Money Advice and Debt Specialist Caseworker/Trainee

What we’re looking for

Ideally, you’ll already be an experienced money advice caseworker with a background in holistic, person-centred support around debt, budgeting and financial wellbeing. If you have strong advice-giving experience and a real passion for helping people manage their finances, we’d be delighted to help you develop into the role.

You’ll enjoy working with a diverse range of people and bring an openminded, approachable and nonjudgmental attitude. Empathy, compassion, clear thinking and confident problem-solving will be central to how you support clients through sometimes complex financial situations.

In this role, you’ll deliver high quality money, debt and budgeting advice within a quality assured framework, meeting FCA and AQS standards. You’ll help clients understand their debt options, maximise income through benefits and grants, prepare accurate financial statements and work collaboratively with creditors and other agencies. You’ll manage a busy caseload, keep detailed case records, identify urgent issues quickly, and support clients with related matters such as housing and welfare benefits. You may also negotiate with creditors and prepare or present cases including DRO, Breathing Space and bankruptcy applications. Alongside this, you’ll offer guidance to trainees and less experienced colleagues.

The role is based in our Exeter office, with a mix of in person and telephone appointments, including at outreach locations by arrangement.

We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled candidates, and particularly from disabled people, people from Black, Asian and other racially minoritised backgrounds, and LGBTQ+ candidates.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• The essential criteria to be assessed either at the application stage, or during the interview and interview tasks.

• Qualified and competent money advice and debt caseworker holding the relevant accredited quality standard and other competencies set down by Advice Quality Standard, Money and Pension Service, FCA and/or Institute of Money Advisers

• Demonstrable and thorough understanding of the application of the debt process in a busy advice organisation and of doing so in a client- centred and efficient way including through working on a Money Advice Service or MAPS funded programme

• A positive approach to quality of advice audit (including peer review and external audit) and a commitment to constructive feedback as part of the quality assurance and learning process (as a recipient and

• as a supervisor)

• The ability to sift through large amounts of information and gather essential details during a client interview

• Excellent negotiation skills with experience of conducting negotiations with a range of agencies and creditors

• Proven ability to plan and prioritise your workload, meet deadlines and work calmly and with focus within a busy and fast paced environment

• Experience of using a casework recording and quality assurance system and IT platforms

• Experience of providing effective guidance and support to peers and junior colleagues and the ability to plan and co-ordinate the workload of others

• Experience of working effectively within a team including paid and volunteer staff

• Excellent communication skills (spoken and written) and the ability to develop and maintain positive, professional, working relationships with clients, funders, stakeholders, colleagues, volunteers, creditors and other agencies

• Proven IT skills including very confident and competent use of Word, Excel, databases, cloud-based systems etc to maintain effective records, administrative and reporting systems

• A commitment to travelling to various locations as required

• Understanding of the issues affecting society and their implications for clients and service provision

• Understanding of and commitment to the aims and principles of the CA service and its equal opportunities policies

Desirable criteria

• Hold a current registration as a DRO intermediary

• Experience of working within a Citizens Advice charity  

• Experience of working with the public in an advisory capacity