Access Social Care
Sep 19, 2022
Full time
We are looking for Community Care specialists to join us as Senior Legal Caseworkers. Successful candidates will have significant experience of running a community care caseload. It is a really exciting time to join a committed and passionate team of people. Access Social Care is a new charity set up to support the rights of individuals and families who are not getting the social care provision that they have a right to. This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic team of passionate people. We are dedicated to the people who need our help, but we also care deeply about our team and we think that work should be an exciting and enjoyable place to be. Our mission is to improve the lives of disabled and older people by ensuring that they get the social care that they are entitled to. We provide rights awareness training to front line managers and legal advice and support to families and individuals. As well as providing access to justice, our aim is to create change through what we learn by using the data and information that we collect to help influence and affect systems change. Access does not have a legal aid contract or bring legal challenges. We deliver advice by telephone and digitally and very rarely work face to face. Our caseworkers make pre-action submissions on behalf of disabled and elderly people to try and resolve matters and avoid the need for litigation. Where it is apparent that legal representation is needed we refer cases to organisations with the relevant legal aid contracts. When necessary, we have drafted complaints and letters before action. About the role We are looking for a senior legal caseworker to provide advice and casework support independently to individuals with community care and mental capacity disputes. The senior legal caseworker will independently manage their own caseload supporting complex cases all over England. The senior legal caseworker may also supervise legal volunteers with their caseloads. Additionally, the senior legal caseworker will support members of the management team. Responsibilities Abide by and promote Access s policies particularly in relation to our strategy and governance around data protection and confidentiality. Work independently on our more complex cases, making use of peer support. Conduct a range of tasks associated with case preparation and management including: Identifying the legal issues in the case, linking different areas of legislation where applicable. Assessing the most appropriate and tactically beneficial options for a course of action. Explaining different options available to our clients so they are able to make an informed choice about the best tactical route for their case. Evidence gathering, including appropriate independent evidence. Preparation of correspondence / written submissions. Ensuring individuals and professionals understand the legislation underpinning the case. Identifying and preparing witnesses, if necessary. Attending meetings (normally online) in cases where appropriate. Ensuring that when giving advice, records are clear and files are accurate, confidentiality and data protection guidelines are explained to enquirers in an accessible way to maintain compliance with legislation. Referring cases on to third parties where appropriate. Liaising with other legal professionals including external law firms and barristers. Triage new referrals and present cases for allocation at team meetings Develop and maintain relationships with other professionals involved in working with our clients. Support the team to develop our network of external partners Be live to trends in casework, identify these and raise them with the team. You may be asked to complete work that forms part of the solution to the issues you have identified. Develop and maintain relationships with other client groups. Carry out legal research and the development of additional resources required by the Service. Support with skilling up junior members of the team through coworking of cases Support with the creation of team specific policies and processes when requested Support with stakeholder engagement and relationship management as requested Undertake such other tasks as may reasonably be required or asked of you in order to respond to organisational need and specifically needs within the legal team This list of tasks is not exhaustive and will be reviewed from time to time in discussion with the post holder. For full job description and personal specification please see attached Job Pack. Our values Trustworthy - Recognised for excellence, we will be the best we can be in everything we do. We will be truthful, independent and outcomes focussed. Fair - We believe in treating people with kindness and compassion in a way that is right, reasonable, and just. Fearless - We will do what is right, not what is easy. We will bravely challenge injustice. Inclusive - Our beneficiaries voices will influence our thinking and decision making at all levels of our organisation. Collaborative in our thinking, we will work with others to achieve our goals. Positive - We will be constructive and progressive in our challenge. We will optimistically and dynamically drive for change You will role model our five values in all your work activities. To apply, please send a copy of your CV with a covering letter setting out how you meet the person specification. Please ensure that your CV and covering letter do not include your name - use initials only. This will ensure that we avoid unconscious bias in our shortlisting process. We want to make sure that we are reaching all our communities. Please also complete the anonymised equalities monitoring survey within the Job Pack (below) to help us find out how we are doing: This will not be connected to your name or any other information about you. You can see how we look after your personal data here. We also want to make our organisation a positive place for disabled people to work. Please tell us if you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process. We can supply paperwork in large print on request and welcome applications in different formats. Thanks for reading and good luck!