Housing Support Officer

This is an exciting opportunity for the right person to join the Refugee Migrant Centre (RMC) as its Quality Assurance Officer. RMC is an established, award winning, regional charity, renowned for its work with refugees and migrants. You will help shape its quality of advice strategy and make a positive impact on the lives of both staff and the refugees and migrants that we help.

For over 23 years, RMC has assisted thousands of refugees and migrants from 162 countries. It has helped to remove the barriers to integration, helping its clients become equal citizens, using a whole-person approach to the delivery of services from specialist legal advice through to education and employment programmes. ​

The post holder will join RMC in the advice department and will work closely with key managers.  This is an exciting time to be joining the team, as RMC are strengthening and expanding its infrastructure following a period of growth in staff, activities and turnover (from £776k to £2.8 million in the last 5 years).

The aim of this role will be to provide a quality assurance and audit preparation support, helping the Refugee and Migrant Centre (RMC) to maintain its quality standards set out in its membership with the Advice Quality Standard (AQS) and the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC).

Purpose of the role

· Regular quality of advice assessment of cases, uploaded on our own internal case recording management system, to OISC and AQS case recording standards.

· Implementation of a robust case checking system, independent file reviews and peer-to-peer assessment.

· Administrative support to the Immigration Department Manager (IDM) in operation of their quality responsibilities.

· Preparation of regular internal audit reports making recommendations regarding compliance or non-compliance to the IDM.

· Provision of practical support where necessary to the casework and advice teams across all three sites.

Main duties and responsibilities

· Carrying out regular quality of advice assessment of cases, uploaded on our own internal case recording management system, to OISC and AQS case recording standards. These assessments must be in line with agreed guidelines with the IDM and ROM to maintain high standards of advice provision.

· When required, to carry out regular analysis of quality of advice assessments to OISC and AQS standards, in order to identify specific issues that need to be addressed.

· Supporting the IDM to implement a robust case checking system, independent file reviews and peer-to-peer assessment among the casework management teams.

· Supporting the IDM and ROM in preparing for organisational quality of advice audits conducted by OISC and AQS.

· Providing administrative support to the IDM in operation of their quality responsibilities and/or any suitable task.

· Regularly attending appropriate meetings and providing support in the capacity of the role, including administration, note taking, etc.

· Preparation of regular internal audit reports making recommendations regarding compliance or non-compliance of quality and/or process requirements by the team to the IDM.

· Provision of practical support where necessary to the casework and advice teams across all three sites.

· Ensuring that this work is carried out in accordance with RMC’s values, principles, policies and procedures, specifically those around equal opportunity, confidentiality, impartiality and non-directive advice.

Candidate Specification

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills- essential

· Experience in a quality-auditing role

· Experience of working within established quality standards

· Demonstrable experience of relationship building and excellent interpersonal skills

· Experience of driving change and continuous improvement

· Good oral and written communication skills

· Good analytical skills

· Good level of IT literacy (MS Office)

· Experience of working on own initiative and managing own workload

· Experience of working as part of an effective team

· Ability to work to strict deadlines and under pressure

Desirable

· Experience of working within the voluntary sector, either paid or unpaid

· Experience and/or understanding of advice work

· Current or previous OISC qualification or willingness to train in both OISC standard to required level; and

· A recognised audit qualification e.g., ISO 9001

A DBS check will be carried out for this post

Please see attached the full Job description and Person specification