Direct Payment Assistant

About the job

Key information

• 25 days annual leave, excluding bank holidays (pro rata for part time hours).
• The salary for this Grade 14 role is £10,074 to £10,395 per annum.
• Part-time – 14.8 hours role.
• Permanent.
• The primary work location is County Hall (Taunton) with opportunities for remote work as per organisational policies.

What will I be doing?

We’re working to improve the lives of people in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that. Your day-to-day work will involve:

• Audit and oversee governance of public spending for individuals receiving Direct Payments.
• Provide clear guidance and support to service users, ensuring they understand their responsibilities and resolving queries or issues.
• Escalate concerns to senior staff in Adult and Children’s Social Care where appropriate.
• Work closely with contracted service providers to ensure an efficient, well‑coordinated Direct Payment process.
• Tailor support to each person’s individual circumstances, avoiding a one‑size‑fits‑all approach.

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you have:

• Understanding of Direct Payments, personal budgets, and relevant Adults/Children’s Social Care legislation and policies.
• Strong customer service experience, including handling challenging conversations with empathy, professionalism and calm de‑escalation.
• Experience auditing financial transactions, maintaining accurate records and managing confidential information in line with data protection requirements.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal), with the ability to produce clear letters and emails.
• Strong organisational, multitasking and time‑management abilities, with high attention to detail and accuracy.
• Confident using computer systems, analysing information, solving problems and supporting individuals with diverse care needs.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

What is in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more

Supporting documents and information

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Bernie Howard via email at bernie.howard@somerset.gov.uk

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button – we can’t wait to hear from you.

Apply on the Somerset Council website

Apply now