Senior Client Funds Officer
About the role
The purpose of the role is to provide a specialist financial management and safeguarding service for vulnerable adults who are subject to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) appointeeship and/or Court of Protection deputyship arrangements, ensuring their financial affairs are administered effectively, lawfully, and in their best interests. The role is fundamental in protecting clients from financial abuse, exploitation, and financial hardship while promoting their welfare and financial security.
The postholder is responsible for managing complex financial, legal, family, and sensitive personal matters on behalf of individuals who have been assessed as lacking the mental capacity to manage their own finances. This requires professional judgement, empathy, and effective stakeholder engagement to ensure clients' funds are managed prudently and in accordance with individual needs and statutory responsibilities.
See Job Description document for further details about the role.
What will you be doing?
Day-to-day management of a caseload of appointeeship and deputyship clients in line with current legislation and the stated policies of the organisations involved. Ensuring correct benefit income is received, invoices and expenditure commitments are paid, and bank accounts and other investments are safeguarded.
Resolve complex financial, legal, family, and welfare-related issues on behalf of clients who lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs. Build and maintain effective working relationships with clients, family, institutions and all involved stakeholders.
Ensure compliance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Court of Protection directions, Office of the Public Guardian standards, DWP and other legislation.
See Job Description document for main accountabilities of the role.
About you
The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic and motivated individual who is willing to learn and display the following;
- Ability to gather financial and non-financial information to support applications for benefits, tribunals and debt negotiation.
- Ability to understand and interpret national legislation and guidance and adhere to local policies and procedures.
- Proven customer service background with experience of conflict resolution, negotiation and diplomacy skills. Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, able to influence and negotiate when advising and supporting clients.
- Experience of working independently, scheduling and prioritising own work to meet service requirements.
- Ability to travel throughout the county to meetings with clients /other council representatives and outside organisations is required.
See Job Description document for the full Person Specification for the role.
Our Benefits
Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.
You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!
Why choose us?
We offer a vibrant working environment with:
- a competitive salary
- a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
- lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
- generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
- hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.
We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.
About us
Our Values and Behaviours
Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:
Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy
Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.
Disability Confident Employer
We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.
Our Employment and Disability Service provides bespoke support to individuals facing barriers to employment, helping them work towards their goals to start, stay and succeed in employment. For further information please click here The Employment and Disability Service (EADS) | North Northamptonshire Council
Armed Forces Community
The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).
Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)
Salary range
- £34,434 per year