Subject Matter Expert - Money Advice

Job description

Job requirements

• Substantial recent experience of delivering debt and money advice to clients, at casework or specialist level.
• Detailed working knowledge of the MaPS Customer Facing Standards and the Advice Assessor Toolkit, and the ability to apply them to a case with confidence and consistency.
• Understanding of the debt customer journey as the standards set it out, including assessment of need, identification of vulnerability and emergencies, choice of delivery channel, exploration, advice, Breathing Space, debt options, creditor contact and record of advice.
• Ability to reach and justify an assessment outcome, including judging whether a shortfall has had an impact on the customer and whether it has caused detriment.
• Deep and current knowledge of the full range of debt options, including informal arrangements, Breathing Space, Debt Relief Orders, bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangements, and a sound grasp of when each is appropriate.
• Working knowledge of income maximisation, budgeting and the Standard Financial Statement, and of how priority and non-priority debts should be handled.
• Understanding of the regulatory requirements that apply to debt advice.
• Ability to analyse information, spot inaccuracies and think critically about the unintended consequences of a change or a tool.
• Ability to explain complex money advice concepts clearly to people who are not advisers, in writing and in conversation.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a hands-on, fast-moving team environment.
• A genuine interest in how technology can improve advice services, whether or not you have worked on technology before.
• Ability to use a variety of IT and digital systems and packages, and to learn new ones quickly.
• Experience or familiarity with Recognising Excellence and the MaPS Debt Advice Quality Framework.
• Experience as a trained advice assessor, or of Customer Facing Assessment, calibration or the appeals process.
• Experience of quality assurance, peer review, technical supervision or training within a money advice setting.
• Experience of contributing to service design, user research or testing.
• A relevant qualification such as the Money Advice Practitioner qualifications, DRO Intermediary status, IMA or equivalent.
• Experience of working with data, case recording systems or reporting.
• Awareness of how AI is being applied in advice and the risks that come with it.
• An understanding and commitment to equity and the positive value of diversity and inclusion and its application to service delivery in the charity sector.
• Ability to commit to and work within the values, aims, principles and policies of the Citizens Advice service in which equity and diversity is embedded throughout.
• A proven commitment to the continuous professional development of self and wider teams.
• Willingness and ability to work unsocial hours on occasion (including weekends), with travel across the North West and other parts of the country.
• Proven ability to keep up to date with technology and take individual responsibility for learning new technologies.

Job responsibilities

• Act as our authority on the MaPS Customer Facing Standards and the Advice Assessor Toolkit, applying them to everything our tools produce.
• Assess AI-generated advice and case records against the standards as an assessor would, using the full range of outcomes from Met through to Not Met with detriment, and be clear about where output falls short and why.
• Map our tools against the debt customer journey, from assessment of need and identification of vulnerability and emergencies, through exploration, advice, Breathing Space, debt options, creditor contact and record of advice.
• Keep pace with changes to the standards, the toolkit and MaPS guidance, and make sure that what we build moves with them.
• Work with colleagues responsible for quality assurance so that our approach to AI-generated advice lines up with how our debt advice is assessed.
• Use your in-depth knowledge of debt and money advice to test and evaluate the accuracy and quality of advice generated by our AI tools.
• Check that the options our tools present are correct, complete and appropriate, covering the full range from informal arrangements through to Breathing Space, Debt Relief Orders, bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangements.
• Make sure income maximisation, budgeting and the Standard Financial Statement are handled properly, and that priority debts are never treated as though they were not.
• Apply the relevant FCA requirements alongside the MaPS Standards when assessing what our tools produce.
• Review case notes and data to identify blind spots, biases or gaps in the information our AI draws on.
• Help us make sure our tools work accurately and equitably for all client groups, including people with mental health problems, people in vulnerable circumstances and people whose situations do not fit a standard template.
• Flag where a tool risks giving advice that is technically right but practically unhelpful, or that could cause detriment to a client.
• Contribute to how we test, monitor and govern the advice our tools produce, so that quality and safety are built in rather than checked afterwards.
• Work closely with the innovation team, including developers and data colleagues, to turn your practical insight into clear and actionable feedback.
• Explain complex money advice concepts to people who are not advisers, without losing the detail that matters.
• Take part in the everyday working rhythm of the team, including testing sessions, reviews and planning.
• Build good working relationships with our money advice teams so that their experience feeds into what we build.
• User-centred design
• Act as the voice of frontline money advisers and of clients in difficulty, making sure what we build is practical in a real advice setting.
• Take part in user research and testing with advisers and, where appropriate, with clients.
• Judge our tools by whether they help an adviser do a better job on a busy day, not by whether they work in a demonstration.
• Help refine the training data, prompts, guidance and models behind our tools so they keep improving.
• Contribute to guidance and training that helps advisers use these tools well and understand their limits.
• Keep your own money advice knowledge current, including changes to legislation, creditor practice and regulatory requirements.
• Work with your line manager to develop an annual learning and development plan which meets your development needs and the needs of the organisation.
• Take an active role in the preparation of regular meetings, taking a lead on your own development.

Job benefits

• £36,397 - £38,181 per annum
• 30 days' annual leave plus bank holiday (progressing to 35 days after 5 years)
• 3% employer pension contribution
• Employee assistance scheme
• Salary sacrifice scheme
• Perks and savings scheme
• Mental health and wider wellbeing support
• Learning, development and growth opportunities