Volunteer advisers sought to help people struggling amid the cost-of-living crisis

• Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire wants to recruit six new volunteer advisers
• The volunteers would help people coming to the charity with problems including benefits, debt, housing and employment
• The charity is keen to encourage applications from people with a diverse range of backgrounds

Anyone wanting to give their time to help people struggling in the region has an opportunity to become a volunteer adviser.

The rewarding role at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire would involve training to help with a vast range of problems. These include but are not limited to benefits, debt, housing and employment.

The small, independent charity has seen demand for help with cost-of-living issues shoot up.

Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire is helping ten times as many people needing referrals for foodbank vouchers as pre-pandemic.

The charity is now looking to take on six new trainee generalist advisers to join the existing team.

The charity is particularly keen to encourage applications from people with a diverse range of backgrounds. This is especially the case for people from BAME backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

The service aims to provide high-quality advice to members of the public. It also aims to influence Governments and other organisations by informing them of the effect of their actions on the lives of clients.

The role would involve giving advice to clients both face-to-face and over the telephone.

Duties of volunteer advisers

Main duties 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 communicating the relevant information and exploring options and implications in order that the client can come to a decision
• Acting, where necessary, on behalf of the client, negotiating, drafting or writing letters or making appropriate referrals
• Completing clear and accurate case records
• Recognising the root causes of problems and participating in taking appropriate action
• Keeping up to date on important issues by attending the appropriate training and by essential reading
• Attending team meetings

Advisers should be open and approachable with excellent communication skills. They should have respect for views, values and cultures which are different to their own.

Applicants should be IT competent and able to commit to two sessions per week for at least two years.

Training will be held over a full day – probably a Wednesday. There will be additional training time when new recruits can observe experienced advisers.

There will be opportunities to help out for a few sessions prior to training starting so that applicants can check the role is right for them.

The role

Emmanuelle Claverie is Lead Supervisor at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire and leads the team of advisers.

She said the rewarding role is “in-depth” and applicants should be ready for a satisfying challenge.

She said: “We are a charity and we rely largely on volunteers to be able to give advice to people who need it.

“We have seen an increase in the number of clients coming and the complexity of their cases and we need to train more volunteers to support them.

“It’s a very rewarding role. The majority of our volunteers stay with us for years and really enjoy meeting other people in the office as well as supporting clients.

“We really want to reach out to all communities to make sure we reflect the diversity of South Gloucestershire. It’s open to anyone, including those at university, on a career break or recently retired.”

To apply, please email Finance and Admin Manager Amanda Wood at bureau@sgloscab.cabnet.org.uk to ask for an application form.

• In 2022-3, Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire helped 4,183 people with 19,625 issues. It saved clients a combined total of £3.8 million – that is the equivalent of £908 back in the pocket of each person it helped.
• Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire is a small, local and independent charity and does not receive funding from central government.
• Anyone in South Gloucestershire seeking free, independent, impartial and confidential advice from Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire can call 0808 278 7947.