Welfare Benefits Adviser, Northern Ireland (Homebased)

The Role

At its heart, RBL is a people organisation. People who want to do the very best for others, while at the same time making the most of the opportunities and experiences, we offer them.

The Benefits, Debt & Money Advice Service at the Royal British Legion is unique. At RBL, our service is:

• Self-funded! We don’t bid for external funding, we are not subject to funding constraints or time limits, and we are not bound by external targets.
• Holistic! We are not limited to a specific amount of time per case, and we always want to support the whole person. We have our own services which support with areas such as drug and alcohol, homelessness, and dementia and importantly, we provide funding directly to pay off priority debts and insolvency fees. Our services can change people’s lives.
• Connected! We work from home as part of a strong Regional & National team and manage our own diaries accordingly.
• Dynamic! We pride ourselves on our learning & development, constantly improving our expertise through training to ensure we are providing the best quality service to those we support.

We are the country’s largest Armed Forces charity, with 210,000 members, 50,000 volunteers and a network of partners and charities; helping us give support wherever and whenever it’s needed.

As a Welfare Benefits Adviser you will be responsible for providing a comprehensive community-based welfare benefits advice service to beneficiaries who are experiencing difficulties, advising on their legal position and all the suitable options available through a mixture of face-to-face, telephone and email interactions.

The main duties of your role will be to:

• Manage referrals and ongoing caseload to ensure clients receive appropriate and timely support.
• Provide specialist level welfare benefit casework, advising on legal position and all suitable options, maintaining professional advice standards.
• Act for the client where necessary; drafting letters, obtaining medical evidence, and researching case law as appropriate.
• Prepare written submissions and provide representation at first tier tribunal.
• Maintain a thorough and up to date knowledge of benefits issues affecting people with a disability and/or long-term health condition.
• Carry out benefit calculations and income maximisation through the take up of appropriate benefits, identifying and advising on entitlement.
• Maintain detailed case records for the purpose of continuity of casework, information retrieval, statistical monitoring, and report preparation, using the IT software provided.
• Develop and maintain local contacts with agencies and charities associated with debt and benefit issues. These will include MOD, DWP, NHS, local authorities, and service charities.

Please note this role will be home based with occasional travel to RBL offices and/or throughout the Northern Ireland region, in addition to home visits and representation throughout the region when required. This position is subject to pre-employment checks including an AccessNI disclosure check.

About the Royal British Legion

Across the country, in every city and on every street, RBL is there to support our Armed Forces community.

It's this mission, this scale, this challenge, and the values we all live by, that makes the RBL such a fulfilling place to thrive.

If you want to give your days meaning. To put your passion into a role with real impact. To support people and be supported yourself. In an inclusive team that faces every challenge together. Whatever your interests and ambitions, whatever your background, we think you’ll find a role here that works for you, with career opportunities right across the UK.

Diversity Statement

We believe that the compassion, understanding, and service we show each, and every individual should be reflected in the way we all support, respect, and include every individual who works with us. We want everyone involved in our work or receiving our services, to feel proud to contribute to or be part of a diverse and inclusive organisation.

We recognise that we still have a long way to go to ensure that we make the RBL a truly great and inclusive organisation to work for and be part of so we have set out our commitments to provide a clear path to deliver this ambition. We will keep listening, learning, and sharing our progress and impact.

How to Apply

Please click ‘Apply Online’

Closing date for this role is: 14/05/2023

We reserve the right to close this vacancy when we are in receipt of sufficient applications. Should you wish to apply for this post you are advised to complete and submit your application form as soon as possible.