Dear Applicant Re: Triage Co-ordinator Post

May 2014

Dear Applicant

Re: Triage Co-ordinator Post

Thank you your interest in the above post. Please find enclosed an application pack. If you would like to apply, please submit your CV and letter of application explaining why you are interested in this post and North Kensington Law Centre. You letter of application should also show how you meet the criteria of the person specification, and should be no longer than two pages.

The deadline for all applications is Tuesday 3^rd June 2014.

Interviews are likely to be held week commencing 16^th June.

All applications should be addressed to Raji Hunjan and sent to [e-mail].

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Job Advert



Triage Co-ordinator, North Kensington Law Centre, 74 Golborne Road, London W10

35 hours per week,

Up to £23k

Please email [e-mail] for an application pack. All applications to be received by 3^rd June 2014.

The North Kensington Law Centre is currently recruiting a Triage Co-ordinator to develop and maintain a new system for supporting with clients. This is a brand new post, funded for three years by the City Bridge Trust. The overall purpose of this post is to

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  To increase the number of people we can provide legal advice to on a month on month basis
  
• 
  To ensure that all visitors to the Law Centre are able to access at the very least a basic level of free legal advice in the areas of law in which we practice.
  
• 
  To ensure that all clients are referred to the appropriate solicitor/case worker
  
• 
  To ensure that all clients who cannot be helped in-house are directed to relevant external agencies.
  

This is a very exciting time to join NKLC as it starts to implement a new way of working. For the right candidate, this is an opportunity to develop a range of skills and take on new responsibilities.

During the period in which a Triage Co-ordinator is recruited, NKLC will be in the process of conducting an office move, updating its case management systems, and moving its IT systems to a cloud based environment. The Triage Co-ordinator will be expected to be involved in these processes.

North Kensington Law Centre

Legal Triage Coordinator Job Description

Responsible to: Director

Contract: 35 hours a week (5 days)

Salary: Up to £23,000 pa

Background

The North Kensington Law Centre is currently going through a process of change to develop more sustainable ways of serving the most vulnerable communities and individuals in North Kensington and its surrounding boroughs. As part of this process of change, it has identified the need for an improved triage service to increase its capacity to help all visitors to the Law Centre.

NKLC is delighted to have secured three years’ funding for this project from the City Bridge Trust. The role of the Legal Triage Co-ordinator is a new post and will take responsibility for designing, co-ordinating and maintaining an effective process of triage.

This is a very exciting time to join NKLC as it starts to implement a new way of working to ensure high quality casework, efficient systems to underpin this, an office move and diversified income streams. For the right candidate, this is an opportunity to develop a range of skills and take on new responsibilities.

During the period in which a Triage Co-ordinator is recruited, NKLC will be in the process of conducting an office move, updating its case management systems, and moving its IT systems to a cloud based environment. The Triage Co-ordinator will be expected to be involved in these processes.

Overall purpose of the post

• 
  To increase the number of people we can provide legal advice to on a month on month basis
  
• 
  To ensure that all visitors to the Law Centre are able to access at the very least a basic level of free legal advice in the areas of law in which we practice.
  
• 
  To ensure that all clients are referred to the appropriate solicitor/case worker
  
• 
  To ensure that all clients who cannot be helped in-house are directed to relevant external agencies.
  

Duties and Responsibilities

Triage Development

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  To work with the Director and the Practice Co-ordinator to develop an effective system of triage.
  
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  To develop policies and strategies for ensuring effective input from volunteers
  
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  To develop a first contact proforma for gathering relevant information.
  
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  To build up a database of other agencies and services.
  
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  Keep up to date with good practice policies for legal triage.
  
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  To work with the Case Workers and Solicitors to ensure triage is specific to the areas of law conducted by NKLC.
  
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  Where possible, broker relationships for probono support
  

Triage Delivery

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  To conduct a first assessment to ascertain whether a case is in scope for legal aid.
  
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  To offer and advise and options to those who are not eligible for legal aid, or refer to our generalist case worker.
  
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  To work with the practice co-ordinator to ensure volunteers are trained in triage.
  
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  To develop systems to train staff in triage responsibilities
  

Reception

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  To manage and be part of the first point of call for all personal and telephone callers to the Law Centre; our reception is staffed by volunteers.
  
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  Maintain records of enquiries, referrals and client waiting times.
  
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  Supervise reception volunteers.
  

Monitoring and evaluation

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  To conduct regular analysis of all data relating to the individuals visiting the law centre.
  
