Experience

TaxAid

• United Kingdom
• Accounting
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Operations Manager

  • Nov 2020 - Present

  This is a joint role across two charities, with an office in both London and Bridport, Dorset. I have overall operational management responsibility for the activities required to deliver the advice service by the two charities. Queries come to the charities via various channels which include the helplines, email, letters and other organisations. Helpline cover and casework support is provided by staff, volunteers and corporate partners. This role bears overall responsibility for the management of training, feedback and support needed to provide the advice service within quality parameters across staff and volunteers. As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), I also provide support for the CEO in the day to day management of the charities, with additional responsibility for the development of relationships with key stakeholders.



Citizens Advice Westminster

• Interim Service Manager

  • Mar 2020 - Jun 2020

  • Managed a portfolio of over £500,000.00 worth of grant funded projects.• Worked in partnership with funders and key stakeholders and monitored the performance and effectiveness of service delivery; ensuring it continued to meet local advice need• Ensured organisational objectives were translated into team and individual workplans with clear and realistic KPIs whilst ensuring all targerts were met.• Strategic and operational management of a team of gateway assessors and a team of advisers, giving advice in various topics including health and well being, debt, employment, housing, welfare benefits.• Deployed resources and produced weekly rotas for advice team and gateway assesors to ensure smooth running of both the advice and information services• Ensured all targets met within the allocated budgets and all monitoring reports submitted in a timely manner.• Ensured adequate staff cover available to deliver scheduled services with appropriately trained and qualified staff.• Worked with partner organisations to ensure services were delivered efficiently and clients were well supported • Ensured staff were adequately trained and supported to provide a holistic service and meet required standards• Acted as Duty Supervisor, assisting in advice and information sessions and provided technical support and acting as a consultant to frontline teams, as required.



Limehouse Project Ltd

• United Kingdom
• Philanthropy
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Increased Financial Resilience Services Coordinator

  • Mar 2019 - Dec 2019

  • Managed an advice team made up of 8 Advisers, 1 admin staff and 5 volunteers.• Managed a portfolio of £250,000.00 worth of grant funded projects.• Ensured all targets met within the allocated budgets and all monitoring reports submitted in a timely manner.• Ensured adequate staff cover available across all 10 sites to deliver scheduled services.• Sourced all resources including venues to deliver outreach and staff.• Marketed all projects to ensure we reach the target client group.• Worked with partner organisations to ensure services are delivered efficiently and clients are well supported • Ensured staff were adequately trained and supported to provide a holistic service and meet required AQS standards• Attended and delivered talks/presentations to promote the work of LHP at various events.



Independent Age

• United Kingdom
• Non-profit Organizations
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Advice Manager

  • Apr 2015 - Sep 2018

• Casework Superviser

  • Jul 2014 - Apr 2015

  • Managed a team of 5 caseworkers and 1 financial assessor.• Managed recruitment and induction of new Team Members until they became familiar and confident with all processes, programs and procedures.• Provided hands-on advice, guidance, supervision and support to the team and when required assisted and supported other teams/departments.• Assisted Manager to collate statistical data as and when needed.• Managed the Financial Review process of members who receive annuities from Independent Age.• Authorised grant requests in line with the grants policy.• Carried out File Reviews of Caseworkers files to ensure all files were maintained to the AQS standard.• Did casework when short staffed and hence had direct contact with members, their families and befrienders.



Asian Women's Resource Centre

• Advice & Information Co-ordinator

  • Sep 2013 - Apr 2014

  • Managed the decoration and prepartion of the offices for all classes and advice surgeries.• Purchased all necessary equipment to deliver the Surviving Abuse and Rebuilding Lives (SAARL) project and meet targets• Delivered the advice and information service. Advised clients of their rights and options available to them. Depending on the client’s instructions and the client’s immigration and financial status I made appropriate applications. Where appropriate I signposted/refered clients to appropriated organisations. Covered various areas of law which included: welfare benefits; housing; debt; matrimonial; social & health care; loneliness.• I advocated on behalf of clients to various statutory and non-statutory organisations. This included advocating for clients who had outstanding debts that they couldn’t afford to pay by negotiating affordable repayment plans with their creditors.• Co-ordinated, supervised, supported and managed the following services: Advice and Information service, Domestic Violence service, ESOL classes, Computer classes, Arts and Crafts classes, Healthy Eating workshops, and luncheon groups.• Managed recruitment and induction of all sessional workers and volunteers. I managed three sessional workers, five volunteers and the Domestic Violence Office.• Managed the schedules of all the classes and groups. This included enrolling students, arranging assessments, ensuring smooth delivery of classes.• Ensured all relevant monitoring data was collated and recorded for statistical and reporting purposes.• Prepared quarterly reports for funders.



