Volunteer Roles

If you want to make a real difference to people's lives by assisting them to find a way forward with their problems, this is the role for you.

As a Face to Face Adviser you will volunteer at the heart of our service. You will interview clients to find out their needs and to gather information about their situation. Then you will use our extensive information system to find the right solution for the client. You will work with the client to agree on the next steps to move them forward in resolving their problem.

Face to face advisers provide an essential service supporting our communities and you can volunteer in our offices across Northumberland. We pay agreed travel expenses to and from your home to your local office or training venues.

Previous advisor experience is not necessary as full training is provided.

However, you will need some IT experience due to a lot of the training being online including e-learning, video calls and online workshops. IT is also used in the role - online research on our information system, case recording, and written correspondence.

Main duties and responsibilities may include:

• Interviewing clients, both face-to-face and on the telephone, letting the client explain their enquiry and helping the client to set priorities
• Finding, interpreting and explaining the relevant information and exploring options and implications so that clients can come to an informed decision
• Assisting clients with form filling, making benefits claims and helping them to prepare for assessments as part of their benefits claim
• Completing clear and accurate case records
• Identifying, reporting and providing evidence for research and campaigns issues
• Keeping up to date on important issues by attending the appropriate training and by essential reading
• Maintaining confidentiality about clients and their contact with Citizens Advice by following the Confidentiality Policy and adhering to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Skills and qualities needed:

• Non judgmental
• Friendly and approachable
• Ability to gather relevant information with empathy by actively listening and using a range of questioning techniques
• Able to communicate effectively in writing
• Can quickly extract relevant information from documents
• Research using web-based systems, and use word processing programs
• Commitment to the Aims and Principles of the Citizens Advice service, including the service’s Equality and Diversity Policies.

Training

The adviser training programme is very thorough because it needs to be. You will have to be able to provide quality advice on a wide range of enquiry areas. It is important that we are giving the correct advice and information to our clients while also recording it appropriately. We understand how demanding this is and fully support you throughout your training journey and beyond.

There is extensive online learning done via our national Citizens Advice learning platform combined with observation and participation in work in our offices. You will also attend some training events (virtual and face to face). You will have one to one support with training as needed from one of our Learning and Development team, and as you progress assistance from supervisors and encouragement from all your colleagues.

Commitment

All our Volunteer Face to Face Advisers commit to at least 5-8 hours of their time each week for a minimum of 12 months. It usually takes between 12 and 18 months to become a fully trained adviser, but you could start working solo with clients after 3-6 months depending on how much time you can commit, and your progress. Once working solo, you build up experience of working with different clients and different enquiry areas. You will also work on getting case recording up to the required standard for our audits. From this you can see that it is quite a commitment to volunteer as an adviser for Citizens Advice, but we also invest heavily in you.

The qualification is nationally recognised and provided you do not stop advising for over a year, you can return to any Citizens Advice office in the country and with minimal refresher training continue to work as an Adviser.

For more information on this role, please contact us at volunteer@citizensadvicenorthumberland.org.uk

If you want more flexible hours, such as communicating over the phone or by email, and want to make a real difference to people's lives by helping them find a way forward with their problems, then this is the role for you.

On Adviceline, you will provide an essential, accessible advice service via telephone and email. You will interview clients to find out their needs and gather information about their situation. Then you will use our extensive information system to find the right solution for the client. You will work with the client to agree on the next steps to move them forward in resolving their problem.

You will volunteer at our Advice and Information Hub in Ashington, a dynamic, vibrant environment. Adviceline is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm so you can choose when you volunteer to suit you, such as volunteering around school hours or caring responsibilities. Once fully trained, there are opportunities to work at home. We pay agreed travel expenses to and from your home to your local office or training venues.

Volunteering on Adviceline is also a great option if you want to move into work. You could be returning to the workplace when your children start full-time education, after being a carer, or looking for a step towards the workplace. Whatever the reason, you can gain valuable employability skills and experience.

Previous adviser experience is not necessary as full training is provided.

However, you will need some IT experience due to a lot of the training being online. This will include e-learning, video calls and online workshops. IT is also used in the role - online research on our information system; case recording; written correspondence.

Main duties and responsibilities may include:

• Use our calling handling system to take inbound and make outbound telephone calls
• Interviewing clients by telephone; supporting them in explaining their enquiry, and helping clients to set priorities
• Responding to client email enquiries
• Finding, interpreting and explaining the relevant information and exploring options and implications so that clients can come to an informed decision
• Where necessary, acting on behalf of clients: negotiating; drafting or writing letters; making appropriate referrals
• Assisting clients with form filling, making benefits claims and helping them to prepare for assessments as part of their benefits claim
• Completing clear and accurate case records using our templates
• Identifying, reporting and providing evidence for research and campaigns issues
• Keeping up to date on important issues by attending the appropriate training and by essential reading
• Maintaining confidentiality about clients and their contact with Citizens Advice by following the Confidentiality Policy and adhering to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Skills and qualities needed:

• Non judgmental
• Friendly and approachable
• Able to communicate effectively both verbally, by telephone and in writing
• Ability to gather relevant information with empathy by actively listening and using a range of questioning techniques
• Can quickly extract relevant information from documents
• Research using web-based systems, and use word processing programs
• Commitment to the Aims and Principles of the Citizens Advice service, including the service’s Equality and Diversity Policies.

Training

The adviser training programme is very thorough because it needs to be. You will have to be able to provide quality advice on a wide range of enquiry areas. It is important that we are giving the correct advice and information to our clients while also recording it appropriately. We understand how demanding this is and fully support you throughout your training journey and beyond.