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  To work with the Director to develop strategies and projects for further supporting the individuals who need the help of a Law Centre.
  
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  To develop a list of frequently asked questions, and advice to individuals.
  

Other Duties

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  To offer additional support to the Law Centre on marketing and communication. This includes publications and updating the website.
  
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  General office management duties including ordering stationary, maintaining the photocopier/IT systems. This includes supporting the office move.
  
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  Supervision of staff as and when required.
  

Person Specification

Experience

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  Minimum two years experience of working in an advice agency or organisation; frontline experience of working with people in a range of different social issues.
  
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  Supervision of volunteers, setting tasks and managing work
  
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  Setting up systems and processes, including managing a database system. Knowledge of Peapod Lola case management would be an advantage.
  
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  Voluntary sector advice service provision
  
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  Working in a Cloud hosted environment (desirable)
  
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  Analysis of simple data and using this to improve ways in which to provide services
  

Skills and competencies:

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  Excellent communications skills
  
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  Patience and empathy when working with vulnerable clients
  
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  A problem solver and a can do approach
  

About the North Kensington Law Centre

The North Kensington Law Centre opened in 1970 as the first Law Centre in the country, pioneering a community-based legal service which promotes rights and equality of opportunity. We have been serving the communities of North Kensington and beyond for over 40 years and have established a history and tradition of fighting for justice on behalf of people from disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. From the very beginning, our roots have been in campaigning for better and affordable housing for vulnerable communities.

In addition to our history, we have the energy and value base to keep on achieving social change with communities for the next 40 years and beyond. Not only do we promote a rights based approach to access to justice, but we also believe that communities that are represented and have their voices heard on legal issues, are then able to participate more fully in community and civic life. We very much see access to legal help for vulnerable communities as a route out of poverty.

In recent years, the North Kensington Law Centre and the communities it serves have been hit by two financial challenges. Firstly, cuts in housing and welfare benefits means that the challenges that our communities face have increased, more of our clients have much more complex cases and multiple needs/disadvantages, thus facing a greater risk of living in poverty. Secondly, cuts in advice services funding have impacted dramatically on the services we can offer, particularly the loss of legal aid funding for employment and welfare benefits advice since April 2013, and the reduction in immigration cases covered by legal aid.

We have responded to the second of these challenges internally by changing our staffing structure, strengthening the make-up and role of our Management Committee, changing the role of the new Director to focus on change strategies for the next five years and broking stronger partnerships across a range of different stakeholders. We are looking to respond to the first of these two challenges by exploring ways in which we can continue to serve communities with less legal aid funding; one of which is to provide a triage service which will enable us to still assess, sign post and engage with more people in the community.

We aim to strengthen our organisation and our sustainability and effectiveness in the future by:

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  Increasing the number of people we can support
  
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  Streamlining our own internal processes and systems
  
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  Moving from our current location to a smaller fully serviced office
  
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  Strengthening our use of volunteers
  
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  Implementing a low cost fee base structure for cases that fall out of legal aid scope.
  
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  Further expanding and developing our governance structures
  

Our Funding

We are funded through a mix of Legal Aid contracts, grant funding and fee earning work. We are grateful to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for a contribution to our core costs. Other funders include Tudor Trust, Trust for London, City Bridge, Big Lottery, Access to Justice Foundation and the London Legal Support Trust.

Current Staffing Structures

We are a relatively small organisation with nine paid members of staff (of which half are part time) and a strong team of legal volunteers. Our current staff structure consists of:

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  Raji Hunjan, Interim Director, with a specific remit for strategic and business development
  
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  Martina Flanagan, Senior Solicitor, also supervises our Asylum contract
  
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  Cassim Yacoobali, Asylum/Immigration Solicitor (part time)
  
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  Thalatha Wickramansinghe, Housing Solicitor
  
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  Adrian Cooper, Welfare Benefits and generalist caseworker
  
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  Barry Mills, Senior Employment Caseworker (part time)
  
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  Siddartha Jha, Employment Caseworker (part time)
  
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  Sana Al-Hadad, Practice Co-ordinator/Volunteer Co-ordinator
  
• 
  Loretta Quildam, Finance Worker
  

Office location

We are currently based in the centre of North Kensington, in the Golborne Road. Our office is situated in the Golborne Ward which is one of the most deprived wards in the whole of London. We are looking to move and will remain in the North Kensington area. Our offices are open to the public, Monday to Friday, 10.00am to 1.00pm and 2.00pm to 5.00pm.