James Stratton Email & Phone Number

Plymouth, England, United Kingdom

Managing the following projects and teams:- Money Advice and Pensions Service Face to face debt team.- Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund Project- Energy Redress Project with Plymouth Energy Community- FUSE Project with NHS/Livewell

Plymouth, England, United Kingdom

Managing the Mainstream MAPS debt project at Citizens Advice Plymouth.

Plymouth, England, United Kingdom

Plymouth, United Kingdom

I Lead the OVO Energy Advice Team to ensure that clients who access the service by telephone and digital channels are provided with debt, energy and income max advice. I am responsible for training, managing and supporting caseworkers and advisers to provide quality advice to clients in line with Citizens Advice Plymouth aims and principles and national Citizens Advice Performance Quality Framework standards.Role purpose: To ensure the smooth running of telephone debt advice nationally on the OVO Energy Fund project, ensuring that clients are given the most appropriate next steps available, coaching and training caseworkers and advisers monitoring telephone calls and case records. Key work areas and tasks:• Lead the team of OVO Energy debt advisers, supporting them operationally during core office hours. • Provide debt, energy and income maximisation support and act as consultant to the OVO Energy team. • Ensure that up to date processes and resources are available to Energy and Debt Advisers. • Ensure that clients are provided with the correct advice and options, based on the client’s need and Citizens Advice Plymouth’s resources.• Monitor the quality of advice through call observations and QAA.• Help develop and maintain standards of service delivery.• Help with the continuing development of the service by feeding operational ideas to the Energy Projects Co-ordinator. • Ensure that appropriate systems are developed and maintained for case recording, statistics, follow up work and quality control.• Complete 1-2-1’s with advisers and keep accurate records on the People HR management system. • Monitor quality of advice, as part of the case checking team, through regular case checking in line with the case checking guidance and Citizens Advice requirements and provide feedback to advisers.• Identify the training needs of staff and contribute towards Citizens Advice Plymouths training and development plan.

At Citizens Advice Plymouth we were successful in applying for funding from NEA's Warm Homes project, The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial strategy (BEIS) funding for the Big Energy Saving Network and funding from Citizens Advice to deliver Big Energy Saving Week, Energy Best Deal and Energy Best Deal Extra. Utilising the different funding streams, the Energy Advice Team provided support in different ways:- One to One appointments- Pop up advice at organisations, events, groups and drop-ins - Energy Advice Sessions to front-line workers and consumersAs the Energy Champion I supported the Citizens Advice in Plymouth to create the team, promote the work they delivered and supported the staff and volunteers on the project through training and improving quality of advice. Citizens Advice Plymouth's Energy Advice Team delivered one to one energy advice to 223 people in 29 different locations and delivered 24 energy awareness sessions to 394 front line workers and consumers. Through switching, identifying better deals and grants and trusts for different schemes, the people we estimate that the people we advised were better off by £50,140 a year.Our four volunteers also supported the project and their communities by giving us 246hrs of their time and were also able to learn new skills and gain valuable training in advice areas and administration.

South West Of England

As Energy Advice Champion to the South West I provide a regional point of contact and a support network for Citizens Advice advisers in the South West on energy matters. I also provide a local link to regional authorities and key stakeholders and promote the energy advice services offered through local Citizens Advice offices.I have also been working closely with the Service Delivery & Design team at Citizens Advice for a six month period to improve the delivery of energy advice, through limited piloting and testing of advice giving methods in their host bureau and will ‘champion’ the roll-out of the learning from these sessions across the network.With regional Citizens Advice offices and other Champions, I host workshops and training sessions with advisors and clients to identify best practice in energy advice and to identify, track and interview EBDx clients after their intervention to aid in the assessment of the impact of advice. The Energy Champion role has allowed me to learn more in service development and I have been working with the senior management team here at Citizens Advice Plymouth as well as the business development officer at CAB Devon. We have been proactive in seeking out funding around energy advice contracts, researching and developing advice models and been contributing to the application of grants and funds.I have also been involved with the Design Pioneer project where I have been working with other Citizens Advice offices, the Innovation Unit and the service design team at Citizens Advice. Together we have been working on a 3 month process of researching, designing and developing an exciting new service for clients in the health and social care services

Plymouth, United Kingdom

• Coordinated a team of volunteers and myself who worked in the community delivering various financial education sessions, workshops, drop-ins & information stands to a range of vulnerable client groups as well as front line staff of various organisations. Topics for sessions include debt, benefits, budgeting, energy switching, local help, our organisation and Universal credit.• Developed and produced materials, sessions, one to ones and literature specifically for the various projects and trained the volunteers in the new sessions and improved them as we progressed.• Provided advice & information on various issues including debt, benefits, budgeting, borrowing and saving, housing, consumer issues, relationships, employment and energy amongst others.• Networked with local organisations and made referrals and signposted clients to various agencies as well to our internal services.• Provide administrative, motivational and leadership support to various projects, myself and to the fincap volunteer team.• Recruited, selected, inducted, trained and line managed volunteers.• Managed performance by training and motivating them.• Established a training and development plan for all new volunteers on the fincap team.• Collected and collated project monitoring and evaluation data.• Monitored progress on various projects and provided reports to senior management.• Developed and maintained effective and efficient administration systems for the delivery of various projects.• Networked and built valuable and positive relationships with funders, partner agencies, companies, social landlords, charities and other agencies in the city.• Maintained relationships and impressed other agencies to a degree that we are constantly being requested to deliver on projects that bring in much needed funding to the charity.

Plymouth, United Kingdom

• Supported the debt & benefit advisers by providing administrative support to ensure they meet the requirements for the funding• Established processes and procedures to ensure that the advisers can deal with clients as efficiently and smoothly as possible.• Produced accurate statistical reports for the project to ensure targets are being achieved.• Was part of a strong administrative team within Plymouth CAB, providing cover and support for other team members.• Was a welcoming and efficient point of contact for existing and potential clients.General admin tasks included:• Word processed letters, documents and reports as required• Used the photocopier, fax and other office machines as appropriate• Used various software applications as necessary for the work involved, e.g. Word, Excel, CASE (Citizens Advice case recording system)• Created and maintain filing systems in accordance with the bureau’s systems and procedures• Maintained stationery, posters and leaflets as required• Maintained diaries and work records and make appointments• Answered the telephone, refer calls or take messages

Certificate In Money Advice Practice, Certificate

The Certificate in Money Advice Practice (CertMAP) is the only debt advice qualification specifically for free-to-client debt advisers.

Adobe Illustrator For Beginners, Graphic Design

A ten week course that will help me to become familiar with how to use Adobe Illustrator software. Some of the skills covered included.

City & Guilds, Training & Education, Level 3 Award

The Level 3 course helped to develop the skills, knowledge, imagination and attitudes needed for teaching in the lifelong learning sector..

High School, 8 Gcse'S