Your Role
and What You'll Be Doing
To provide high quality Welfare Benefits Advice and related services to the business’ Clients, and ensure standards and value to the client is consistently met whilst minimising financial risk/exposure to the client and the firm. Provide and improve value to the client through maximisation of their entitlement to statutory funding and services.
This will include all stages of the Welfare Benefits process to include, but not limited to supporting clients with:
1. Better off calculations
2. Advising clients on benefit eligibility and criteria
3. Assisting clients with benefit applications
4. benefit reviews
5. medical assessments
6. appeals
7. drafting mandatory reconsiderations
8. liaising with DWP and challenging where appropriate
9. Tribunal Support (where appropriate)
There will also be the need to promote IM and IM’s services together with supporting relevant Business Development opportunities that may arise. You will need to be a proactive and independent worker comfortable working in an environment where we are establishing new processes and ways of working. You will need to be able to think on your feet and use your initiative to raise ideas and suggestions.
You will be:
10. Ensuring a first class service is provided to clients, case handlers and other appropriate stakeholders through the provision of Welfare Benefits Advice across all service lines and geographically on a national basis
11. Providing a fully accessible and holistic specialist welfare advice service.
12. Ensuring clients are on the correct benefits according to current circumstances and eligibility.
13. Assisting with benefits applications, reviews and conduct appeals if appropriate and requested to do so by client and case handler
14. Maintaining knowledge of welfare policy, services and advocacy services. This includes identification, attendance and dissemination of appropriate internal and external training
15. To support, where appropriate, the development insight of the IM Benefits Advice Service across the business to all appropriate service lines by way of undertaking internal training to case handlers
16. Ensure all work carried out meets or exceeds SLAs/client commitments, and ensure quality advice is provided and compliance with the firm’s policies and procedures
17. Continue to develop personal and professional development including attending training as required
18. Maintaining working relationships across all departments to provide a first class harmonised and integrated client service
19. Liaise with Team Leaders across the business and all other relevant personnel to ensure services required are supported and delivered consistently and that any issues are brought to their attention
20. Travel being undertaken where appropriate to meet clients’ needs
About You
21. A minimum of two years’ experience of giving in-depth specialist advice of welfare benefits including supporting clients in making Welfare Benefits Applications, arranging and supporting clients at assessment, representation at welfare benefit appeals and mandatory reconsiderations
22. Experience of providing a generalist Welfare Benefits Advice Service to ensure clients’ needs are met
23. Working across all the full social demographic range
24. Ability to make pragmatic recommendations and explaining the risks / impact to business management
25. Ability to take a wide view in evaluating service standards and processes
26. Ability to communicate to a wide range of employees and stakeholders
27. Research and analysis skills
28. excellent communication skills with a focus on collaborative working within a team
29. Professional presentation and manner, with strong attention to detail
30. Able to work independently and as part of team in a sometimes pressurised environment
31. Good organisational skills & ability to prioritise
32. Willingness to travel during the course of employment
33. Someone with excellent IT skills as several case management systems are used in our practice
34. Someone who is experienced in handling a large case load, and organising own cases under pressure
35. Excellent whilst working under pressure
Desirable
36. Some knowledge of dealing with child maintenance services
37. Some knowledge of dealing with personal injury law and cases and how benefits can be impacted
38. Some knowledge of court of protection law
Our Benefits - What We Can Offer You
39. 25 days holidays as standard plus bank holidays - You can ‘buy’ up to 35hrs of extra holiday too.
40. Generous and flexible pension schemes.
41. Volunteering days – Two days of volunteering every year for a cause of your choice (fully paid)
42. Westfield Health membership, offering refunds on medical services alongside our Aviva Digital GP services.
We also offer a wide range of well-being initiatives to encourage positive mental health both in and out of the workplace and to make sure you’re fully supported. This includes our Flexible by Choice programme which gives our colleagues more choice over a hybrid way of working subject to role, team and client requirements.
We have been ranked in the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing for Large Organisations for 2024!
Our responsible business programmes are fundamental to who we are and our purpose. We’re committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where our colleagues can flourish, and we have established a number of inclusion network groups across our business to support this aim.
Our commitment to Social Responsibility, community investment activity and tackling climate change is a fundamental part of who we are. It’s made up of four strands: Our People, Our Community, Our Environment and Our Pro Bono.