Harrow Women's Centre

• Advice Worker

  • Nov 2011 - Sep 2013

  • ​Advised clients of their rights and options. Depending on the client’s instructions, their immigration and financial status I made appropriate applications for them or signposted/referred them to other organisations.• Advised clients in various areas of law, which included: matrimonial, debt, housing, welfare benefits, social & health care and employment. Advised and assisted clients on appealing decisions of the DWP regarding benefit rights. Where need be made referrals for clients to solicitors to have decisions of the Homeless Person’s Unit judicially reviewed.• Advocated on behalf of clients to various statutory and non-statutory organisations to ensure they received what was in their best interest and were not deprieved of any of their rights.• Produced quarterly reports on the progress of the Advice Service.• Managed the ‘Women returning to Work’ project which including recruitment and management of sessional workers who delivered the project.



The Kiran Project

• Advocacy and Resettlement Worker

  • Oct 2012 - Apr 2013

  • Advising and Advocating for women. Making relevant applications to various organisations eg: Homeless Persons Unit, Job Centre Plus, Home Office, refuges, etc.• Delivered domestic violence training to other professionals.• Represented Kiran Project at various events promoting and raising awareness of the Kiran Project and Domestic Violence to the general public and other professionals.• Worked in partnership with various organisations and set-up Outreach surgeries at various locations.• Delivered face-to-face advice as well as dealing with telephone and email enquiries.• Attended child protection conferences and provided reports of our involvement with clients and their engagement with our services.• Provided resettlement support for women who were in our Refuge and also women who left the refuge by assisting them with various applications.• Organised coffee mornings for women of the local community. This was to prevent women becoming isolated but as well as being a social event, this was a vehicle to educate the service users on various topics which included: health issues, welfare benefit reforms, domestic violence, etc. Worked in partnership with other organisations to deliver relevant talks.



Kanaama

• Volunteer Bookeeper/Accounts Assistant

  • Oct 2011 - Dec 2011

  • Assisted founder of charity to bring up-to-date and reconcile the accounts, which included international transactions.



Newham Asian Womens Project

• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Locum Legal Advice & Resettlement Worker

  • Jan 2011 - Jul 2011

  • Advised clients on their legal rights and remedies available to them.• Assisted clients by advocating for them and making applications to various organisations eg; HMRC (child benefit, child tax credits); JCP (JSA, ESA benefits); DWP (DLA, AA); Home Office (nationality and leave to remain applications). Where need be I signposted or referred clients to other organisations• Maintained client files to CLS standard.• Liaised with GPs, police, Homeless Person’s Unit, Home Office, Refuges, children’s schools, benefits agencies various other organisations to ensure clients received all the support and assistance they were entitled to.​



Ozoran Turkan Solicitors

• Paralegal

  • Aug 2008 - Jan 2011

  • Maintained my own caseload, which consisted of both publicly and privately funded clients. I advised in various areas of law, which included: family, housing; welfare benefits; debt and immigration.• Adviced clients, completed necessary forms for funding, made relevant applications to court, liaised with courts, barristers and other solicitors, drafted witness statements, maintained client files to CLS standards, managed other fee-earner’s files in their absence.• Attended court and advocated for clients and obtained various orders, which included: non-molestation orders; occupation orders; prohibited steps orders; passport orders; port alerts.• Accompanied clients to welfare benefit tribunal hearings.• Managed work experience staff.



Self-employed

• Outdoor Clerking

  • Nov 2006 - Apr 2007



Brownstein Hyatt Farber

• Law Internship

  • Jul 2004 - Aug 2004



Pitman Training Centre

• Training Advisor, Supervisor, Accounts Assistant

  • Jan 1998 - Jul 2003

  • As well as supervising training, assisted the accountant by doing the sales side of the company accounts, petty cash and bank reconcilitation.​



Self-employed

• Private Tutor

  • Jan 1989 - Jun 1998



Minaret-Ul-Riyadh

• Teacher

  • Jun 1989 - Jan 1991



Cabot Carbon Corporation

• Industrial Trainee

  • May 1980 - Sep 1981



Opinion Research Centre

• Research Interviewer

  • Jan 1976 - Sep 1977