Safeguarding Assistant

| Salary £21,968-£24,054 Per annum | Permanent, Full Time, 37 hours per week | County Hall, Preston |

Lancashire is the fourth largest local authority in England spanning a huge geographical area with a diverse range of communities. The County Council provides services to approximately 1.2 million people who live within Lancashire.

We have an excellent opportunity for someone who is highly motivated and ready to join our busy team in the role of Safeguarding/Finance Assistant within the Care Finance Administration Team.

The Financial Safeguarding Team and Care Finance Administration Team jointly manage the financial affairs & property of vulnerable adults who have been assessed to lack mental capacity to manage their own finances, on behalf of the Council who act as corporate court appointed deputy or as Department of Work and Pensions appointee.

Both teams work alongside each other to deliver an efficient and effective service with the Safeguarding Assistants providing casework and finance administration support to the team leaders and safeguarding officers.

The successful applicant will manage their own caseload of vulnerable people who require an appointee for their Department of Working Pensions (DWP) benefits. You would be applying for benefits on behalf of the person and liaising with the DWP ongoing.

As a valued member of the team, you will be able to work on your own initiative and as part of a team, have a high attention to detail, be able to prioritise tasks ensuring you meet deadlines and effectively manage your own workload.

You will be a confident communicator, with the ability to communicate professionally, effectively and empathetically with service users and their families, providing accurate advice and resolutions to queries and questions relating to their finances. You will also be able to form good working relationships, liaise and create links with social care colleagues and managers, the Department of Work & Pensions, Office of Public Guardian and Court of Protection, financial institutions and various other partner agencies.

This role is based at County Hall, Preston however currently may work from home. All flexible working requests will be considered for the successful candidate e.g., home, part time working or compressed hours.

In return Lancashire County Council offers a range of benefits, which can be found on LCC Vacancies website. We provide and actively encourage self-development offering a wide range of training opportunities.

Key Accountabilities:

• Planning and organizing tasks of varying duration.
• Interpreting information, solving task related problems or implementing regulation.
• Producing work of the required standard.
• Providing advice and guidance on established internal policies and procedures
• Making applications to the DWP for the Appointeeship of benefits for referred individuals
• Ensure all invoices, utility bills and personal payments are made on behalf of each individual via BACs and setting up pre-paid cards in a timely manner, as well as investigating and identifying errors
• Maintain a variety of computerised records checking Individuals financial transactions on a monthly basis and investigating any variances

Skills & Experience:

• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both verbally and in writing
• Ability to learn new responsibilities quickly and effectively
• Self-motivated with the ability to work on own initiative, and as part of a team
• Completion of tasks to required standards and deadlines
• Have a knowledge of welfare benefits.

For an informal discussion regarding this role, please do not hesitate to contact Bonita Corbett, Team Leader on 01772 534375 or Annette Roberts, Financial Safeguarding Team Manager on 01772 530189 .

It is essential as part of the application process that you provide a supporting statement which is your opportunity to evidence how your skills, knowledge and experience match what we are looking for based on the Person Specification and Role Profile attached and the information detailed. The panel may be unable to shortlist you for interview without this evidence.

We reserve the right to close a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications.

Job Description & Person Specification