About the Role

Leeds City College is seeking a Financial Welfare Advice Officer to provide high quality, professional advice that will support retention and progression of students.

The aim of the service is to reduce potential barriers to education and empower students to build personal resilience to deal with life challenges that financial welfare difficulties may bring.

The post holder will meet students and advise them on financial welfare issues which include money worries and funding issues related to studying, benefit claim problems, housing problems affecting access to education and choices about childcare options.

The team also builds capacity amongst staff to provide financial welfare information and signposting. We also develop financial education through information sessions and campaigns.

What You Will Do

• Give advice to students on financial welfare issues that may be creating a barrier to accessing education. Advice will be provided through face to face meetings, telephone, email and online duty service. Taking student referrals directly from students and staff, prioritising according to need, vulnerability, urgency or risk and manage a caseload.
• Develop staff and student knowledge of financial welfare issues and the support available internally and from external services through a range of activities and events.
• Develop and maintain information resources on money and welfare related matters in a range of formats.
• Maintain up to date knowledge around welfare issues
• Document all advice given to students accurately and in a timely manner.
• Track the outcomes of the advice work and liaise with tutors to ensure additional support for students is in place if needed.
• Participate in regular supervision as a part of case management and review processes.
• Provide information and data to enable timely reports to be collated

About You

• Previous experience of delivering financial welfare advice preferably to students
• Experience of working with vulnerable people
• Confident in using Microsoft Office and Google applications
• Good organisational, planning and general administrative skills
• Able to produce financial welfare information resources in a range of formats
• Able to, independently, plan, deliver and evaluate group activities, training, information sessions and events
• Ability to work positively & effectively as a member of a team and on own initiative, able to set and deliver on own targets and team and college objectives
• A good level of general education with literacy and numeracy at level 2 or above

Benefits

There are plenty of benefits available to our staff members, here are just a few:

• Generous Annual leave entitlement - If you work full time, you'll get at least 39 days holiday plus bank holidays. This includes closure days at Christmas (pro rata for part time staff).
  • Support Staff 39 days
  • Academic 44 days
  • Senior Management 44 days
• Excellent Pension schemes
  • Teachers' Pension Scheme
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
• Memberships and discounts - employees can sign up to various membership cards and discount schemes such as TOTUM card (formerly NUS card).
• Travel and commuting - discounted travel available through Metro card, Northern Rail, First Bus, Arriva Bus and Cycle to work schemes.
• Learning and development opportunities - including staff development days
• Employee wellbeing initiatives
• Flexible and hybrid working opportunities - this will vary depending on role requirements