Senior Caseworker – Housing and Homelessness Project

Citizens Advice Milton Keynes
Job Description

Role:

Senior Caseworker – Housing and Homelessness Project

Contract:

12 Month Fixed Term

Hours:

36 hours per week – Monday to Friday

Reports to:

Casework Team Manager

Location

TBC –
Initially Acorn House
361 Midsummer Boulevard
Central Milton Keynes
MK9 3HP

Salary

(Salary Band 4)
£22,408 per annum

This job description is a guide to the work that you will initially be required to undertake.  It may be
altered from time to time to meet changing circumstances.

Main purpose of post:

The Senior Caseworker will

•  Work with the Caseworker Team Manager to ensure efficient and effective delivery of a

reliable, high quality, multi-channel advice service that is available to people living in Milton
Keynes, and who are at risk of becoming homeless.

•  Work with the Casework Team Manager to support the delivery of these services direct to the
public in partnership with Milton Keynes Council’s Homelessness Prevention Team (MKHPT)
this will include face to face advice as well as support delivered by phone, via email and web
chat.

•  Be able to adapt to fast changing priorities, and comply with all quality standards and contract
expectations under the AQS scheme and FCA regulations to ensure a high quality of in depth
debt and housing advice.

•  Evaluate and improve practices to ensure we continue to meet the needs of local people,

including the most vulnerable in society

•  Where appropriate, provide advocacy and representation to clients on debt and housing

issues

•  Develop and maintain strong working relationships with colleagues across all levels of Citizens

Advice Milton Keynes, and beyond

•  To provide specialist support and assistance to colleagues

June 2020

Citizens Advice Milton Keynes
Job Description

Key Responsibilities: Casework

•  Provide detailed casework covering the full range of Debt and Housing advice

•  Assess and effectively diagnose a clients’ debt and/or housing advice needs, ensure the

advice delivered is appropriate and within agreed deadlines

•  Deliver one-off specialist money advice or casework across the service via multiple channels

including face to face, phone, email and web chat.

•  Ensure income maximization through the take up of appropriate benefits

•  Assist and advise on the preparation of a financial statement, providing template letters and

other such means to help the client to progress their case

•  Advise clients and assist where necessary on calculating, drafting or writing letters, negotiating

with creditors, third parties and/or exercising formal appeal rights, as appropriate

•  Prepare and present cases to the appropriate statutory bodies, tribunals, and courts as

appropriate

•  Advise on enquiries centering on homelessness legislation and understand the principles,

processes and duties inherent in the Homelessness Code of Guidance for local authorities
and key elements of the Homelessness Reduction Act

•  Submit challenges and seek reviews of adverse decisions and explore the legal principles

against which homeless decisions are judged by the courts and local authorities.

•  Understand and advise in depth on practical and legal issues that arise in defending

possession proceedings in court and the court’s powers to allow tenants or owner occupiers to
remain in their homes.

•  Understand and advise on the procedural rules governing possession claims and help clients
where appropriate to prepare for possession hearings and to appear for tenants in court.

•  Assist clients with other related problems where they are an integral part of their case and

refer to other advisers or specialist agencies as appropriate

•  Research and explore options and implications so that the client can make informed decisions

•  Negotiate with stakeholders and obtain sources of evidence from other agencies as required,

to progress cases effectively

•  Maintain clear case records for the purpose of continuity of casework, information retrieval,

and statistical monitoring and report preparation

•  Regularly review cases, ensuring all key dates/ deadlines are met

•  Ensure that all casework conforms to the bureau's Office Manual and Citizens Advice QAA

standards, AQS Quality Mark and FCA Regulations.

June 2020

Citizens Advice Milton Keynes
Job Description

Research and Campaigns

•  Provide statistical information on the number of clients and nature of cases and provide

regular reports to Casework Team Manager.

•  Assist with research and campaigns work by identifying suitable cases that demonstrate

injustice or unfairness and refer to the R&C Lead

•  Monitor advice enquiries, contributing to research and campaign projects locally, and across

the Citizens Advice network

Professional development

•  To ensure through reading, training and consultancy, that your own level of knowledge around

Debt and Housing case law is up-to-date and that this is disseminated as appropriate

•  To identify your own training needs in conjunction with the Casework Team Manager and be
prepared to undertake appropriate training in line with the learning and development plan

•  Deliver training (internally and/ or externally), either through formal training sessions, or ‘on the

job’ coaching to colleagues.

•  Keep up to date with policies and procedures relating to advice work and undertake

appropriate training.

•  Attend relevant internal and external meetings in agreement with Casework Team Manager.

•  Prepare for and attend supervision sessions/staff meeting as appropriate.

Other duties and responsibilities

•  Maintain close liaison with relevant external agencies.

•  Carry out any other tasks that may be within the scope of the post to ensure the

effective delivery and development of the service.

•  Demonstrate commitment to the aims and policies of the Citizens Advice service.

•  Abide by Health and Safety guidelines and share responsibility for own safety and that of

colleagues.

June 2020