What is the project?

This is a new way of volunteering. It is a partnership between Citizens Advice Hull and East Riding and Age UK. We have joined together to share our knowledge and deliver the training for this together.

Volunteers are asked to join us, one day a week for 5 weeks for their initial training.

Volunteers will join the team at either Citizens Advice Hull and East Riding in their main Hull office, or Age UK at their Hull office. They will develop their skills and knowledge from their initial training. They will have 10-week placement at each charity. Where they will continue to develop their skills and knowledge in a similar environment. At the end of the second placement, volunteers will have the opportunity to choose where they would like to continue as a volunteer. Volunteers can train for other roles or continue as Advice Support Volunteers.

We will have volunteers joining the programme through to the end of Spring 2025. It will be fantastic to have volunteers that have been on the programme to help show those new to the role, the ropes!

What is the role?

Advice Support volunteers will help client’s complete applications, initially this will be for benefits like carers allowance, or attendance allowance but with experience this can develop to other areas.

Why Should I get involved?

There are few things in this world that are scientifically proven to make you feel happier. Volunteering is one. If you have the time to offer, here are some of the potential benefits that may be relevant:

• make a real difference to people’s lives
• gain in-depth knowledge about specific issues, such as benefits
• 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
• come and be part of a new project,
• Join in our group sessions, with people of similar motivations

And we will 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

When does it start?

We are now recruiting for our second cohort of volunteers. Training for the second cohort will begin on Tuesday 16th April 2024.

How to apply?

Applications for our second cohort are now open and will close on the 22nd March. You can apply for the role by completing this online application form – please state that you are interested in becoming an Advice Support Volunteer specifically. If you have any questions then you can contact our volunteer team on volunteering@hull-eastridingcab.org.uk or 01482 324655.

Recruitment process

We will ask all applicants to complete an application form. We will ask potential volunteers to attend an informal interview. This will be online. It is an opportunity for you to find out more about the opportunity and if it is right for you. It is also for us to find out more about you.

Training

Volunteers are required to attend all training dates. If you are unable to attend then you will not be able to take part in this cohort. You can still send an expression of interest for future cohorts or other volunteering opportunities. The training dates for the second cohort are as follows:

16/04/2024 – 10:00 – 4:00

23/04/2024 – 10:00 – 4:00

30/04/2024 – 10:00 – 4:00

07/05/2024 – 10:00 – 4:00

14/05/2024 – 10:00 – 4:00

Volunteering placements

After training, your volunteer placements will take place:

1st placement: 20th May- 22nd July

2nd placement: 5th August- 7th October

We are able to offer flexibility on the days volunteered each week and understand there may be weeks when volunteers have other commitments. Please feel free to ask us about any queries or concerns you may have.

As a volunteer adviser, you will be helping our clients with issues such as benefits, debt, housing and employment.

One day you could be supporting a family with a complex case, due to the cost of living crisis. The next day it could be a client who thinks they may have been scammed. No two days are the same. Our volunteers tell us it is the variety that they enjoy.

We provide you with full training and there will always be one of our team on hand to support you in person, at the end of a phone or via video link.

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 client with debts work out a reasonable amount to pay back, and make a phonecall 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.

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

For individuals who are doing advice-giving roles, and who are also training to be a solicitor, if you started training to be a solicitor before 1st September 2021, you may be able to get up to six months reduction in your training contract. 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?

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. 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.

If you are interested in becoming an adviser and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us at volunteering@hull-eastridingcab.org.uk

To apply

Simply follow this link

As a remote adviser you will be helping our clients from your home by phone or email with issues such as benefits, debt, housing and employment.

Remote Volunteer Advisers are supported by supervisors by phone and video link. Remote volunteering can provide greater opportunities for potential volunteers to join our service. Remote advisers will require the following:

• a confidential space at home from which to give advice,
• access to a phone (land-line or mobile),
• internet access.

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 client with debts work out a reasonable amount to pay back, and make a phonecall 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.

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

For individuals who are doing advice giving roles, and who are also training to be a solicitor, if you started training to be a solicitor before 1st September 2021, you may be able to get up to six months reduction in your training contract.

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?

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.

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.

If you are interested in becoming an adviser and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.

Contact details

If you have any questions about the role please contact us: volunteering@hull-eastridingcab.org.uk

To apply

Simply follow this link

Research and campaigning is at the heart of what we do. If policies and practices affect peoples’ lives, our data tells the story. So do our clients, they share the impact upon their lives. All our volunteers help us with researching and campaigning. A research and campaign volunteer plays a special role. They may look at client cases related to a specific problem or emerging issue , such as the rise in energy bills. Or they may help with ongoing campaigns related to Universal Credit. The issues could be local, or they can be national campaigns, led by Citizens Advice.

For more details of past campaigns follow this link

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 across the organisation understand the cause of the problem, how it affects clients, and what change would solve the problem
• help to organise campaigns 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 in 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 please 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.

If you are interested in becoming a research and campaigns volunteer and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.

Contact details

If you have any questions about the role description please contact us: volunteering@hull-eastridingcab.org.uk

To apply

Simply follow this link

 

Customer Service and Reception Volunteer

Our customer service and reception volunteers make a difference in many different ways. From listening to a client and reassuring them that they have come to the right place for help. Working with our advisers and specialists to help our clients attend their appointments, fully prepared. To processing the information we receive onto our systems, enabling our staff and stakeholders to have an accurate understanding of the work we do.

What will you do?

• complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role
• 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 a spreadsheet or database
• answer the telephone, reply to emails and post
• 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?

We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer 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.

If you are interested in becoming a customer service volunteer / reception volunteer and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.

Contact details

If you have any questions about the role description please contact us: volunteering@hull-eastridingcab.org.uk

To apply

Simply follow this link