Debt Advice Support Officers

Debt Advice Support Officers
Birmingham / Hybrid
Salary: £24,000 pa Circa (inclusive of shift allowance) + pension, 37 days annual leave and great benefits
Closing date for applications is 19 January 2024
Telephone interviews will be held during week commencing 29 January
2nd Stage Formal interviews to take place at our Birmingham office during week commencing 5 February 2024.
Can you make a difference?
We are looking for exceptional new colleagues to provide support and assistance to our clients, and to help prepare them for Debt Advice.
If you are empathetic, have outstanding customer-focused communication skills and you want to help people through the cost-of-living crisis and beyond, then this is the role for you.
The Money Advice Trust is an independent charity founded in 1991 to help people across the UK to tackle their debts and manage their money with confidence.
As a Debt Advice Support Officer, you will be the first point of contact to provide support and assistance to clients, helping them to prepare for Debt Advice. This will involve establishing and recording details of their personal and debt circumstances, completing income and expenditure details and making referrals to online resources or referring to specialist Money Advisers. You will also where needed book appointments for clients for further Debt Advice Support.
This is a role for resilient candidates who are consistent in approach and can demonstrate that they are able to deal with subjects that can be highly emotive and sensitive. With proven experience in a customer service role, you will possess accurate data entry skills and have the desire to learn and develop. We offer full training and there is the opportunity, with experience in this role, to progress your career further as a Money Adviser.
You must be able to work a shift pattern between our service hours of 9.00am – 8.00pm with a one in five Saturday working rota (9.30 am – 1.00 pm). We also have part time roles available
working a minimum of 27.5 hours per week. Shifts and Saturday work are subject to review and change.
You must be able to commit to training full time at our Birmingham office for the first three weeks of employment.
Responsibilities
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Be the first point of contact for inbound callers seeking Debt Advice and establish their personal and debt circumstances.
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Be the point of contact to book advice appointments for clients who are referred from Money advisers.
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Prepare clients for a money advice session by contacting them in advance of an appointment outlining the expectations.
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Help clients gather information and prepare a budget in advance of their appointment, altering costs of spending where required.
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Record information received from the client to contribute to the progression of their advice session.
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Contact and collect information from third parties including creditors to support the work of the Money Adviser
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Act as initial point of contact for clients as required to gather information and manage appointments including sending SMS reminders and emails.
Role Requirements
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Ability to empathise and understand the problems of clients
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Proficient in a wide range of IT skills such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook as week as remote working applications such as Zoom and Teams
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The ability to communicate effectively – verbal and written and the ability to engage with clients and colleagues confidently and concisely
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Good numerical skills
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Accuracy and attention to detail when case recording
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Ability to enter data whilst talking on the phone
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Ability and desire to learn and develop
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Minimum Grade C or above in GCSE or equivalent Maths and English, or equivalent working experience
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Proven experience in a customer service role
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Knowledge of debt issues or basic money advice practices (desirable)
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Contact centre experience (desirable)
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Working in a regulated environment (desirable)
The role will commence in March 2024. If you believe you can make a difference and want to be part of our great team, please click apply.
This is an extremely rewarding role in a friendly, informal, and supportive environment with excellent salary and benefits.
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29 days annual leave plus bank holidays
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A contributory pension scheme
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Generous Life Insurance
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Healthcare cash plan
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Free on-site gym
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Enhanced maternity pay
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Long service awards
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Hybrid working arrangement – one day in the office and the rest of the week at home
We take diversity seriously and are committed to making diversity and inclusion a part of everything we do. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve, and our vision is to be a place where everyone feels welcome and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work and make the Money Advice Trust an employer of choice.
We will only use the data you supply to us in CVs or application forms for recruitment purposes. This data will be held for twelve months. For further information please refer to our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants, available on the vacancies page of our website.
We are committed to working in an equitable, diverse and inclusive environment and welcome applications from all backgrounds. We use a blind recruitment system which hides your personal details such as name, address, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, educational institution to ensure all candidates are on a level playing field. Personal details will only be revealed once the application has been shortlisted