Volunteer Assessor

We are looking for Volunteer Assessors who will help Citizens Advice Runnymede and Spelthorne deliver our advice services to more people in our local community. Working with our team of Advisers and Supervisors, the role will include the following:

- Complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for the Assessor role which will comprise of independent learning and observations of current volunteers to support your learning. - Once trained you will talk to clients over the phone to explore their issue (s) - Find information about the clients’ issue and help them to 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 about the problem or a letter to an elected official like an MP, AM or local councillor

What skills do I need?

You don’t need specific qualifications as full training will be provided plus you will have the full support of an experienced Supervision team. However, you will 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 especially over the phone - Have excellent verbal and written communication skills - Have basic numeracy and 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

When do I need to be available?

Details

We are a small and friendly team based at Addlestone and Sunbury and we request a commitment of one full day (preferred) or two half days per week, for at least 18 months, and ideally two years or more.