Derbyshire County Council
Senior Welfare Benefits Officer
(Training and Policy Team)
Post 1: Fulltime (37 hours) Permanent
Post 2: Parttime (18.5 hours) Fixed until 31 March 2028
Grade 10: £35,442 – £38,730 (pro rata)
Location: Parkwood, Alfreton (with some working from home available)
Closing date: Sunday 13 September 2026
Provisional interview date: Tuesday 29 September 2026
Job reference: JOB/26/02470
Derbyshire County Council’s Welfare Rights Service helps Derbyshire residents maximise their income, access the benefits they are entitled to, and receive expert advice and representation when they need it most. In 2025/26, the service supported more than 20,000 Derbyshire residents with benefit enquiries, providing information, advice, casework and appeal representation.
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Training and Policy Team as a Senior Welfare Benefits Officer. This is a specialist role within a highly regarded countywide service that combines expert welfare rights practice with training, service development, and influencing policy.
The Training and Policy Team plays a vital role in strengthening welfare benefits knowledge across Derbyshire. The team develops and delivers training to internal colleagues and external organisations, including community and voluntary sector partners. It also contributes to consultation responses, research, service development, and policy work, helping to ensure that advice remains accurate, responsive, and informed by legislative and national developments.
As a Senior Welfare Benefits Officer, you will play a leading role in developing knowledge, skills, and confidence across the Welfare Rights Service and among partner organisations. You will design and deliver training programmes, presentations, and learning resources for a range of audiences, from experienced advisers to professionals with little prior knowledge of welfare benefits. The ability to communicate complex legislation in a clear, engaging and practical way will be central to the role.
Alongside training responsibilities, you will maintain a complex caseload and continue to use your welfare rights expertise in practice. You will provide specialist advice, advocacy, and representation, including preparation for Social Security Tribunals and, where appropriate, Upper Tribunal work. Maintaining direct involvement in frontline casework ensures that training and policy activity remains grounded in real-world experience and emerging issues affecting Derbyshire residents.
The role also offers opportunities to contribute to wider service development. You will help identify emerging policy issues, interpret changes to social security legislation and case law, support consultation responses, undertake research, and develop resources that improve practice across the service. As a senior practitioner, you will mentor colleagues, share specialist knowledge, and contribute to maintaining high standards of advice and representation.
We are looking for someone with substantial welfare rights experience, excellent communication skills, and a strong understanding of social security legislation. You will have experience of delivering training, presentations or learning activities, together with the ability to analyse complex information, and present it clearly to different audiences. Experience of tribunal representation, mentoring colleagues, and contributing to service or policy development would be particularly valuable.
This role would suit an experienced welfare rights practitioner who enjoys sharing knowledge, developing others and influencing practice. It offers an excellent opportunity to shape how welfare benefits advice is delivered across Derbyshire while continuing to make a direct difference to residents through specialist casework and advocacy.
Please refer to the Job and Person Profile for full details of the knowledge, skills and experience required. Applicants are strongly encouraged to demonstrate clearly within their suitability section how they meet each of the essential criteria.
Travel across Derbyshire may be required as part of the role. Hybrid working arrangements will be considered subject to service need.
Provisional interview date – 29 September 2026
