Job Description:
Post: OPFS Advice Content Lead
Hours: 35 hours per week. Flexible working requests considered
Salary: Scale 19-23, £27,795 – £33,972- depending on experience
Location: Home-based & OPFS Edinburgh office
Reports to: Advice and Information Manager
Department: OPFS Advice and Information Service
Overview
Demand from single parents for the OPFS Advice and Information Services is increasing.
The service needs to respond to the demand for fast, up to date, accurate web content. We are looking for a positive, creative, and self-sufficient writer to develop, write and edit our advice web content in a fast-paced advice environment.
This post will also support the development of the Advice Service’s knowledge base. You will work with Advice Workers to share your research findings to develop our advice to single parents.
The OPFS Advice and Information Service is the only nationwide advice and information service dedicated to single parents in Scotland. It currently operates Monday to Friday 9.30 to 16.00. It provides:
· The OPFS Advice Service: contact centre for single parents seeking advice via our Helpline, Webchat, email: advice@, ‘Ask a Question’ and Facebook.
· The OPFS Advice Information Service: website content on advice issues that matter to single parents.
· The OPFS Advice Training Service: online and in-person training courses for practitioners working with single parents.
One Parent Families Scotland
One Parent Families Scotland is the leading charity working with single parent families in Scotland. Building on over seventy years of advocacy and service-delivery expertise, OPFS provides expert information, advice, and support for single parent families, along with training activities, employability programmes and flexible childcare. OPFS campaigns with parents to make their voices heard to change the systems, policies and attitudes that disadvantage single parent families. Our vision is of a Scotland in which single parents and their children are valued and treated equally and fairly.
Overall Purpose
· To project manage the development and delivery of the advice information function of the OPFS Advice and Information Service.
· Overall editorial responsibility for all advice content produced by the OPFS Advice and Information Service for the OPFS website
· Developing, researching, and writing advice content for the OPFS website
· Primary liaison between the OPFS Communications Team and Advice and Information Team to produce advice content for the OPFS website.
· The sharing of research and content on advice issues with advice workers to develop advice service knowledge.
Specific Responsibilities include:
· To develop, research and write accurate and relevant digital advice content aimed at single parents.
· To work with Advice Workers to identify relevant content needs from the Advice Service trends.
· To support Advice Workers to take a user-centred approach to their writing, write within brand and style guidelines, edit their work, and recommend improvements.
· To lead on identifying single parent advice content needs by analysing data gathered, user feedback, user testing, google analytics and other engagement with stakeholders, in collaboration with the OPFS communications team.
· To support mechanisms to embed advice content knowledge into advice service delivery, including delivering presentations to Advice Workers in team meetings and writing Advice Worker facing Tools.
· To be the primary liaison with the digital team to ensure relevant content is available on time on the website.
· To liaise with local OPFS managers around their advice content and information needs.
· To take the lead on the development of a mechanism to involve single parents in evaluating our online advice content performance and make any resulting recommendations for improvement
· To act as a brand champion ensuring all advice content complies with the OPFS brand and style guidelines
· To work with the Advice and Information Manager to make recommendations for strategic planning purposes and Advice Information Service improvements.
· To be able and willing to use project management tools to plan work, such as Trello.
Corporate Responsibilities include:
· A commitment to the work of OPFS and our vision and mission
· Able to work confidentially in a digital environment, including standard Microsoft office software packages and cloud-based CRM databases.
· To take a flexible approach to work and duties within your range of responsibility and carrying out other duties as directed by Managers.
· To actively contribute to organisational cohesion, encouraging cross-team working, and a positive problem-solving approach.
· To work in line with OPFS’s values and Code of Conduct
· To take personal responsibility and ensure compliance with corporate policies including safeguarding, confidentiality, health and safety and data protection
· To champion and promote equal opportunities and diversity both in your area of work and the wider organisation.
· To ensure single parent voices and experience informs the design and development of your work where appropriate
Personal Specifications
Essential
1. Substantial relevant experience working in a client-focused environment, preferably in an advice information service such as a Citizens Advice Bureau or similar.
2. Excellent knowledge of the UK system of welfare benefits and tax credits, Scottish social security benefits, some awareness of child maintenance and Scottish family law, and an understanding of relevance to single parents.
3. Experience of researching, writing, and producing written materials to suit the needs of a target audience, especially around benefits and finance issues.
4. Ability to demonstrate an understanding of and empathy with the issues and barriers faced by single parents.
5. Ability to interpret information from various sources to summarise complex information in lively, compelling text, without close supervision.
6. Strong IT skills (including Word, Excel, Outlook, Office 365). Able to use digital communication tool, Slack and project management tool, Trello.
7. Excellent communication skills to communicate with stakeholders in a clear, meaningful, and effective way within a positive and collaborative approach to work.
8. Ability to be flexible, respond positively to change, work effectively under pressure, deal with conflicting priorities, manage own workload, and schedule work to meet deadlines.
Desirable
1. An understanding of digital writing best practice including accessibility and usability
2. Experience of assessing data and user testing to identify areas for improvement
3. Experience of working in advice service responding to client enquiries and providing advice and information
4. Awareness of content design approaches to writing web content.
Terms & Conditions
1. Period of appointment: Fixed term contract until 31 March 2022 Confirmation of appointment is subject to the satisfactory completion of a 3-month probationary period and receipt of references.
2. Salary: Scale 19-23, £27,795 -£33,972- depending on experience
3. Hours of work: 35 hours per week, days to be agreed with the Manager.
4. Holidays: Annual leave entitlement is 25 days plus 9 Public holidays and three extra days taken between Christmas and New year when the service is closed
5. Pension: You will be auto-enrolled from your start date. OPFS pays 7% of your salary, and you pay a minimum of 3%.
6. Training and support and supervision: You will receive induction training and frequent support in the first three months. After that, you will receive individual support and supervision and annual appraisals. Regular team meetings will be held, and staff have access to internal and external training.
7. Equal Opportunities and Family-Friendly Employment: OPFS aims to be an equal opportunity and family-friendly employer. OPFS has Investors In People status.
8. Recruitment Timetable: Closing date, Monday 1 March 2021 at 5pm. Interviews 9 and 12 March. Second interviews (If needed )16 March. Please email your completed application to jobs@opfs.org.uk.
The job description is a broad picture of the post at the time of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties, and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time.
