Volunteering

in person

Generalist Advisor

Role - Advisers conduct full advice in drop-in sessions and appointments with clients, providing them with in-depth information or advice which may include money management, employment, benefits or consumer. Full training is provided.

Who is it for - This role would suit someone looking to get a little more involved, enjoys researching and solving issues in a variety of topic areas

Commitment – Longer term commitment with a minimum of 6 hours per week and an additional 3 hours per week whilst training. All training can be completed from home, or in office

Training length – Traditionally this is a 40-week programme (volunteering 6 hours per week and 3 hours on training), although can be completed much quicker if you want to commit more hours to training. You will be advising clients with support after 3-4 weeks.

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Focused Advisor

Role - Advisers conduct full advice appointments with clients, these may be slightly more complex than a Generalist Adviser would see but there is less training, as knowledge is built over time. Some case work, for example taking the responsibility for a case will also be required, so you will need to be organised. No experience or particular interest is needed, although can be beneficial. Full training is provided.

Who is it for – This role is for a volunteer who wants to get a little more involved in complex issues or someone who would just like to concentrate on one advice area.

Commitment - Longer term commitment with a minimum of 6 hours per week and an additional 3 hours per week whilst training. All training can be completed from home, or in office

Training length – This will depend on the subject area you chose to focus on, and training can range from 10 – 30 weeks, you will begin advising with support after 3-4 weeks

Subject areas can include – Debt, Benefits (including Universal Credit) Form filling, Employment, Housing and Consumer

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Digital Navigator

Role - Our digital navigator volunteers support clients to use the publicly available computers in the reception area and support a client to find the information they need using the Citizens Advice public site.

Who is it for - This role is for someone who is looking to be in centre, around other volunteers, and interacting with clients at an early stage in the advice process.

Commitment - minimum of four hours per week in a centre or outreach, and 1 hour additional whilst training. All training can be completed at home or in an office.

Training length – 10 weeks training plus ongoing updating as appropriate

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Customer Service / Receptionists

Role - Our customer service volunteers are the first port of call to an effective and high-quality advice service. We train our receptionists in customer service and very basic information giving.

Who is it for - This role is for someone who is looking to be in the office, around other volunteers, and interacting with clients at an early stage in the advice process.

Commitment - Minimum of four hours per week in a centre or outreach, and 1 hour additional whilst training. All training can be completed at home or in the office.

Training length – 4 weeks ‘on the job’ training plus ongoing updating as appropriate

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Research & Campaigns

Role - Campaigns are one of the twin aims of Citizens Advice. Campaign for change – give a voice to our clients. As a service we have a huge amount of insight and data about the problems our clients and their communities face. Through research and campaigns, we use this data to research issues further and influence decision makers to change policies and practices.

Who is it for – This role is for a volunteer enjoys looking at trends and analysing data to look at unfair policies and practices both locally and nationally. Then looking at how we can campaign for change

Commitment – The commitment for this role is flexible although some weeks may require more hours of commitment than others. The role can be done remotely or in an office.

Training length – This will depend on whether you are looking to volunteer with data analysis or campaigning but generally 4-6 weeks

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Admin Roles

Role - There are lots of different admin roles to support the work that is done in our advice centres. And will depend on the type of experience you have or are looking to gain.

Who is it for – This role is for a volunteer enjoys being part of a smaller team, IT skills are essential, this can be good for work experience or something not advice giving based. The role can be office based or a work from home role.

Commitment – The commitment for this role is flexible, although a minimum of 4 hours per week is suggested.

Training length – This will depend on the level of experience you already have of administration task.

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Fundraising Roles

The role - supports our CEO in securing vital funds to keep the organisation running. The role is varied and in particular looks at bid writing and associated tasks.

Who is it for – This role is for a volunteer who enjoys being behind the scenes a little more, someone who likes to research and look for opportunities that will benefit the local community. The role is predominately a work from home role.

Commitment – The commitment for this role is flexible, although if supporting a bid writing more commitment may be needed some weeks

Training length – This will depend on the level of experience you already have of researching for funding and writing bids.

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Social Media Support

Role - This role supports our Social Media Coordinator in raising our online profile and presence through interactions online including our website. The role is suitable to those with a background or interest in online marketing or social media.

