Generalist Advisor

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 what problems they’ve come for help with
• find information about the 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 phonecalls, 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 or a letter to an elected official like an MP, AM or local councillor

Some examples of what you could do:

• help a client with debts work out a reasonable amount to pay back, and make a phone call to an organisation they owe money to.
• 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.

What’s in it for you?

• 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

And we’ll reimburse expenses too.

If you started training to be a solicitor after 1st September 2021, you may be able to include time spent volunteering (or working) in advice giving roles as part of (or all of) your qualifying work experience. See Solicitors Regulation Authority for more information.

What do you need to have?

No prior experience is necessary as you’ll receive full training.

You don’t need specific qualifications or skills 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

How much time do you need to give?

Ideally we ask for 8 hours per week, which can be over one day or spread over two days, for at least 12 months.

However, we can be flexible 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.

Application

If you are interested in volunteering and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please email us: volunteer@cambridgecab.org.uk