Macmillan & Triage Adviser

Job Introduction

Job Title: Macmillan Money & More Triage Adviser
Starting Salary: £38,220 progressing to £41,771 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours: 37
Location: Stevenage
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Adult Care Services

Macmillan Money & More East of England advice service is a partnership between Hertfordshire County Council and Macmillan Cancer Support. The service delivers advice across the East of England working in partnership with Bedfordshire and Suffolk County Councils. The postholder will be part of the Hertfordshire/Essex Macmillan team situated within the Money Advice Unit in Adult Care Services in Hertfordshire. The Money Advice Unit (MAU) includes both welfare rights and money advice staff working on a variety of projects providing advice and casework to residents, it also provides training and information for staff partner organisations as well as an advice line and various factsheets for the MAU webpages.

This post is based in Stevenage but has a hybrid flexible working model with staff working from office, home and outreach venues. It will provide advice to people affected by Cancer in Hertfordshire and Essex.

To deliver a specialist Triage advice and case management service for people affected by cancer living in Hertfordshire or Essex. To be involved in delivering a specialist Triage model of advice. To undertake information and advice work including benefits casework, advocacy, outreach, production of written and oral information, talks and training, and appeals representation as required.

• To deliver services through our Triage model of advice, and by phone, e‑mail and in‑person at hospital and hospice settings (or where appropriate other Health and Macmillan environments); and in exceptional circumstances undertake home visits, carers and health professionals.
• To provide high quality support and information for cancer patients.
• To undertake casework including benefit checks, benefits advice, claim form completion, advocacy, revisions, appeals and tribunal representation and money advice.
• To manage a large Triage caseload and maintain detailed electronic case records of work whilst ensuring key performance indicators are met.
• To provide advice, consultancy and training services to volunteers, health and social care staff and those staff from other statutory organisations who make referrals to the service e.g. community nurses, health visitors and hospital staff.
• To participate in the production of training material for staff and in the development and production of easily understood information for people living with cancer as agreed. To ensure such material is sensitive to the needs of people from minority ethnic groups and people with disabilities. To support Macmillan’s policy, media and campaign work by providing case studies, activity data and feedback as required.
• To participate in regular meetings with other Macmillan Benefits Advisors and the wider advice community to identify common areas of need and to propose joint initiatives as appropriate. This includes awareness of the work of the MAU generally, especially the other take‑up projects.
• To undertake such other duties commensurate with the grade and responsibility of the job.

• Ability to work as a team with other advisers to support our Triage advice model supporting people affected by cancer across Hertfordshire and Essex County areas.
• Substantial experience of welfare benefits advice work (paid or unpaid) and ability to apply technical knowledge to actual situations e.g. benefit checks and ‘better off’ calculations. Knowledge of disability benefits and universal credit is essential.
• Ability to advocate and make effective written and oral representations to external agencies, such as DWP and HMRC and to represent at tribunals if appropriate.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to prioritise workload; able to carry out specialist triage advice and high‑volume referrals, whilst maintaining management of a large caseload and meeting key performance indicators.
• Ability to communicate effectively with a diverse range of people and to explain…