LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM
JOB DESCRIPTION
Designation:	Direct Payments Finance Assistant  (SC5)			
Reports to (Designation):	

Senior Managed Account Officer
Officer

Directorate:	Community  Services	

Section:	

Arranging Care Team	

Main Purpose of the job:
To work within the Direct Payments Team to support people in obtaining and maintaining a Direct Payment as a mechanism for being in control of their own care and support service, in development with self-directed support as part of LBL’s Personalisation programme.  
Acting as a financial agent for service users on Direct Payments who do not wish to manage their individual budget directly but want the flexibility of either employing staff or deciding how to spend their money.
      
Summary of Responsibilities and Personal Duties: PERSONAL DUTIES
1.	To be responsible for making payments in line with service user’s Care Plans (through managed prepaid card accounts).      
2.	On request to provide managed account clients with regular statements in relation to the balance and activities undertaken from their accounts.        
3.	To close prepaid cards where necessary, primarily when a Direct Payment ends. 
4.	To ensure that direct payment clients pay the relevant tax, NI contribution and other costs associated with being an employer.    
5.	To work closely with the team to ensure that the financial requirements of direct payments are adhered to.    
6.	To work with staff from care management and finance department in Adults services and staff from other departments, as necessary to ensure the effective delivery of the direct payment scheme.   
7.	To raise issues with invoicing quality with team supervisor or manager.
8.	To ensure all financial review documents are audited in a timely manner to meet current timescales, and all monitoring records are updated accurately.   
9.	To provide support and advice to Lewisham Council workforce and to promote Direct Payments as a simple option for people to access flexible, person-centred support as an alternative to directly commissioned care.   
10.	To support the identification of safeguarding issues and follow LBL procedures as required.  
11.	To maintain confidentiality at all times.  
12.	To be aware of potential abuse of vulnerable adults and refer to appropriate multi agency procedure.    
13.	To work with service users, their carers where appropriate in the assessment of individual needs and the provision of appropriate services/resources.    
14.	To keep up to date with direct payments legislation, guidance and best practice. 
15.	To carry out the financial duties of this post in accordance with the Council’s financial regulations and procedures.
16.	Attend regular meetings as required
17.	To carry out the functions and responsibilities of the post with due regard to the Council's Equal Opportunities Policy, participate in the development of services to meet the needs of the multi-racial community, ensuring the continuing appraisal of anti-racist and anti- sexist policies and procedures.
18.	To achieve agreed service outcomes and outputs, and personal appraisal targets, as agreed by the line manager.  
19.	To be aware of accept personal responsibility for Health and Safety issues relevant to the office setting.
20.	To undertake other duties as required by management, commensurate with the post.
21.	To ensure that confidentiality is maintained in all matters, especially with regard to service users records and business sensitive information.

To carry out the duties of the post with due regard to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy and core values.

All employees are required to participate in the Performance Evaluation Scheme (PES) and to undertake appropriate training and development identified to enhance their work.

All employees are required to comply with the Council's Health & Safety policies and procedures at all times, taking due care for themselves, colleagues and members of the public. 

Assist in carrying out the Council's environmental policy within the day to day activities of the post.

Undertake other duties, commensurate with the grade, as may reasonably be required.

Consideration will be given to restructuring the duties of this post for a disabled postholder

THIS JOB DESCRIPTION MAY NEED TO BE AMENDED BY THE DIRECTORATE TO MEET THE CHANGING NEEDS OF THE SERVICE.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Job title:	Direct Payments Finance Assistant	Post no:	

Department:	Community Services	Grade:	SC5

Note to candidates:

The Person Specification is a picture of the skills, knowledge and experience needed to carry out the job.  It has been used to draw up the advert and will also be used in the shortlisting and interview process for this post.

Those categories marked 'S' will be used especially for the purpose of shortlisting.

If you are a disabled person, but are unable to meet some of the job requirements specifically because of your disability, please address this in your application.  If you meet all the other criteria you will be shortlisted and we will explore jointly with you if there are ways in which the job can be changed to enable you to meet the requirements.

Equal Opportunities

Commitment to, the Council’s Equal Opportunities policies	

Awareness of Equal Opportunities issues 	S

Knowledge

Good understanding of the national and wider social care policy environment
Around direct payments and personalisation.  	S

Understanding of clients needs and delivering the services to meet them.	S

Knowledge of finacial procedures and regulations	S

Aptitude

Ability to communicate at all levels both inside and outside the organisation   

Ability to maintain quality of work in a pressurised environment.   
                              
Ability to analyse and interpretinformation such as bank statements and financial spreadsheets and use judgement to make recommendations for improvements.          
	
Able to think and act clearly when working under considerable pressure. 

Skills

Demonstrable IT skills: 
•	Able to use spreadsheets, word processing and database packages.

Demonstrable organisational skills:
•	Able to work in a detailed and systematic manner. 
•	Able to work as a member of a team and on own initiative in a busy office environment  

Demonstrable communication skills:
•	Able to communicate effectively with users,  staff, and outside agencies through letters, telephone calls and personal contact.

Good interpersonal skills including the confidence to be a credible advisor to senior managers and stakeholders.

Financial skills

Experience

Experience of dealing with clients on the phone and in person.        	                                  S

Experience of managing workload, working independently with minimum
supervision and meeting deadlines.                                                                       	   	 S

Demonstrable experience of working in an office environment.                     	                      S                                          

Some experience of using internet banking system.                                           		  S         

Effective experience with vulnerable & challenging client groups.       	  	  S                                                    

Personal qualities

Sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individual service users.

Adaptable and flexible in the work environment.	

Be an active team member.	

Physical 

Generally, candidates must meet standard Lewisham requirements for 
the post.