Caseworker - Northern

University and College Union have an exciting opportunity for a Caseworker - Northern to join the team.

Location: Gateshead, UK

Salary: £22,060 p.a. (£55,152 pro rata)

Job Type: Permanent, Part-Time

Hours: 14 hours per week

Close Date: 21st of May at 10:00am

About Us:

The University and College Union (UCU) represents over 120,000 academics, lecturers, trainers, instructors, researchers, managers, administrators, computer staff, librarians and postgraduates in universities, colleges, prisons, adult education and training organisations across the UK. We also have members in the private sector, for example in private training agencies and language schools, as well as members working on a freelance basis. Students training to teach in post-school education also belong to UCU.

Caseworker - Northern – The Role:

We are seeking a part time Caseworker for our Northern team to provide advice and representation to UCU members in personal casework matters. This exciting role is based in our Gateshead office, and reports to the Regional Official, Northern Region.

You will be expected to work two full days, normally on Monday and Tuesday.

Caseworker - Northern – Key Responsibilities:

- Advising members with problems and disputes arising from their employment

- Representing members at internal grievance and disciplinary hearings

- Representing and/or assisting members at external bodies, such as ACAS, employment tribunals and formal and informal mediations

- Maintaining effective relationships with branch officers carrying out member casework and providing them with advice and support and, on occasion, training

- Managing own caseload, and progress of casework, under the Regional Official’s supervision

Caseworker - Northern – You:

- Educated to GCSE level or equivalent (inc. maths & English)

- Experience of a similar working environment and/or understanding of working for a trade union or other not-for-profit organisation

- With excellent communication skills

- Three plus years’ experience of handling personal casework matters

- Knowledge of UK employment and equality law

- Advocacy and representation experience

- Familiar with the practice and procedure of employment tribunals

Caseworker - Northern– Benefits:

Benefits to support your wellbeing:

- Generous holiday entitlement of 35 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays, and 8 closure days with a pro-rata entitlement for part time staff

- Disability leave arrangements

- Special leave arrangements

- A range of family friendly policies and procedures with enhanced Maternity, Adoption, Paternity and Shared Parental Leave schemes

- An Employee Assistance Programme that provides access to 24-hour confidential counselling

- Access to advice and face-to-face intervention from a Senior Chartered Physiotherapist through the award-winning Physiotherapy Advice Line service

- Health Assessment

- Flexitime scheme available by agreement where employees can vary their start and finish times or lunch breaks within the set parameters of the Work Life Balance policy

Benefits to support you financially:

- All employees are contractually enrolled into the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) where currently the employee contribution is approximately 6.1% of salary and the employer contribution is approximately 14.5% of salary

- We will pay 50% of the net cost of childcare provision for children
- Interest free season ticket loans to cover the cost of a second-class season ticket between home and the office

- UCU will assist with the cost of an eyesight test and the purchase of a basic pair of glasses, where these are required for DSE use

Benefits to support your training and development:

- Training and developmental support

- Access to over 300 eLearning modules through UCU’s online training room

Application Process:

Closing date for applications is Tuesday 21st May 2024 at 10am.

Interviews will be held on Friday 14th June 2024. Late applications and CVs will not be considered.

We are happy to accept applications in alternative formats from applicants who, for reasons of disability, may find it difficult to fill in our standard form. Please see the advert on our website for further details.

To submit your application for this exciting Caseworker - Northern opportunity, please click ‘Apply’ now.

Diversity & Inclusion Monitoring:

We need your support to make sure our employees come from a variety of backgrounds, so we especially welcome applications from disadvantaged communities. Even if you are not selected, it would be really helpful if you could complete the diversity & inclusion data when you apply for this role, because we can make sure we are encouraging a diverse mixture of candidates to apply.

Equal Opportunities:

UCU is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity.