Generalist Adviser

The work can be challenging but also hugely rewarding. Problems faced by our clients which affect their lives cover a wide range of issues and can be complex. Citizens Advice empowers people by giving them impartial, confidential, relevant and factual information.   

What will you do? 

As a volunteer Adviser your main responsibilities and duties will be to: 

• talk to clients over the phone, face to face or respond to emails to explore what problems they’ve come for help with 
• find information about the clients’ problems (such as debt, housing, benefits) and help them understand their options 
• support clients to take action to resolve their problems. This might include 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 
• look out for problems that are common, or are unfair and write a short report which can be sent to your local MP, or local councillor 

Here are some examples of issues you might be asked to help with 

• help clients with debts to 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 training is available and how much time does the role require? 

The role requires a considerable time commitment for the initial training phase, and anyone who is already in employment or undertaking full time studies would need to think about this carefully beforehand. 

Initial group training takes approximately 8 weeks (7 hours a week) and after completing online induction and core training modules, you should be ready to start as an assessor helping clients by email.  Once you have passed competency with email advice you will move on to telephone advice.   After starting phone advice trainees are also required to complete a number of online assessments in their own time.  All volunteers are supported throughout and their work is case-checked by supervisors for quality and accuracy. 

Weekly time commitment beyond the training period:  

We ask for 7 hours per week for at least twelve months and it is possible to divide this into more than one session if you prefer. Citizens Advice Cambridge is open Monday - Friday 9.00 -5.00.