New Vacancy at Citizens Advice Manchester

Citizens Advice Manchester are recruiting for a Full Time Telephone & Digital Triage Assessor, full time, for 35 hours per week, working from their Contact Centre in the City Centre. 

They are looking for an experienced and self-motivated individual to join their team of telephone & digital triage assessors.  If you can demonstrate: -

* A professional manner and good communication skills 
* An ability to gather and assess information quickly and accurately
* An ability to learn quickly and to work under pressure
* An ability to deal confidently and sensitively with members of the public as part of the frontline service. 
* A commitment to equal opportunity for all

They can offer:-

* A salary of  £19,048 per annum 
* 26 days annual leave per annum (plus bank holidays)
* Health Plan with integrated Employee Assistance Programme

Application packs can be requested via email at hr@manchestercab.org
or by telephoning Jo-Anne Sharkey on 0161 672 0527

Closing date for applications:  5pm on Thursday 6 August 2015
Interviews will be held:   Week commencing 10 August 2015  

June's Forum Notes

Apologies for the delay but the notes from June's forum meeting are now available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1aWoCJw0ptPVWtZdjZSQWc4YzQ/view?usp=sharing

We've also got the slides from the Pension Wise team's presentation to share with you; they can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1aWoCJw0ptPdk9iMTVjU3NuQlU/view?usp=sharing

It was a really great session, with fantastic presentations from both the Pension Wise team and Mike at Choices Community Trust on work clubs - thanks also to Barlow Moor Community Association for pitching in with your valuable experience, and to everyone else for some really worthwhile contributions.

Also documented here is the reminder that August will be the last forum facilitated by the MAA team. We're delighted to hear that there's enthusiasm for other organisations taking up a bit of responsibility for meeting organisation so the group can continue, as we can see from the feedback forms you fill in that they've been really useful for you.

Please don't miss out on the next meeting, as it would be great to see as many faces as possible at the last session....it's also going to be really valuable, with a session from Stephenson's Solicitors on Discrimination in the Welfare Benefits System, and Chris Hulse will also be attending. And, if all else fails, lunch is provided! Click here to book your space now - August 11th, 1.30-5pm at Friends Meeting House

It's the Final Forum!!

....And if you're not singing Europe's 'The Final Countdown' now...well, you're probably more sensible than us!

Anyway, the time for the last of our scheduled forums has come, and we're going out with a bang - we have a session on Discrimination in the Welfare Benefits System, followed by Chris Hulse from DWP, and all our regular agenda items. Throw in plenty of time to network, lunch and some homemade baked goodies and you're onto a winner...

So make sure you sign up quick here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/maa-august-forum-tickets-17617218575

We'll look forward to seeing you there!

New Big Lottery Funding

The Big Lottery Fund has announced a new funding programme designed to support women and girls, as it recognises that they have been disproportionately affected by recent public sector spending cuts. The overarching aim is that the funding will empower women and girls to take control of their lives. It should be your organisation's primary purpose to provide services to women and girls either on a specific issue (for example, domestic violence or mental health) or in a community setting e.g. a women's centre or youth group.

The four main funding outcomes are:

1. Increased provision of holistic, integrated,  person-centred approaches for women and girls at risk
2. Increased involvement of women and girls in the design and delivery of the services they use.
3. A greater number of women and girls are supported through the provision of improved specialist support
4. Better quality of evidence for what works in empowering women and girls.

and your project should be able to meet all of these.

Funding of up to £750,000 can be requested for up to 5 years, so this is certainly a pot that may be worth considering. Initial expressions of interest should be submitted by 16th July.

For more information, visit the Big Lottery website

Spotlight On... Hope for Justice

Hope for Justice is an anti-human trafficking charity with their Head Office here in Manchester. Their specialist investigators identify victims of trafficking for forced labour, sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. They've removed 62 survivors from trafficking situations in the UK in the first five months of this year; they work with the police where appropriate but act as an independent third party for victims who may be too afraid (for a variety of reasons) to approach the authorities.

Hope for Justice also provide advocacy for survivors, once they have been taken out of their situation of exploitation by our team or by the police, and help them to secure housing, welfare entitlements, job training, civil claims and criminal injuries compensation.

Have you come across individuals who’ve had their passports taken, who haven't been paid for the work they’re doing or who were recruited on the promise of a job but found that no such work existed? Do they show signs of being controlled by someone else, are they picked up and dropped off for work or are they working extremely long hours? Have they been taken to open bank accounts but have had the card taken away from them, do they have no private area to sleep or are they offered alcohol and tobacco in place of wages? These are a few of the indicators of human trafficking.

Hope for Justice offers free training to NGOs to help frontline staff like you to identify potential victims who may be engaging with your service. You can then refer their trafficking case to our team. To enquire about free training for your team contact Sue Swidrak - sue.swidrak@hopeforjustice.org

 

If you'd like to see your organistion featured in 'Spotlight On...', send us an overview of the services you offer today!

New Citizens Advice Trainee Post

There's a new post opening up at Manchester Citizens Advice for a Trainee Fuel Poverty Adviser; see below for details:

Post 1:           Fuel Poverty Adviser (Trainee)

Salary:           Starting at £20,253 per annum (Rising to £22,937 on successful completion of development programme)

Hours:           Full Time 35 hours per week (Initially 12 months fixed term) 

This is a potential development opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated individual with the minimum required advice experience to join our specialist Energy Advice Service.  Our team of specialist advisers are tackling fuel poverty using a range of preventative measures. We work in a holistic manner to achieve long term benefits for our clients.

The service is targeted at the most vulnerable and financially excluded families.

You will provide a flexible menu of services including debt and welfare benefits advice, income maximisation, financial capability workshops and energy efficiency advice. The adviser will deliver the service via a range of outreach venues.

We value our employees and can offer the following benefits:
•           Generous salary
•           26 days annual leave plus bank holidays
•           Health plan with integrated Employee Assistance Programme
•           Flexi Time working

Application packs can be downloaded from our website: www.manchestercab.org

or by emailing hr@manchestercab.org   

The closing date for application is Thursday 2^nd July 2015. 

Interviews will be held during the week commencing 6^th July 2015.

Keep Volunteering Voluntary Event

If you haven't yet heard of it, Keep Volunteering Voluntary is a campaign against the Help to Work Programme and mandatory work placements - they want to address the major concerns that the sector has about this scheme and how it affects individuals and the organisations which support them.

On July 14th, they'll be holding an event at MMU from 1-4pm; this will:

• Spread information about the Help to Work Programme and the ways in which it is being rolled out by the DWP, prime contractors and their subcontractors (including testimony from claimants who have been affected);
• Share information and experiences between participants who have had contact with the Programme;
• Gain greater understanding and awareness about the effects of workfare and benefits sanctions;
• Help to decide what further action can be taken.

You can book onto the event by clicking here. In addition, they're looking for a couple of people to speak about their experiences of workfare - either as an organisation who have lost genuine volunteers to the scheme or perhaps been offered volunteers as a part of it, or from individuals who have been forced to participate. If you would like to speak, or have a client who you think would like to take part, please email Rosi as soon as possible.

For more info on the event, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1aWoCJw0ptPZkt3cW1vR2EtSG8/view?usp=sharing