There is extensive online learning done via our national Citizens Advice learning platform combined with observation and participation in work in our Adviceline offices. You will also attend some training events (virtual and face to face). You will have one to one support with training as needed from one of our Learning and Development team and as you progress assistance from supervisors and encouragement from all your colleagues.

Commitment

All our volunteer Adviceline Advisers commit to at least 5-8 hours of their time each week for a minimum of 12 months. It usually takes between 12 and 18 months to become a fully trained adviser, but you could start working solo with clients after 3-6 months depending on how much time you can commit, and your progress. Once working solo, you build up experience of working with different clients and different enquiry areas. You will also work on getting case recording up to the required standard for our audits. From this you can see that it is quite a commitment to volunteer as an adviser for Citizens Advice, but we also invest heavily in you.

The qualification is nationally recognised and provided you do not stop advising for over a year, you can return to any Citizens Advice office in the country and with minimal refresher training continue to work as an Adviser.

For more information on this role, please contact us at volunteer@citizensadvicenorthumberland.org.uk

Do you already work in a community setting, or with the general public and would like more tools to assist people with their problems and signpost effectively? Then volunteering as a Community First Aider with Citizens Advice Northumberland is the role for you.

The Aim of Citizens Advice Community First Aid is to provide the right help in the right place at the right time: working with those who are at the heart of their local communities, adding our advice and information service to what they already offer; being proactive, giving people easy access to our support without having to look for it, and so avoiding problems escalating.

As a Citizens Advice Northumberland Volunteer Community First Aider (VCFA) you will be the first point of contact for someone struggling within the community. You will act as a triage service, offering guidance and information from the Citizens Advice website and understand where to signpost and refer people for support. You will learn to spot problems when they arise and further support people within your, already valuable, community setting.

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Identify problems when they arise and use active listening skills to discuss with community members
• Act as a triage service and signpost or refer people to appropriate services
• Complete the Citizens Advice training and keep up to date with local citizens advice services
• Share local knowledge
• Refer to Citizens Advice specialist services or community advisers for more complex advice
• Be able to spot an emergency and signpost effectively
• Maintain confidentiality in line with Citizens advice policy and General Data protection policies (GDPR).

Skills and qualities:

• Friendly and approachable
• Good local knowledge
• Excellent listening skills and ability to be an ‘active listener’
• Ability to communicate effectively
• Computer Literate - able to use the Citizens Advice website, Google and other online search tools and email effectively (training provided on Citizens Advice IT Systems)
• Non judgmental
• Commitment to the Aims and Principles of the Citizens Advice service, including the service’s Equality and Diversity Policies.

Commitment

A Citizens Advice Northumberland Volunteer Community First Aider is a very flexible role. You can volunteer within and alongside your existing job, with the agreement of your organisation/employer, or as a separate role bespoke to your individual setting.

Training

Training is flexible and usually takes 5-8 hours. This is a combination of face to face and online. We can also discuss how to best deliver the training for your setting.

If you feel volunteering as a Citizens Advice Northumberland Volunteer Community First Aider could be beneficial to you, and your community, please contact us at volunteer@citizensadvicenorthumberland.org.uk

Research and Campaigns Volunteer is a flexible role. You can complete the training and volunteer from home. You can join our online team meeting. The hours are flexible hours to suit your availability. We pay agreed travel expenses to and from your home to your local office or training venues.

You will play an essential role in helping to affect change and create a fairer society. You will coordinate with the research and campaigns team to promote and participate in our research and campaigns activities. We gather data from our clients, which gives us insight into the problems our clients and their wider communities are facing. We use this for research which we then use to campaign to change policies and practices, for not just our clients but the wider society.

You will need some IT experience due to a lot of the training being online. This includes e-learning, video calls and online workshops. IT is also used in the role to conduct online research on our information system.

Main duties and responsibilities may include:

• Promoting and partaking in local and national research and campaign initiatives
• Providing support and guidance to advisers on research and campaigns work
• Helping advisers to identify suitable cases for research and campaigns work
• Monitoring trends in office enquiries to identify issues for potential local or national research and campaigns work
• Collating good quality Evidence Forms and sharing good practice across the service
• Keeping up to date with local and national publications
• Network with others involved in research and campaigns work locally, regionally and nationally
• Reporting on research and campaigns issues at workers’ meetings
• Acting as main contact on research and campaigns issues for trainees
• Maintaining electronic filing systems in accordance with Citizens Advice systems and procedures including scanning and attaching paperwork to case files
• Maintaining confidentiality about clients and their contact with Citizens Advice by following the Confidentiality Policy and adhering to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Skills and qualities needed:

• An interest in and understanding of key current social issues, and their potential impact on our clients
• The ability to analyse complex information
• Use word processing programs and web-based systems to do research
• Commitment to the Aims and Principles of the Citizens Advice service, including the service’s Equality and Diversity Policies.

Training

There is a Research and Campaigns training programme, which we ask you to work through. It is important that you have an understanding of the service so the learning is done via our national Citizens Advice learning platform, in our offices and attendance on some training events (virtual and face to face). You will have one to one support with training as needed from one of our Learning and Development team and as you progress, assistance from supervisors and always encouragement from all your colleagues.

Commitment

Volunteer with us for as long as suits you - it could be long term, or perhaps you want to contribute to a specific campaign only. We're happy to discuss your preferences.

For more information on this role, please contact us at volunteer@citizensadvicenorthumberland.org.uk