At Citizens Advice Torbay, we offer a range of different roles for volunteers. Browse the Role Descriptions list below to find out more about each role.
- Advisers / Adviceline Telephone Assessors
- Receptionists / Administrative Support
- Client Support Form Fillers
- Fundraising Volunteers
- Research and Campaigns Volunteer
- IT Support Volunteers
- Trustees
If you have any questions or are interested in applying to volunteer with us, get in touch by:
Email: training@torbaycitizensadvice.org.uk
Click here for Online Expression of Interest / Application Form
ROLE DESCRIPTIONS
Role: Reception / Administrative Volunteer
What will you do?
- complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role
- answer the doorbell and welcome all clients and other visitors to the local Citizens Advice
- explain to the client how long they might be waiting and what will happen and give out a form for clients to fill in
- type up information from the client form onto our database
- Maintain/ check the online appointment diary/ calendar and any text messages.
- answer the telephone, reply to emails and post
- telephone clients to make appointments
- help with the day to day running of the Citizens Advice service
What’s in it for you?
- gain and build on valuable skills and experience such as communication, IT skills and working in a team
- increase your employability
- contribute to the smooth running of the advice service which makes a real difference to peoples’ lives
- work with a range of different people, independently and in a team.
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:
- be friendly and approachable
- be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own
- have good IT skills
- be calm under pressure
- 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, 2 mornings per week, after training. We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer so come and talk to us.
Contact us: training@torbaycitizensadvice.org.uk
Role: Adviser
What will you do?
- complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role
- talk to clients over the phone to explore what problems they’ve come for help with. There is also an option to speak to clients face-to-face, after gaining some experience.
- 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 using our information systems to advise clients, 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, using our digital recording system.
- 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 client with debts work out a an income and expenditure sheet
- 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.
No prior experience is necessary in these areas as you’ll receive full training though you will need some basic IT skills
What do you need to have?
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.
Contact us: training@torbaycitizensadvice.org.uk
Role: Client Support Form filler
What will you do?
- complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role
- complete paper and online forms with clients, for example to apply for a benefit, or to complete an application for money or equipment from a charity
- discuss a client’s income and spending with them, and together drawing up a budget
- 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:
- find the information online that explains how to apply for Council Tax Reduction in a client’s local area and explain it to them
- Meet a client in the office for a face-to-face appointment to help client complete an application for Personal Independence Payment
- help a client find information about and complete an application form for a Blue Badge
What’s in it for you?
- make a real difference to people’s lives
- gain in-depth knowledge about specific issues, such as benefits, and debt
- build on valuable skills such as communication, questioning and listening, interpreting information and summarising
- 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.
What do you need to have?
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 summarise it
- 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 6 hours per week, which can be over one day or spread over two days, for at least 6 months.
We can be flexible so come and talk to us.
Contact us: training@torbaycitizensadvice.org.uk
Role: Fundraising Volunteer
What will you do?
- complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role
- explore different ways of fundraising to help the local Citizens Advice obtain money, either for specific things, or for ongoing running costs of the local Citizens Advice
- help to organise fundraising events to raise money from the local community and encourage volunteers and staff to get involved
- create materials, such as newsletters or presentations, which can be used to raise the profile of the local Citizens Advice and for raising money
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, and problem solving, and increase your employability
- work with a range of different people, independently, in a team and within your local community
- have a positive impact in your community
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:
- be friendly and approachable
- be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own
- have a positive attitude towards fundraising
- have excellent verbal and written communication skills
- have good IT skills
- 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?
We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer so come and talk to us.
Contact us: training@torbaycitizensadvice.org.uk
Role: IT Support Volunteer
What will you do?
- complete an introduction to Citizens Advice
- help staff and volunteers with day to day IT issues, for example, trouble logging on to their computer, connecting to wi-fi, finding files
- deliver one to one or group training about using particular software, such as Microsoft spreadsheets or Google docs
- write instructions about how to do basic IT tasks to help volunteers and staff
- help update the local Citizens Advice website
What’s in it for you?
- build on and develop skills, in particular IT and communication
- increase your employability
- have a positive impact on someone else’s experience of volunteering with the local Citizens Advice
- meet people and build relationships with other volunteers
- contribute to the smooth running of the advice service which makes a real difference to peoples’ lives
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:
- be friendly, patient and approachable
- respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own
- have good verbal and written communication skills
- have good IT skills
- 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?
We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer so come and talk to us.
Contact us: training@torbaycitizensadvice.org.uk
Research and campaigns volunteer
What will you do?
- complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role
- identify common, or unfair, problems that clients come for help about
- help volunteers and staff in the local Citizens Advice understand the cause of the problem, how it affects clients, and what change would solve the problem (by talking to them, or writing a summary)
- help to organise a campaign with the aim of raising awareness of the problem. This might involve creating materials, such as newsletters, or presentations, or writing something for social media or newspaper, which could be used to explain the problems to others (such as local councillors, or members of the public)
- help to organise a campaign with the aim of getting the organisation (person or elected body such as MP, AM or local councillor) that is causing the problem, to change the way they do things. This could mean meeting with the organisation, person or elected body, writing to them or holding an event
- help national Citizens Advice carry out research about how certain issues affect clients in your local area. This might involve doing a survey with clients to find out how a change in a benefit is affecting them
What’s in it for you?
- make a real difference to people’s lives
- learn about a range of areas such as benefits, debt and housing, and how problems in these areas can affect clients
- build on valuable skills such as communication, research, campaigns, how to engage with a range of audiences and working with clients
- increase your employability
- have a positive impact in your community and on broader society
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:
- be friendly and approachable
- be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own
- have excellent verbal and written communication skills
- be able to understand complex information and explain it (verbally and writing) so that others understand it
- have good IT skills
- 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?
We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer so come and talk to us.
Contact us: training@torbaycitizensadvice.org.uk
