Caseworker

Organisation: North Wales Community Law
Permanent. Full time / Part time or Job Share
£25,000- £28,000 (pro rata if part time) dependant on experience and qualifications
Location: Conwy, North Wales
Deadline: 7 June, 2024

About the role

We seek an organised, compassionate and ambitious caseworker who is committed to social justice. The postholder will provide casework assistance to our legal team, and advice, information and support to our clients, working in innovative ways with our diverse and welcoming communities to help the poorest people in our region uphold their rights.

Our caseworkers will meet clients at our offices and in foodbanks, libraries and community centres across the region, as well as contributing to our legal research, public legal education and policy development work.

Hours, work patterns and remote working will be discussed with the successful candidate based on their specific needs. In addition, you can expect 35 days annual leave including bank holidays (pro rata), extra leave between Christmas and New Year, a commitment to investing in your professional development, a company pension scheme and comprehensive employee assistance programme. Wellbeing is a core value of North Wales Community Law, and we recognise that we all thrive when our needs are met.

Communities in North Wales need more social welfare lawyers. To achieve this we are committed to developing and rewarding talent. We will consider a broad range of applications, including those from people with varied previous experience, career changers, job sharers and those looking to move into new areas of practice.

For experienced caseworkers wishing to qualify as a solicitor, we will provide the necessary experience and fund the cost of your assessment, admission and certification subject to the terms of our Training Agreement.

About North Wales Community Law

Our vision is that everyone in North Wales has access to the services and expertise they need to uphold their rights, fight inequality and challenge injustice.

North Wales Community Law is an independent, not-for-profit legal charity committed to alleviating poverty, promoting equality, and helping everyone create a fairer and more just society. We do this by providing free, community based legal advice on issues affecting the day to day lives of people living in North Wales, using the law as a tool for social change, and sharing our knowledge and skills with others.

Since opening our doors in 2023 we’ve provided expert legal advice to people in need who can’t afford or access solicitors in private law firms. We’ve formed innovative collaborations with grassroots organisations supporting individuals, and with national charities challenging public bodies. We have established a national profile across Wales and the UK, championing the legal rights of individuals and communities in North Wales who are marginalised through poverty, discrimination, or disadvantage.

About North Wales

North Wales is a unique region with beaches, mountains, forests and lakes all within a short distance. The area benefits from good schools, comparatively low house prices and a rich and varied cultural history. Welsh is Britain’s oldest language and is thriving across north Wales. Wales’s progressive legislative record provides unequalled opportunity to make a lasting impact for communities with little access to legal advice and representation.

Duties

1. To provide casework assistance to our legal team, and give appropriate advice and support to clients, managing your own caseload and making applications for public funding as required.
2. To liaise with landlords’ and other parties’ representatives, solicitors, other agencies and groups as required.
3. To ensure that all casework, advice, and assistance complies with the requirements of the organisation’s processes, accreditations and, where publicly funded, complies with the requirements of the Legal Aid Agency.
4. To collate evidence and work in partnership with other advice providers locally and regionally to influence the development of policy and legislation in relation to housing and domestic abuse.
5. To undertake outreach work, including liaising with local communities, delivering talks and presentations to groups, and visiting community settings as appropriate. Work from various locations as reasonably required.
6. To inform and participate in our public legal education work, to promote North Wales Community Law and a rights-respecting culture in north Wales.
7. To actively engage with local community groups and organisations, bringing together our experience, skills and knowledge with that of others, sharing learning wherever possible.
8. To prepare reports on your own work for the information of the Trustee Board, funders and other stakeholders, as required.
9. To actively contribute to internal meetings, including cascading learning.
10. To attend appropriate training courses and maintain readership of relevant publications to maintain and develop professional expertise.
11. To support your own and team’s wellbeing and encourage a positive working environment.
12. To travel to other locations for the purposes of giving advice, advocacy or for training.
13. To carry out a share of administrative tasks including those detailed in the organisation’s Quality Manual.
14. To carry out such other duties as may be required.

Person specification

Essential

• Experience of complex casework, advising and supporting clients through the legal system.
• Ability to manage a busy caseload, working under pressure and meeting deadlines.
• Good organisational, prioritising and time management skills.
• Excellent listening, verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with the organisation’s client group.
• Experience of team and multi-agency working.
• Commitment to sharing learning, skills and knowledge.
• An understanding of and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and its relevance to legal advice.
• Strongly commitment to North Wales Community Law’s vision, mission and values.
• Excellent IT skills.

Desirable

• Experience of civil litigation, representing clients in the county court.
• Experience of family law practice
• Experience of working with communities/individuals who are marginalised, affected by discrimination and/or of working with agencies in the voluntary or statutory sector in a relevant field of work.
• Experience of legal aid (including certificated) work, and an understanding of optimising legal aid income.
• Proven experience of billing procedures, meeting financial targets and time recording requirements using case management systems.
• Experience of working with IT systems including CCMS, SharePoint and paperless working.
• An understanding of partnership working.
• Experience of working on grant funded projects.
• Ability in written and spoken Welsh.

To apply

Please email recruitment@nwcl.cymru, with the job title in the subject line, attaching:

• An up to date CV
• A covering letter*,
• A completed Equality Monitoring Form

The deadline for applications is 9am on Friday 7th June.

Interviews will be held remotely the week beginning Monday 10th June.

We recognise the value of diverse perspectives in our work and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, communities, identities and experiences, including those with personal experience of the inequalities and injustices we seek to address.

If you require any reasonable adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing recruitment@nwcl.cymru.

*Please structure the covering letter so that you provide answers to the following questions:

1. Please describe how your skills, qualities and experiences meet the requirements set out in the Job Description. Where possible, provide examples (which could be from a professional, voluntary or personal context) to demonstrate those skills, qualities and experiences. [500 words max.]
2. Tell us how you have used, or how you would like to use, the law and / or community action to fight inequality and challenge injustice in your community. Where possible please relate your answer to your previous experience, which could be in paid or voluntary work, or research you have conducted. [250 words max.]

For more information and an informal conversation about the role, please contact Katherine Adams on 01492 484 802.

We look forward to hearing from you.