Advice Session Supervisor with Debt Specialism

How we use cookies to help you

It looks like you have JavaScript turned off. You need it to accept or reject cookies on our site.

As it’s turned off, we’ll only use the essential cookies our website needs to work. This means some things, like videos, might not work for you.

You can find out more about the cookies we use.

How we use cookies to help you

We use essential cookies to make our site work.

We'd Also Like To Use Some Additional Cookies To

• see what help people need most, so we can make our site better
• help us campaign for changes that make things fairer for everyone
• let you watch videos on the site
  
  

Find out more about how we use cookies and keep your data safe.

Choose cookies

You’ve accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time

You’ve rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time

Supervision: Reporting to the Head of Advice

Hours: 35 hours per week

Contract: Fixed-term, 12 months

Venue: Across the London Borough of Lewisham and remotely.

Salary: £34,000 - £36,000 per annum depending on experience

Role purpose

To take the main role in completing quality of advice compliance, checks and providing support and supervision tasks for the advice service.

Quality Compliance

• Monitor the case records / telephone calls of designated staff to meet the stipulated standard and service level agreement.
• Complete regular casechecks of advisers and independent file reviews for caseworkers in accordance with Citizens Advice and Advice Lewisham quality standards
• Undertake Quality of Advice audits of Advice Lewisham partners assessors and advisers in accordance with agreed Advice Lewisham quality standards
• Assist with Citizens Advice QAA monthly audits.
  
  

Supervising and Support cover

• Manage the practicalities of telephone assessment and advice helpline and drop in assessment and digital support sessions and ensure adequate staffing and resources as required.
• Keep technical knowledge up to date and provide appropriate level of support and supervision to individual workers depending on their level of competence required
• Ensure remedial and developmental issues are identified and acted on to develop individuals, improve the quality of service and ensure clients do not suffer detriment due to poor or inadequate advice.

Keep up to date with research and campaigns issues and ensure that this is promoted and integrated in a way relevant to the role.

Staff teamwork

• Maintain effective admin systems and records, work cooperatively with colleagues, encourage good team work and clear lines of communication.
  
  

Attend regular internal and external meetings.

• Create a positive working environment in which equality and diversity are well-
  
  

managed, dignity at work is upheld and staff perform optimally.

• Participate in the recruitment & selection process as well as induction of new staff as required.
  
  

Learning, development and training

• Identify learning and development needs of designated staff and contribute to the organisation’s learning and development plan.
• Provide guidance tutoring support and feedback to trainee volunteer advisers as required to develop their knowledge and understanding in accordance with agreed procedures and protocols.
• Organise internal and external learning and development activities to ensure the competence and continuing development of designated staff.

Contribute to assessment activities and competence of designated staff and volunteers.

Networking

Develop links with relevant statutory and non-statutory agencies relevant to the role.

Use skills and competences to promote the organisation and foster good relationships with external organisations.

Context of role

Work as part of the advice team to ensure delivery to agreed targets and quality standards of CAL services.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Citizens Advice generalist adviser certificate or equivalent and at least 2 years
  
  

post-certificate experience of providing advice and managing an advice caseload

• Experience supervising debt advice and delivering debt advice.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing, conduct research and analyse and interpret complex information to produce and present reports clearly.
• Demonstrable understanding of the issues involved in interviewing clients, an up-to-date understanding of equality and diversity – it’s application to providing advice and the supervision and development of staff.

Commit to, and work within, the aims, principles and policies of the Citizens Advice service, demonstrating the understanding of issues affecting the society and the implications of this on the client and the service.

Proven ability to manage / supervise others including ability to recruit, develop and motivate staff as well as ability to give and receive feedback objectively and sensitively.

Proven ability to monitor and maintain service delivery against agreed targets as well as monitor and analyse statistics and check accuracy of calculations.

Proven ability to supervise and monitor advice work and to maintain casework systems and procedures, use of IT systems and packages, electronic resources in the provision of advice and the preparations of reports and submission.

Understanding of Citizens Advice Quality of Advice standards

Desirable criteria

Experience of undertaking casework auditing to Citizens Advice quality standards.