Description
The job itself
Users of Adult Social Care services can receive a Direct Payment to meet their eligible care needs as an alternative to Council-arranged services. These payments promote independence, choice and control, but require proportionate monitoring to ensure public funds are used appropriately and in line with agreed care and support plans.
We are seeking to appoint a Direct Payment Monitoring Officer to join the Direct Payment Support Team. This is a key role in safeguarding public funding, supporting compliance with Direct Payment regulations, and ensuring the effective delivery of personalised care. The service has clear ambitions to grow and strengthen its capacity, enabling improved support to residents and accelerating the recovery of public funds to support the council in managing ongoing financial pressures.
About the role
You will be responsible for the monitoring and audit of Direct Payment accounts, identifying risks, and taking appropriate action to ensure funds are being used as intended.
This includes:
1. Reviewing and reconciling Direct Payment accounts.
2. Liaising with social workers, finance colleagues and customers to resolve issues.
3. Referring and escalating complex or high-risk cases as required.
Identifying and investigating concerns such as:
4. non-payment of client contributions
5. overspend or underspend
6. misappropriation of funds
7. non-compliance with account requirements
8. non-payment of Personal Assistant wages
9. Supporting the recovery of unspent or inappropriately used funds
The role involves managing a varied caseload and prioritising work to ensure monitoring activity is completed in a timely and proportionate way.
About you
We are looking for a self-motivated, organised and resilient individual with:
10. Strong attention to detail and the ability to analyse financial information
11. Good problem-solving skills and sound judgement
12. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
13. The ability to manage a complex and demanding workload with minimal supervision
14. Good IT skills and experience of working with systems and data
Experience of audit, financial monitoring or account reconciliation is essential, with a strong preference for experience within Adult Social Care, including Direct Payments, and a working knowledge of the Care Act.