description

Our Story

Halton is a vibrant local authority with a rich history and heritage, featuring three iconic bridges that connect communities across the River Mersey. Located in Cheshire, Halton boasts excellent transport links between Liverpool and Manchester, as well as close proximity to both Liverpool John Lennon and Manchester Airports. Our progressive community strategy aims to bring about meaningful, long-term improvements that enhance lives. It’s an exciting time to join us as we develop new policies and transform the way people access services. We are immensely proud that when asked what’s great about working for Halton, the most popular response from our workforce has been ‘our colleagues’.

Hours

37 per week

Our team

The Welfare Rights Adviser post is based within the Welfare Rights team. This is within Halton`s Chief Executives Directorate and is part of the Benefits family that assists in maximising the income and resources available to residents of the borough. You will help provide advice and practical assistance to customers to claim their entitlements. Staff will be based at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes and may have the opportunity to hybrid work. Service delivery can be both through the council`s One Stop Shop and by home visiting. The team can utilise flexible working and this post carries an Essential Car User Allowance.

Your Contribution

• Ideally, you will have 5 GCSE`s at grade C or above (including English and Maths) or equivalent qualifications
• Good written and communication skills
• Ability to write letters, complete forms with a good standard of grammar and spelling
• High level of numerical skills
• Ability to work as part of a team often working under pressure at peak periods
• Experience of working with national welfare benefit entitlements

Our Offer

Aside from working with a great team, our employees have access to a fantastic range of benefits, including:

• A generous annual holiday allowance starting at 34 days per year (including bank holidays), increasing with long service
• Membership of our defined benefit, salary-linked Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with generous employer contributions
• 3 x Salary Life Cover via Local Government Pension Scheme
• Investment in your personal development
• Free Car Parking at HBC sites
• Flexible working arrangements
• Extensive employee benefits platform including discounted shopping, car leasing, gym memberships, wellbeing hub and Employee Assistance Programme

At Halton Borough Council we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce and a vital part of this is to encourage diversity in all respects. We are committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and tailored to best suit the needs and strength of the individual. This includes making adjustments for people with a disability, neurodiversity or with long-term health conditions. If you require accommodations, please reach out during the recruitment process so that we can make this the best possible experience for you – [e-mail] refer to the attached Job Profile for further information about the role and our values.We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications.