Welfare Coordinator Ref: 17-25

Salary: Grade 9, starting at £24,916 per annum (pay award pending)
Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week
Place of Work: Dereham (remote enabled)
Basis: Fixed Term - 18 month contract

Welfare Coordinators play a vital role in ensuring residents receive the support they need, whether by helping them navigate services or by connecting them with specialist organisations for long-term or more complex needs. They work closely with multi-agency partners to promote a coordinated, whole-system approach to preventing vulnerability within the community.

You will:

• Help people identify wider issues that impact on health and wellbeing and signpost to relevant organisations who can support.
• Be a friendly and engaging source of information about health, wellbeing and prevention approaches.
• Where appropriate, introduce people to community groups, activities and statutory services.

A bit about us:

At Breckland Council we have embraced the Government's agenda to modernise local government. Our approach is to lead change rather than follow it, and to add the best value we can to our communities. We achieve this by developing our employees to their full potential, providing them with the relevant knowledge, equipment and authority to carry out their duties.

Our employees enjoy excellent conditions of service including a local government pension scheme, and an agile working environment for a large percentage of our staff, as well as the possibility of 'job sharing'.

About you

People like dealing with you because you make things easy for them to understand and naturally create the conditions for them to trust you. You make connections between people, instinctively making links and introductions. Highly self-motivated, you push yourself to achieve what you want out of life, and are always looking for ways to grow and develop, whatever you are doing.

You are very aware and caring of people's feelings and this allows you to quickly establish rapport; you focus on and listen to what people say. You will deal sensitively with people who may be vulnerable and/or emotional and situations that may be challenging, demanding and stressful, but still require clear and logical decisions to be made to bring matters to an acceptable conclusion. You are well-organised, ensure that your work is accurate and error free, and enjoy following a process and working within fixed guidelines. You keep going no matter how difficult things get, and use setbacks as a springboard for greater success. You are quite happy to take responsibility for your own decisions and accountabilities.

Please see the job descriptions and person specifications for more a comprehensive list of duties that the role normally entails as you could be asked to occasionally pick up other responsibilities, and also for the personal qualities needed.

People like dealing with you because you make things easy for them to understand and naturally create the conditions for them to trust you. You make connections between people, instinctively making links and introductions. Highly self-motivated, you push yourself to achieve what you want out of life, and are always looking for ways to grow and develop, whatever you are doing.

As our Welfare Coordinator, you will:

• Have experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work)
• Be able to actively listen, empathise with people and provide person-centred support in a non-judgemental way
• Be able to provide a culturally sensitive service, by supporting people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity
• Be able to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence
• Can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders

If you would like an informal chat regarding this role please contact Sophie Soto, Early Intervention Team Leader. Sophie.Soto@Breckland.gov.uk 

Closing date: 9am, Monday 9 June
Interview date:   w/c 23 June

Please be aware that if you are selected for this role there will be a requirement to undertake a DBS check as part of pre-employment checks.

What's it like to work for us?

We are passionate about our people and pride ourselves on being a great place to work, we genuinely care and know that a happy workforce is a productive and motivated one! If you're still not sure, here are some stats from our 2024 staff survey to convince you..

• 94% said they feel trusted and empowered
• 90% of staff recommend Breckland as a great place to work
• 89% said they have had opportunities to learn and grow in the last 12 months
• 94% think Breckland provide positive action on health and wellbeing
• 91% said they felt supported by their manager

If you STILL need convincing, here's what some of our staff say...

• "Breckland is a fantastic employer, lots of opportunities and support"
• "Having only just started, it is a great place to work, everyone says hello, is smiley and chatty. I like the groups that are on, like carers shed and neurodiversity"
• "We are encouraged to take regular breaks and there are mental health first aiders and a wide range of good promotional aspects of healthy living and wellbeing."
• "In times of need the council offers excellent support."
• "BDC really does seem to care about the wellbeing and happiness of their staff."

At Breckland Council we have embraced the Government's agenda to modernise local government. Our approach is to lead change rather than follow it, and to add the best value we can to our communities. We achieve this by developing our employees to their full potential, providing them with the relevant knowledge, equipment, and authority to carry out their duties.

We are a dynamic and innovative organisation that is always testing and learning as we seek to continually improve. We have never stood still in response to the emergence of new opportunities, changing customer demands, and ongoing funding challenges. We have exciting plans for how to deliver the best possible services to our residents and businesses.

