At a Glance
- Tasks: Support households with complex financial needs and help them achieve better outcomes.
- Company: Solihull Council, dedicated to community support and financial inclusion.
- Benefits: Competitive pay, hybrid working, and valuable experience in a meaningful role.
- Other info: Opportunity for career growth and professional development in a supportive environment.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in people's lives by alleviating financial hardship.
- Qualifications: Strong communication skills and a passion for helping others.
The predicted salary is between 16.9 - 16.9 £ per hour.
Rate: £16.90 per hour PAYE
Location: Hybrid, Solihull
Contract: 3 months
Working hours: M-F
Opus People Solutions are recruiting on behalf of Solihull Council for a Financial Inclusion Officer for a 3 month contract with possible extension. The role is demanding as it will involve working in a target-driven environment, managing a caseload and working with households with a wide range, sometimes complex needs. On a rota basis, the role will be office based with supervisory duties.
Purpose of the Role:
The role is of a case worker to support and facilitate households with complex and complicated financial needs with the aim of enabling residents to:
- alleviate unnecessary financial hardship
- sustain affordable housing
- maximise household income
- obtain debt and budgeting advice
A key part of the role will be linking into benefit services. The post holder will need excellent communication skills to engage with and offer support, information, advice and guidance to individuals, households or groups in Solihull with the aim of achieving better outcomes for the individual or household.
Responsibilities will include:
- To identify clients from individuals, households or groups who may require financial support.
- Work with clients including those from vulnerable groups; in a non-judgemental way, empowering them to identify, understand and address changes to the benefit system.
- To make recommendations on any hardship grants, awards or payments including Community Care Grants, Crisis Awards, Section 17 Payments, DHPs.
- To be aware of and keep up to date with the wide range of services provided by Income & Awards and partners. Support clients to enable them to have full access to a range of benefits, services and actions to help alleviate any undue hardship, removing possible barriers to change and reducing any potential risk of homelessness.
- Engage with partner services as required including: Citizens Advice Bureau, Money & Debt Advice, Welfare Advice, Employment Support, Volunteering and Skill building, Children & Family Support, Adult Social Care, other council services, Financial Inclusion initiatives, social housing providers and private landlords.
- To promote a strong customer focused performance. Provide impartial, high quality and relevant advice or links on a range of other services that could assist the wider household or group.
- Support clients through key transitions, budgeting, debt advice, financial literacy/awareness, housing options and other whole household support.
- To help clients maximise their income through increased benefit take up, charitable funding, grants or reduction of expenditure.
- To assist where relevant to ensure Discretionary Housing Payments are in place with a dedicated exit strategy for each household.
- To work closely with other service providers to ensure that where individual needs are complex, appropriate support is identified and accessed.
- Encourage and support clients to find their own long-term solution.
- Produce a needs assessment and action plan for clients at various levels of self-supporting actions.
- To manage varying size and complexity in caseload in a target-driven environment.
- To initiate and maintain systems to help monitor client caseload, output and outcomes for individuals and households.
- Collect and monitor outcomes and supply performance data to support the senior officer to inform other parties, including colleagues, individuals and members.
- To participate in workshops, informal group discussions and presentations to a range of audiences with a diverse range of needs. To actively participate in any identified induction, ongoing training and networking, to contribute to training events as required, exchange information and share good practice.
For more information or to process your application, please apply now!
If successful, candidates will be required to provide information to support the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council's commitment to the prevention and detection of fraud. This information will be processed by the Council's Internal Audit Services and may be shared with the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) for data matching.
Accounting & Finance Financial Inclusion Officer Solihull, West Midlands Up to £17.50 / hour employer: Opus People Solutions
Opus People Solutions is an excellent employer that prioritises the well-being and development of its staff. With a supportive work culture in Barrow-in-Furness, employees enjoy flexible hours, opportunities for overtime, and a commitment to maintaining high hygiene standards in a collaborative kitchen environment. Join us to be part of a team that values your contributions and fosters personal growth.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Accounting & Finance Financial Inclusion Officer Solihull, West Midlands Up to £17.50 / hour
✨Get Involved in Financial Networks
Join local financial associations or forums where you can connect with professionals in financial-controlling. Networking events often lead to temporary positions, as companies look for quick hires when they need extra hands.
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We think you need these skills to ace Accounting & Finance Financial Inclusion Officer Solihull, West Midlands Up to £17.50 / hour
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Academic Aces:In the financial controlling game, grades and relevant certifications can make a significant difference. Be sure to highlight your academic achievements, like finance-related coursework and any professional certifications you’ve got on your CV that show you’re clued up in this area. It’s all about demonstrating that you’re not just good at numbers but also know your stuff!
Quantify Your Achievements:When applying for a temporary role in financial controlling, make sure your CV reflects any previous experience with real, measurable outcomes. Use numbers to showcase your past successes, like percentage improvements in budgeting or cost savings you’ve achieved in previous roles. This not only gives us insights into your capabilities but also tells us you're results-driven.
Personalise Your Application:We love seeing applicants who take the time to tailor their applications! In your cover letter, mention why you’re particularly interested in the temporary role with Opus People Solutions and how your specific skills and experiences align with the job. Show us that you see this role as an opportunity to contribute, even if it's for a short stint!
Flexibility is Key:Since this is a temporary position, make sure to highlight your availability in your application. We’re interested in knowing how soon you can start and if you’re open to working flexible hours. This shows us your eagerness to jump right in and adapt to the dynamic needs of our team at Opus People Solutions.
How to prepare for a job interview at Opus People Solutions
✨Get Hands-On with Financial Tools
Being in financial controlling means you’ll likely be working with various software like Excel, Power BI, or even SAP. Make sure you brush up on these tools and prepare to discuss your experience using them. Being able to reference specific projects or analyses where you employed these programs will definitely give you an edge.
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As this is a temporary position, the interviewers will want to see that you can hit the ground running. Be sure to highlight any previous short-term roles or projects where you successfully adapted to new environments quickly – this will showcase your readiness to tackle challenges head-on.
✨Highlight Your Commitment to Precision
In financial controlling, attention to detail is absolutely crucial. Be ready to provide examples from your past work that demonstrate your ability to spot discrepancies and ensure accuracy in financial reporting. Your precision could be the factor that sets you apart in a temporary role like this one!
