Technical Supervisor

Job Title: Technical Supervisor 
Reports To: Quality Assurance Manager
Direct line reports: Advice Assistants, Trainee Debt Advisors, Debt Advisors
Contract type: Permanent 
Working hours: Full time - 35 hours per week
Salary Grade: £33,000 
Location: Multiple sites across London (Hybrid working minimum 2 days onsite)

Deadline: 20th October, 5pm

Debt Free Advice is London’s free face-to-face debt advice service helping over 24,000 Londoners with their debt and money problems each year. Our trained and accredited advisors are based across 21 partner charities and can help with all types of money worries from rent and council tax arrears to credit card and catalogue debt. We can work with clients to prioritise their bills & debts, helping them to write letters and advocating on their behalf.

The Debt Free Advice partnership is led by Toynbee Hall, the employer for this role, a charity where people come for excellent local services and where they can share ideas and experience, gather information and knowledge that we use together to take action to change lives and eradicate poverty. Our programmes include free advice services, financial inclusion services, wellbeing services, including work with older people and community learning services supporting young people and new migrants.

1. To ensure that the advice provided to our Clients is accurate, effective and tailored to individuals’ circumstances
2. To support, and regularly audit delivery partner organisations, ensuring that they are prepared for external reviews of their service in line with their Grant Agreement
3. To provide excellent line management to Debt Advisors, Advice Assistants and Trainee Debt Advisors

1. Ensure that the advice provided to our clients is accurate, effective and tailored to individuals’ circumstances
   This includes:

   • Conducting debt-advice interview observations

   • Undertaking debt advice file reviews

   • Identifying advisers’ soft skill and technical training needs 

   • Providing constructive feedback, and pastoral support, to advisers

   • Providing real-time support to advisers, which will include but is not limited to, providing guidance in complex matters and provide advisers with sources of information

2. Support, and regularly audit delivery partner organisations, ensuring that they are prepared for external reviews of their service in line with their Grant Agreement
   This includes:

   • Ensuring partner organisations are kept up to date with the requirements for external assessments 

   • Supporting partner organisations with the preparation and review of files and documentation ahead of an external assessment

   • Support partner organisations with the implementation of any remedial actions following an external review and support advisors to identify suitable training to improve areas highlighted

   • Working collaboratively to share good practice in performance and quality improvement and to progress key priority areas of work

   • Escalating risks promptly and appropriately, and contributing to wider monitoring and reporting requirements

3. Provide excellent line management to a small team made up Trainee Debt Advisors and Advice Assistants
   This includes:

   • Ensuring line reports are aware of both their individual and team KPIs and supporting them to achieve them

   • Ensuring line reports have good awareness and understanding of quality and service delivery requirements 

   • Providing coaching and performance feedback to line reports

   • Identifying and providing training opportunities to line reports

   • Providing reports on productivity and other performance indicators to Debt Free London leadership

4. Contribute to team

   • Work to an agreed work-plan, meeting targets and milestones

   • Prioritise and manage your own workload

   • Be an active member of the team, identifying opportunities for your own development

   • Compliance with Toynbee Hall policies and procedures, including health and safety

   • Demonstrate financial efficiency and value for money throughout work

   • Ensure that all services comply with equal opportunities and other relevant policies and

     quality standards and good practice

5. Other

   • Travel across London as required, and occasionally the UK

   • Undertake additional tasks as defined by MD of Debt Free Advice

Essential attributes and behaviours:

• A minimum of two years’ full time (2,220 hours) or equivalent part-time experience of delivering debt advice
• Hold a valid Money Advice Service Level 3 accredited qualification in debt advice
• Significant awareness of the monitoring planned activities, conducting a mid-term and final evaluation
• Outstanding people and partnership relationship skills
• Experience of the monitoring, managing and evaluation of projects and performance
• Previous line management experience
• Proven ability to work creatively to support change management using a solution-based approach that resolves issues and accomplishes goals
• Strong verbal and written communications skills with experience in cross-cultural settings
• Ability to work under pressure on a number of competing tasks and meet deadlines
• Understanding how to work successfully in a complex political environment and on sensitive issues
• High standard of numeracy and computer skills, specifically with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, MS Project) with an ability to understand and analyse complex financial and other numerical information
• Commitment to working flexibly across all Toynbee Hall’s services, including evenings and weekends
• Understanding of and commitment to Toynbee Hall’s values and equal opportunities policies

Desirable knowledge and experience:

• Hold a valid Certificate in Money Advice Practice (CertMAP) from the Institute of Money Advisors in partnership with Staffordshire University
• Experience using Apple Mac computers

This position is suitable for flexible working. We are open to discussing at the interview the possibility of reduced hours, remote working, flexible start and finish times or compressed hours.

There are multiple vacancies for this position and so no specific closing date, we will review applications as they are submitted and reserve the right to close this advert once all vacancies have been filled.

To apply, please download and complete the Debt Free London Application Form, which also contains a Declaration of Criminal Convictions and Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form, and email your completed applications to application@toynbeehall.org.uk. We will also accept posted applications to; HR Department, Debt Free Advice, 28 Commercial Street, London E1 6LS. 

Toynbee Hall, the employer for this vacancy, embraces equality, diversity and inclusion.  We are committed to the ongoing development of an organisation that values and represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills and welcome applications that reflect this.