Welfare Rights Officer

Coventry City Council; Coventry; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority seeks a Senior Welfare Rights Officer to assist refugees and newly arrived communities in navigating benefits and connecting to employment opportunities. Responsibilities include managing client cases and providing outreach sessions that promote financial stability. The ideal candidate should have proven experience in welfare rights and the ability to engage effectively with diverse populations, contributing to the resettlement efforts in Coventry.

Benefits

Comprehensive rewards and benefits package

Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge of the UK benefits system.
• Experience of working with refugees and newly arrived communities.
• Ability to manage a caseload effectively.

Responsibilities

• Support clients with welfare rights and employment decisions.
• Conduct outreach and provide information on financial stability.
• Work closely with other teams to ensure client action plans are met.

Skills

Experience with welfare benefits

Strong communication skills

Organizational skills

Ability to engage with diverse communities

Education

Relevant experience in welfare rights

Job description

Coventry City Council’s Migration Team is an innovative and dynamic team that is focused on meeting the needs of newly arriving communities in the city and supporting integration. We work closely with the Job Shop and a range of delivery partners to provide a wide portfolio of top‑quality support to newly arrived communities in Coventry who are looking for work. We work with partners across the city and actively work with local employers to generate opportunities for newly arrived people. Coventry was one of the first cities to welcome Syrian refugees in 2014, and the team leads a partnership in delivering a resettlement programme welcoming some of the most vulnerable individuals fleeing conflict and persecution from Syria and the Middle East. Work is centred on enabling refugees to make Coventry their new home, living with dignity and respect as well as contributing positively to our vibrant and growing city. We provide specialist support for clients who face multiple and sometimes complex barriers that make it hard for them to find a job. Working with The Job Shop, the exciting range of specialist employment support programmes are among the very best support available in the UK. The Migration Team celebrates diversity while also ensuring rights, opportunities and responsibilities are understood.

• UK Resettlement

• Our Coventry
• Step and Step Forward
• Homes for Ukraine

Our Values

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

What is the job role?

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a client focused Senior Welfare Rights Officer to work with Refugees and Newly arrived Communities, within The Migration Team. This specialist role will work with those clients who are being supported by the City Councils Migration Team. Coventry City Council is committed to supporting clients to find sustainable employment and to assist them through challenging economic times and major welfare reform. The Senior Welfare Rights Officer will play a key role in supporting the Migration Team clients, enabling them to deal with queries quickly, clearly and effectively and to be able to make better decisions regarding their careers. They will have extensive knowledge of the UK benefits system and be able to stay abreast with the latest related information. They will also manage their own caseload of benefit and debt cases where the aim is to support clients towards employment and financial independence and therefore reducing dependency on welfare benefits.

Areas of focus will be:

• To screen new arrivals and create action plans to be monitored at regular follow‑up meetings.
• To work out better‑off calculations and discuss advantages of working income over welfare income.
• Outreach work involving delivering information and guidance sessions on financial stability to newly arrived cohorts and long‑term clients.
• To work closely with the Employment Officer, Caseworkers and Housing Team to ensure action plans are followed through and supported.
• To produce reports on progress of clients.

The successful candidate will provide operational and strategic management of the service and will in addition have experience of providing high quality specialist welfare benefits advice to a range of customers. Experience of working with refugees and newly arrived communities and an understanding of the challenges and barriers they may face would be advantageous.

The successful candidate will be expected to support clients sited at different venues so will need to be flexible in providing support where it is needed most.

Who are we looking for?

An experienced Welfare Rights Adviser who is well organised, able to work on your own initiative and have a proven ability to engage with a wide range of stakeholders.

You will need to be excellent at developing positive working relationships, an effective communicator, able to work with a wide range of people from different backgrounds and organisations. You will be focusing on refugees and newly arrived communities, disabilities, and mental health, and crucially have the skills and ability to listen, understand and identify how you can support each customer in a positive manner to becoming financially stable.

If you are dynamic, creative, able to use your initiative and believe that you have the drive and skills to be able to make a real difference in the resettlement of refugees in Coventry then we want to hear from you.

When writing your personal statement, please pay special attention to the following questions; as your answers will be used for shortlisting:

• What experience do you have in supporting people into employment?
• What experience do you have in providing advice to migrants/residents/clients regarding welfare benefits and how do/would you stay up to date with legislation and policies?
• What are the challenges and barriers that refugees and newly arrived communities would face when trying to gain employment?

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long‑term health condition

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview date(s): 22nd December 2025

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting‑edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse. At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies