Specialist Case Worker - The Children\'s Funeral Fund for England in Blackpool

We are recruiting for a meticulous and empathetic individual to join our team as a Caseworker, demonstrating a keen eye for detail and the capacity to handle sensitive and potentially distressing information with the utmost care. The Children's Funeral Fund for England (CFF) is a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) scheme that provides funding for the essential elements of the funeral for a child and has been operational since July 2019. The Specialist Case Working team receives applications to the Fund from burial and cremation authorities and funeral directors. The team receives and processes claims before they are submitted to the MoJ. Claims are logged on the claims management system and then case worked, ensuring the information is accurate and the MoJ has all the evidence needed to make a decision.

The information handled by the Specialist Case Work team can occasionally be sensitive, so you need to maintain a professional distance, but show empathy with the beneficiaries of the Fund and especially on the rare occasions you may be dealing directly with a bereaved family member. Whilst the team is rarely in direct contact with families, we are very proud to support them at a difficult time by processing the claims.

This is a part time hybrid role, working from home, and working from the Blackpool office every Wednesday, allowing for face-to-face team meetings, training and team building. You will be working Monday to Wednesday each week (22.5 hours per week) and due to the nature of the role, the days need to be full days and we cannot consider anything less than 9am-5pm on each working day. There may on occasion, be flexibility required in terms of working days. Training is provided through the Technical Mentorship, Glossary and all the training materials. This will allow you to respond to queries via email and cover the CFF's helpline. The helpline operates Monday - Friday between 9am and 5pm.

What you'll be doing:

• Receiving claim forms via email, checking for any existing claims for the same child and logging the new application on the CMS.
• Confirming receipt of claim with the claimant (burial authority/funeral director or responsible person).
• Talking directly to external partners, checking details relating to the funeral and chasing up missing information.
• Providing advice and assistance about the Fund and answering questions about eligibility.
• Confirming details for the funeral along with costs claimed, submitting the claim for review before being issued for determination.
• Confirming the amount a claimant will receive or advise them of any reasons why their claim may not have been approved and then update all the appropriate files.
• Dealing with any enquiries from the DWP about claims for a Funeral Expenses Payment, making sure no multiple applications for public funding are made.

What you'll bring:

• Empathetic approach to the cases being handled.
• Diligence towards work.
• High standard of written work, as case working requires brief but detailed notes and regular communication with claimants and other service providers using the Technical Guidance to offer assistance with complex queries.
• Ability to maintain excellent working relationships and be willing to take on multiple tasks each day to make sure all service levels are met.

It would be great if you had:

• Knowledge of the funeral industry or bereavement services.

If you are interested in this role but not sure if your skills and experience are exactly what we're looking for, please do apply, we'd love to hear from you!

Employment Type: Part-time, Permanent

Location: Blackpool

Security Clearance Level: SC

Internal Recruiter: Chloe

Salary: £14,781.60 per annum plus flex fund

Benefits: 25 days annual leave with the choice to buy extra days, health cash plan, life assurance, pension, and generous flexible benefits fund.

We believe that flexibility at work can promote work/life balance, increase your motivation, reduce stress and improve performance and productivity. We support different ways of working and can offer a range of flexible working arrangements. So, if you're interested and need to work flexibly, we encourage you to apply and talk to us about what might be possible.

We welcome applications from people with a diverse variety of backgrounds and identities. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation or marital status. We have partnered with Vercida, the UK's largest diversity and inclusion focused careers site, where all our vacancies are available in an accessible format. If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, to enable you to perform to the best of your ability, please let us know when completing your application. We participate in the Disability Confident scheme and are committed to offering an interview to any candidate with a disability, who meets the minimum criteria for the role. If you believe this could apply to you, please let us know when completing your application.