Citizens Advice South Essex is recruiting volunteers from all kinds of backgrounds to support local people with their problems. Issues might include debt, housing, benefit and employment problems.
Last year the charity supported almost 17,000 people throughout Basildon, Billericay, Brentwood, Castle Point, Rayleigh, Rochford, Thurrock and Wickford by providing help to resolve their problems with free, independent and confidential advice from trained advisers.
Citizens Advice South Essex is looking for volunteers who are able to contribute a minimum of 5 hours, 1 day per week, most weeks, which can be done flexibly either in one of our local offices or from home. There are a number of different roles available, so please express an interest and we will arrange to discuss these opportunities in more detail.
What will you do?
-complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role
-talk to clients over the phone, face to face, or online to explore the problems they need help with
-find information about clients’ problems and help them to understand their options
-support clients to take action to resolve their problems. This might include drafting or writing letters, making phone calls, or referring the client to another organisation
-write a summary of the clients’ problems and what action you’ve taken -look out for problems that are common, or are unfair, and write a short report about the problem
Some examples of what you could do:
-help a client with debts access the support they need
-explore what benefits a client is entitled to and help them to complete a benefit application form.
-help a client who has problems with their landlord to understand their housing rights.
Working with us you will:
-make a real difference to people’s lives -learn about a range of issues such as benefits, debt, employment and housing.
-build on valuable skills such as communication, listening and problem solving, and increase your employability
-work with a range of different people, independently and in a team.
-have a positive impact in your community.
We welcome applications from all sections of the community.
Our offices are based in Basildon, Rochford, Grays and Brentwood. Home working is an option.
What skills do I need?
You don’t need specific qualifications or experience; all volunteers receive full training for their chosen role and always have a supervisor available but you’ll need to:
-be friendly and approachable
-be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own
-have good listening skills -have excellent verbal and written communication skills
-have good maths and IT skills -be able to understand information and explain it to others
-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
Details
- Accessibility
- Data Protection policy
- DBS check required
- Equal opportunities policy
- Expenses reimbursed
Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed - Health and Safety Policy
- Ongoing support
- Suitable for under 18s
- Training provided
- Volunteer induction
- Volunteer policy
- Volunteers covered by insurance
- Written role description
When can I volunteer?
Start Date: 01/07/2022
End Date: 30/04/2025
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Afternoon | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Evening | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Availability Details
A minimum commitment of 5-6 hours per week is required.