Breckland as a district is a special place nestled in the heart of rural Norfolk, spanning over 500 square miles of beautiful countryside and forest, with five Market Towns and over 140,000 residents. We care, we listen, and we support people and businesses within our district. We have big ideas and we are innovative in our approach, coming up with ways to meet the needs of the local communities that we serve. Through our actions, we want to make things better.

But we know that we can't do it alone. We are a collaborative organisation and we work together with others to make a greater impact. We are also an organisation where our employees can grow and develop and are empowered to achieve and succeed. We are proud of our area, and by driving investment and enabling opportunities, we can maximise its full potential. We want to inspire aspiration to live, work, visit, or do business here: we want our district to be one of choice.

We will support and enable growth and change in our thriving, welcoming places where people and businesses choose to be, knowing their ambitions can be not just fulfilled but exceeded. By listening to people, by understanding what they need and by working together, we can shape what we have to offer. By doing so, we can benefit those who are already here and those who choose to come to live, work, visit, or do business.

We offer excellent conditions of service, including:

• A local government pension scheme (14 per cent employer contribution).
• Attractive holiday package (25 days increasing after three years' continuous Local Authority service by one day per year up to the maximum of 28 days, plus bank holidays)
• Free car parking.
• Remote-enabled working arrangements.
• A newly refurbished office. See what it is like working here by watching this short film: 
  

Our commitment to talent development, on the job learning and upskilling, training and professional memberships, will keep your knowledge and skills up to date.

Job summary

Description of duties:

• Conduct assessment of individual and families to identify their needs and vulnerabilities.
• Connect individuals and families with appropriate services and resources, including housing, health and community organisations.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with community partners and agencies to facilitate collaboration and resource sharing.
• Advocate for the needs of vulnerable individuals and families, working to address systemic barriers and inequities.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of all casework activities, including assessments, support plans and progress notes.
• Participate in regular case conferences and team meetings to share information and coordinate services.
• To ensure compliance to all Breckland Council policies, procedures, standard operating practices, with recommendations for action and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities for:

Referrals:

• To manage referrals via multiple platforms including email, phone call and systems.  
• Ensure all activity is logged on systems and referrals where applicable.

Providing Personalised Support:

• Help people identify wider issues that impact on health and wellbeing and signpost to relevant organisations who can support.
• Be a friendly and engaging source of information about health, wellbeing and prevention approaches.
• Introduce people to appropriate community groups, activities and statutory services.
• Seek advice and support from the relevant identified individual(s) to discuss concerns, referring to a suitable professional if required.

Support to VCSE and Community Groups:

• Forge strong links with a wide range of VCSE organisations, community and neighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks where applicable.

General Tasks:

• Work sensitively with people to capture key information to support their needs through multi-agency support networks.
• Support referral agencies to provide appropriate information about the person they are referring. Provide appropriate feedback to referral agencies about the people they referred.
• Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner.
• Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

This job description is not exhaustive.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work)
• Ability to actively listen, empathise with people and provide person-centred support in a non-judgemental way
• Experience of dealing with demanding and challenging people in difficult/sensitive situations.
• Working knowledge of a wide range of office ICT applications
• Able to provide a culturally sensitive service, by supporting people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity
• Able to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals
• Have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies, when the person's needs are beyond the scope of the link worker role
• Can demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and ability to work well under pressure
• IT

Desirable:

• Local knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality
• Experience of working with the VCSE sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups

Qualifications

Essential

• Demonstrate commitment to professional and personal development
• GCSE Maths and English grading 9 - 4 or equivalent

Behaviours

Collaborative

• I recognise the skills, talent and experience of others and reach out to them for their contribution and input.

Ambitious

• My approach to work is filled with positivity and optimism.
• I have an open mindset, take risks and explore new ways of doing things.

Results-driven

• I am driven, showing courage and resilience even when things don't go to plan.

Empowering

• I ask for help and support when needed, and take responsibility if things don't go well, learning from it for my own and for the organisation's development.

Supportive

• I understand and take care of my own wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of those around me.

Mental Demands

Personal issues of others, occasional requirement to work flexible hours to meet the demands of the role

Health & Safety (exposure to risk)

None

If you would like an informal chat regarding this role please contact Sophie Soto, Early Intervention Team Leader at sophie.soto@Breckland.gov.uk 

Closing date - 9^th June 2025

Interview date - WC 23^th June 2025

APPLY ONLINE

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to being an Equal Opportunities employer, recognising the benefits of sustaining a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community we serve. We welcome applications from anyone who feels they meet the requirements of our vacancies. These are listed as essential requirements on the person specification.