Joining us, you get to work for not just one high performing London Borough, but two.

Sutton and Kingston councils have a number of shared services serving both authorities, with some teams and roles more focussed on one Council than the other, but the majority are shared across both, meaning you get multiple opportunities to learn from a wider pool of activities and two different political bodies.

We work flexibly in both Sutton and Kingston offices, and support working at home or flexible working patterns that enable you to tailor your working and personal life. We provide the equipment and tools to enable you to work flexibly, and in return ask you to use that flexibility to be creative and ambitious in the services we deliver.

There are some really exciting things happening in both Sutton and Kingston. We are developing the London Cancer Hub, a world leading cancer research and treatment hub that will bring together professionals from across different sectors to identify and test new treatments and therapies. We are undertaking the largest housing regeneration programme ever delivered in Kingston, building new energy efficient housing that will transform some of our oldest Council owned housing. Both boroughs have publicly committed to doing what they can to tackle the climate emergency and are investing in new technologies and societal change that will help bring carbon emissions down and improve our climate impact.

You should choose Sutton and Kingston if you are looking for an opportunity that will challenge you to deliver more, support you to achieve personal ambitions, and expect you to put borough residents at the heart of what you do.

Sutton is a well connected attractive part of London that has a reputation for excellent schools, green and leafy open spaces, and a history that drives a thriving heritage and culture offer through our museums and libraries. The Council is controlled by a long established Liberal Democrat Administration and has high ambitions set out in its corporate plan “Ambitious for Sutton”, that will ensure Sutton remains a great place to live, work and raise a family. The Council plays a leading role in a number of local partnerships and places great emphasis on engaging effectively with its residents, listening to local voices and making their message heard across London Government.

Kingston is a beautiful Royal borough with a historic setting on the banks of the Thames with excellent schools and a bustling retail centre, all surrounded by open green spaces such as Richmond Park and Bushey Park, former recreation grounds for Tudor Kings and Queens. The Council is controlled by a Liberal Democrat Administration and has a council plan “Greener, Fairer, Safer, Together”, that sets out a vision to be a vibrant, diverse and inclusive borough where residents are active, empowered, engaged and able to remain independent and resilient. The Council engages with residents through a number of forums and events through the year, and like Sutton plays a leading role in developing the South West Region of London.

The role of Financial Inclusion Officer is to support Kingston Council tenants to manage their household income effectively to support tenancy sustainment

Within the role of Financial Inclusion Officer you will be expected to:

• Achieve income maximisation including the completion of welfare benefits applications.
• Provide support and advice on money management and effective budgeting.
• Complete income and expenditure forms to support tenants to set up affordable repayment plans for outstanding debts.
• Complete welfare benefits mandatory reconsiderations and appeals.
• Work collaboratively with both internal and external departments and partner agencies.

The Financial Inclusion Team offers a service to all Kingston Council tenants who may be experiencing difficulties paying their rent and managing their money. The aim of the service is to reduce the breakdown of any tenancy by working closely with our tenants to maximise their income and encourage a rent first payment culture.

The team works with tenants to develop financial capability and independence by offering:

• The delivery of a proactive service offering an appointment to new tenants at the beginning of their tenancy.
• Free impartial advice and support on a range of welfare benefits and tax credits.
• Assistance with housing benefit disputes and back dates.
• Guidance and support when making benefit appeals.
• Advice concerning Universal Credit.
• Casework support with ongoing queries.
• Money guidance advice and signposting to specialist agencies when necessary.
• To provide monthly statistics on performance and financial outcomes for those we support.

Essential requirements for the role as financial inclusion officer include a minimum of 5 GCSEs.

You will have excellent verbal and written communication skills and to provide detailed and clear case recording.

You will be expected to work empathetically with financially vulnerable tenants who may present with a range of support needs.

To offer in person financial inclusion appointments in Guildhall 2 to those who respond best to face to face engagement.

To work with and attend meetings both in person and virtually with internal and external departments and partner agencies.

Desirable requirements include detailed knowledge of all aspects of financial inclusion and in depth understanding of welfare benefits such as Universal Credit.

Evidence of Citizens Advice Advisor training.

Knowledge of CIVICA and NEC systems would be an advantage but training will be provided.

We are however, willing to train a suitable candidate if they can show real interest and enthusiasm for the role and have suitable transferrable skills.

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Car parking scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve - the key highlights from our recent Equalities Workforce Report can be seen here. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.