Who is it for – This role is for a volunteer who understands and enjoys creating content and monitoring social media.

Commitment – The commitment for this role is flexible, although a minimum of 3 hours per week is suggested.

Training length – Experience is essential for this role, as minimal training is available.

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Trustee Roles

Every year hundreds of people come to us for advice and help with solving their problems. We’re here for everyone and help with problems like managing debt or household bills, understanding rights at work or housing issues.

As a local Citizens Advice, we have the insight and flexibility to adapt and respond to our community’s needs. We share knowledge and best practice so people can expect the same quality of support across our service. We also work to fix the underlying causes of people’s problems using data and evidence gathered from our network. Because of this we save society money.

We’re looking for an ambitious and forward-thinking trustee with experience in communication/marketing, health & safety or contractual to help us deliver on our dual mission in the future; giving the advice people need to solve the problems they face and advocating to address their underlying causes.

What will you do?

  • Maintain an awareness of how the local Citizens Advice is operating
  • Read papers for board meetings and attend a number of meetings per year
  • Work on specific projects with other trustees or staff within the local Citizens Advice to further the strategic objectives of the local Citizens Advice
  • Take an active discussion during board meetings and work with other trustees to:
  • Set policy and strategy direction, set targets and evaluate the performance of the local Citizens Advice
  • Monitor the financial position of the local Citizens Advice ensuring that it operates within its means and objectives, ensuring that there are clear
  • Ensure that all the finances and supporting financial control systems of the local Citizens Advice are in order including that full financial records are kept for all transactions, that money is only spent for the purpose given, and that proper financial controls are in place to safeguard the organisation’s resources
  • Monitor the financial position of the local Citizens Advice ensuring that it operates within its means and objectives, ensuring that there are clear lines of accountability for day to day financial management
  • Seek the views of all sections of the community and monitor how well the service meets the needs of the local community
  • Ensure that the service plans for the recruitment and turnover of staff and volunteers
  • Review its own work and how effectively it operates including action for improvement

What’s in it for you?

  • Make a positive impact for people in your local area by ensuring the local Citizens Advice is sustainable and meeting the needs of the community
  • Meet people and build relationships with trustees, staff and other volunteers
  • Build on your governance, leadership and strategy skills
  • Increase your employability

And we’ll reimburse expenses too!

What do you need to have?

You don’t need specific qualifications or skills but you’ll need to:

  • Understand and accept the responsibilities and liabilities as trustees
  • Be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own
  • Have good listening, verbal and written communication skills
  • Be able to exercise good independent judgment
  • Have good numeracy skills to understand accounts with the support of the treasurer
  • Be willing to learn about and follow the Citizens Advice aims, principles and policies, including confidentiality and data protection
  • Be willing to undertake training in your role

How much time do you need to give?

Trustee boards usually meet in the evenings and you may need to attend other meetings if you’re involved in specific projects, or meet with volunteers and staff occasionally within the local Citizens Advice. We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer so come and talk to us.

Valuing inclusion

Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from disabled people, people with physical or mental health conditions, LGBT+ and non-binary people, and people from Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

If you are interested in becoming a trustee and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.

Contact details

Danni Colclough: d.colclough@ arunchichestercab.org.uk

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claire

Claire's Volunteering Story

“I have been with Citizen's Advice for one year now and enjoyed every minute!”

“I had been tempted to apply for a volunteer role at Citizens Advice for a long time then I decided to go for it. I was a bit worried if I would be accepted because I have Cerebral Palsy. I was delighted to find out that this was no problem at all.

I was surprised at the different ways that clients can access advice. I originally thought it was just telephone advice. I was so happy that I could be an adviser and give advice via email.

As an adviser, I work remotely and give clients advice on their issues on the email channel.

I have been with Citizen's Advice for one year now and enjoyed every minute! The thing I enjoy most about my role is knowing that I am helping someone when I give advice.

Volunteering has made a huge difference to me. I really enjoy the routine of volunteering and I am more happy, confident and it has really helped me with my reading abilities.”

To anyone thinking of volunteering at Citizens Advice Claire says:

“I would say go for it and give it a go! The training was enjoyable, and I learnt a lot about many interesting topics like employment, housing, benefits and loads more. The support you get here is great too. There is always someone to go to if you have any questions or need help with the advice you are giving.”

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