Volunteering with Citizens Advice is a great way to learn something new and give back to your local community in either Fenland or Huntingdonshire. It is a very rewarding experience. By volunteering with us, you will help people in the community solve a wide range of problems and the training we deliver, which is a recognised accredited program, enables new volunteers to flourish.
Volunteering is good for your CV, as employers recognise the value of the volunteering experience in developing personal and professional skills. It is also a great way to meet new people.
If you are interested in volunteering as a Trustee to help support and develop Citizens Advice Rural Cambs please see below for further details about this role and how to apply.
Don’t take our word for it, here is what some of our volunteers have said:
I joined Citizens Advice as a volunteer as I was looking for a way of helping people which would also provide a personal challenge for me. From day one the training and support has been excellent. The team spirit and support within the office makes it a really rewarding and enjoyable place to be.
I enjoy working at Citizens Advice, I feel that I have gained great skills, such as good customer service and helping clients in need. I now have good computer skills, and working well as a team.I feel I have a great support network with all the team, and good training to help along the way. It’s a pleasure to work here and I will continue to do so as long as I can.
I have volunteered for some years now and a lot has changed but one thing has remained constant – there are a lot of people out there who need our help! But volunteering is not all about altruism. After I gave up paid work I reckoned that I needed a challenge to keep the brain buzzing and some sense of joining in with others for a worthwhile common purpose. Volunteers come from all sorts of backgrounds. However, it is not all sweetness and light. Sometimes I go home angry and frustrated, but somehow I keep coming back for more!
I feel a sense of empathy which hopefully is recognised by the client when they pluck up the courage to call and they feel let down by the system.
When passing on the information on our website and sharing this with the client they feel it will help more in the future to help prevent some situations from getting exacerbated.
Training is very thorough and gives the sense of confidence when explaining how to work out the client’s problem with them. Working with team gives those of us retired folk a sense of purpose again.
The most rewarding part of the whole system is knowing you have taken away the fear and stress many clients feel when making contact and best of all is when they take the trouble to report back their successful results with grateful thanks.
Some of the roles that we offer include:
Gateway Assessor
Assessing clients during a short interview, either on the telephone or by email enabling clients to self-help by providing information from our public site information system to help with their enquiries, signposting, and/or providing further appointments with Advisers or Caseworkers in the office where necessary.
Adviser
Interview clients at the office, provide information and advice from our information systems and other sources, give advice explaining the choices and consequences the clients face, give practical help by writing letters, making phone calls, completing forms and referring clients to other agencies if they are better placed.
Receptionist
Receptionists are the first initial link with our clients, providing a welcoming environment and registering client details on our system. This role would suit people who are methodical, organised, and patient. Basic IT skills are essential.
Research and Campaigns
By collecting evidence from clients that visit our office we can help bring about changes in local and national policies and services which can benefit everyone, even those that have never visited Citizens Advice.
Trustee
We are looking for new Trustees to join our Board of Trustees to help guide and advise us on the strategic direction and the sustainability of advice services in a challenging and changeable environment.
What you need to do next?
For us to get you underway as a volunteer, we need you to complete the application form, and return it completed to:
recruitment@ruralcambscab.org.uk
We will then invite you to an interview, where we would like to see an understanding of Citizens Advice and the service we offer, good people and listening skills, good written skills and be confident with IT.
We are currently developing our web chat service and are looking for new volunteers to help us pilot and develop this. If this is something that interests you please complete our application form below and we will be in touch.
General Volunteers – Download forms
Download a ZIP file containing three forms (in PDF and Word formats) to fill in and return:
- Citizens Advice Volunteer Application form
- Declaration of unspent convictions/cautions
- Volunteer diversity monitoring information
To return your completed application please email it to recruitment@ruralcambscab.org.uk or post it to Citizens Advice Rural Cambs, Eastfield House, 5 Latham Road, Huntingdon, PE29 6YG
Trustee – Download forms
Download a ZIP file containing four documents (in PDF and Word formats) to fill in and return:
- Citizens Advice Trustee Application form
- Full advert
- Role description
- Summary of Activities for 2019-20
To return your completed application please email it to admin@ruralcambscab.org.uk or post it to Citizens Advice Rural Cambs, Eastfield House, 5 Latham Road, Huntingdon, PE29 6YG
If you have any further questions please email us at recruitment@ruralcambscab.org.uk
We look forward to hearing from you.
