Advice Session Supervisors work with the Advice Services Manager to deliver the highest possible standard of advice and information for our clients to meet QAA requirements.

Main Duties

Supervision & Quality of Advice

• Manage the practicalities of the advice session and ensure adequate staffing and resources to ensure effective advice service delivery.
• Monitor the quality of advice given to clients and maintain standards of service delivery by your team, including case checking.
• Provide an appropriate level of support and supervision to individual Advisers in your team, depending on their level of competence.
• Provide timely feedback to your team, including results from case checking, and ensure remedial actions are identified and acted upon.
• Participate in QAA reviews as required.
• Support effective internal communications; ensuring staff and volunteers in your team are receiving and actioning updates and requests shared by others in the organisation.
• With support from the Advice Service Manager, ensure that your team receive adequate training and ongoing support.
• With support from the Advice Service Manager, ensure that all policies and procedures are followed.

Research and campaigns

• Promote the importance of research and campaigns work.
• Identify research and campaigns issues within case-checking.

Networking

• Develop links with relevant statutory and non-statutory agencies relevant to the role.
• Use skills and competences to promote the organisation and foster good relationships with external organisations.

Other duties and responsibilities

• Uphold the aims and principles of the Citizens Advice service and its equal opportunities policies.
• Promote the work and use of NWCA.
• Carry out any other tasks that may be within the scope of the post to ensure the effective provision of NWCA information and advice services.
• Abide by health and safety guidelines and share responsibility for own safety and that of colleagues.

Person specification

Experience

Measured By

• Citizens Advice qualified or equivalent and experience of advice services (E). Other qualifications and experience will be considered.

E – Essential; D - Desirable

Application form and interview

• Experience of delivering information/advice by telephone or electronically. Maintaining accurate case records to quality standards.
• The ability to prioritise tasks, manage a varied workload and work to deadlines using own initiative.
• Proven ability to monitor advice work and to maintain casework systems and procedures ensuring service delivery against agreed targets.
• Proven experience of developing individuals or groups by providing support, guidance, tutoring and/or training including devising and delivering training programmes.
• Experience of building good relationships with community partners fostering good working relationships for the benefit of our clients.
• Demonstrable ability to monitor and maintain service delivery against QAA guidelines.

Skills, knowledge and abilities

• Up-to-date knowledge of benefits legislation and practice. Up-to-date knowledge of energy/cost of living issues and developments affecting them.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written; excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to monitor advice work and ensure Citizens Advice quality standards are met and maintained.
• Prioritise client contacts and work flexibly.
• Ability to prioritise own work and the work of others, meet deadlines and manage workload in a busy environment.
• Holder of a Full UK Driving Licence and use of a car.
• Ability to analyse complex issues and work collaboratively to overcome barriers.
• Good working knowledge of the statutory and voluntary agencies in the area and of the advice needs within our local community.

Personal qualities

• Flexible, positive approach to working in a small team.
• Ability to meet deadlines and manage workload in a busy environment.
• Commitment to equality and diversity, as well as confidentiality and health and safety guidelines.
• Commitment to Citizens Advice aims, principles and policies.