Responsibilities

This role is pivotal in protecting vulnerable individuals from financial abuse and fraud, ensuring their financial independence and well-being. As a Financial Safeguarding Officer, you will be responsible for investigating cases of financial abuse, providing expert advice, and developing partnerships to address financial safeguarding issues effectively. You will also play a key role in delivering training and raising awareness on financial safeguarding matters within the council.

About the role

The Financial Safeguarding Officer will serve as the primary point of contact for financial safeguarding matters within the council.

The key responsibilities include:

• Investigating cases of financial abuse or deprivation of assets and identifying necessary actions.
• Continuously reviewing and analysing trends to improve processes and prevent financial abuse and fraud.
• Providing expert advice on financial abuse and investigation to ensure best practices and legislative requirements are met.
• Building partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to address financial abuse or fraud effectively.
• Delivering training and awareness sessions on financial safeguarding matters.
• Promoting the importance of income collection and raising awareness of roles and responsibilities across care teams.

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

About you

The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in the development and implementation of finance, fraud, or safeguarding best practices. You should have excellent customer service skills with a proven track record of supporting people with their finances. Experience in finance training development and delivery is essential, as well as strong networking and communication skills to influence service delivery approaches. Creativity and imagination in seeing new approaches and overcoming obstacles are highly valued. You should be well-organised with the ability to plan and prioritise workloads effectively, and possess tenacity and resilience in challenging existing ways of doing things and raising performance standards.

In addition, you should have a good operating knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, the Intranet/Internet, and Email. Relevant experience in project management or leading project-based initiatives is required. An understanding of Financial Advice and Fraud legislation and awareness of the role of the Office of the Public Guardian is important. Working knowledge of assessment and billing in Adult Social Care is also necessary.

Qualifications

• Educated to A Level / HNC standard or equivalent, with a professional finance qualification (e.g., CCAB or AAT) or equivalent experience.
• ICT skills – standard Microsoft packages & specialist systems.

Other information

For further information on this role please see the attached job summary.

Please note: You must have the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English.

Working arrangements: Any desk worker, working 2 days in the office and 3 days from home.

Closing date 19th November 2024

Interviews date TBC.

Interview-type / process: In person

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Person Specification

Essential:

• Extensive experience of the development and implementation of finance, fraud or safeguarding best practice.
• Excellent customer service skills, with experience of resolving customer enquiries in the specialist service area. A proven track record of successfully supporting people with their finances. 
• Experience of effective finance training development and delivery. 
• Ability to engage and network with range of stakeholders, to influence approaches to service delivery and to encourage more effective approaches, adapting communication and negotiation style to suit varied situations and people.
• Creativity and imagination in seeing new approaches, painting the vision, overcoming obstacles and showing that ambitious goals can be achieved.
• Well organised with the ability to plan and prioritise workloads to meet business needs with excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and presentation.
• Tenacity and resilience, for example challenging existing ways of doing things and raising performance and standards.
• Good operating knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, the Intranet/Internet and Email, with the ability to embrace new technology and challenge existing ways of working including processes, culture and perspectives.
• Experience of providing a customer driven front line service within a Local Authority, Registered Provider or a similar public or private organisation.
• Educated to A Level / HNC standard or equivalent.
• ICT skills – standard Microsoft packages & specialist systems.

Desirable:

• Relevant management qualification e.g. Degree, Certificate Diploma in leadership, management or human resources (HR).
• Relevant experience of project management, or leading and delivering project-based initiatives or changes. 
• Understanding of Financial Advice and Fraud legislation and awareness of the role of the Office of the Public Guardian.
• Working knowledge of assessment and billing in Adult Social Care.
• Professional finance qualification i.e. CCAB or AAT, or equivalent experience.
• A full driving license required to be able to carry out the role.