Advisory Officer

This permanent position has a starting salary of £32,512 per annum based on a 36 hour working week.

We are delighted to be hiring a new Advisory Officer to join our Adult Social Care Information & Advice Service. The team is based in Dakota, Weybridge which is where you will be based whilst you build up the skills and confidence to work independently in a hybrid way.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service.
• Option to buy up to 5 days of additional annual leave
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) supporting health and wellbeing
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave

About the Team

The Adult Social Care Information & Advice Service is part of Customer Services. Our aim is to provide a consistent, high quality, resident focused experience that aligns with the principles of the Customer Promise, acting as a first point of contact for customers who have Adult Social Care enquiries.

About the Role

As an Advisory Officer you will be responsible for providing customers and partner agencies with comprehensive information and advice about care and support services in their local area. This is to help people understand how care and support services work locally, the care and funding options available and how people can access these services.

Our working environment is outcome focused and you will be working in a fast-paced setting, ensuring that allocated cases are resolved in a timely manner and in line with legislation/policies and best practice.

We want to be honest with you, the nature of some of the calls and correspondence we receive can be sensitive and at times upsetting. We recognise it can be challenging to take calls about abuse, neglect or from someone who is at risk or in crisis, but it is so important that we provide this service to people who need it. As such, robust personal resilience is essential. We will then add a comprehensive induction program on starting with us and commit to ensuring you will never be on your own and have a supportive environment and team to work with.

Although this role involves working as part of a well-supported team, you will be given the tools to work independently to allow you to deliver work to a high standard.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your CV and personal statement must clearly evidence the following:

• An understanding of social care and health issues with a basic awareness of public sector and voluntary agencies
• The ability to work under pressure and multitask confidently
• Experience of providing high levels of customer care and professionalism in a busy environment
• Able to quickly build rapport and effect successful relationships?with customers and partner agencies
• Excellent IT skills and ability to use databases to a high standard of accuracy
• Able to work autonomously with initiative and as part of a team
• Able to travel to Weybridge
• Able to work from home in a confidential space, including access to secure Wi-Fi

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 21/07/2024 with interviews on 31/07/2024. The interview will include a 5-10 minute presentation in a format of your choice on a topic shared in advance, followed by a short IT/telephone test.

In order to safeguard our customers and handle confidential information, a Basic DBS 'Disclosure & Barring Service' check will be required for this role.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.