VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are recruiting
Citizens Advice Hillingdon relies on a dedicated team of volunteers who play a vital role in supporting our community. As part of a national network of around 21,600 Citizens Advice volunteers, they help ensure free, confidential and impartial advice reaches those who need it most. However, like many organisations, we have seen a decline in volunteer numbers since the pandemic and urgently need more people to join us.
Volunteering with us is a rewarding opportunity:
to make a real impact,
learn about a range of areas such as benefits, debt and housing, and how problems in these areas can affect clients,
gain valuable skills and
increase your employability
be part of a supportive team.
to make a real impact,
gain valuable skills and
be part of a supportive team.
We welcome people from all backgrounds, including skilled volunteers and corporate teams looking to share their expertise in areas such as IT, marketing, finance, research and governance.
With a variety of volunteer roles available, there’s something to suit different skills, experience and interests - all while working alongside like-minded colleagues. As we have restructured the services we provide to a more project focused model, a new set of volunteer positions have become available. Right now, we urgently need:
who speak other languages in addition to English.
who speak other languages in addition to English.
Whether you can commit to a few hours a week or offer specialist support on a project basis, your contribution will help us continue delivering vital services to those who need them most.
Get involved and make a difference!
ADVICELINE VOLUNTEER
About the role: The role entails giving information and advice to the Hillingdon Community via our Adviceline. You will join a team of volunteers and paid members of staff and be supported by an experienced supervisor. Adviceline acts as the first port of call for many of our clients and a lifeline for those in crisis situations. You will deal with a range of issues including benefits, debt, housing, energy, relationships and much more. Full training and coaching will be provided as part of the role. All relevant equipment is provided.
You don’t need specific qualifications or skills but you’ll need to:
Demonstrate that you understand and support the aims and policies of the Citizens Advice service and have good listening skills.
Be friendly and approachable and be able to work effectively in a team.
Have good verbal and written communication skills and good IT skills.
Be prepared to follow a training programme.
Ability to speak a language other than English would be an advantage.
About the role: The role entails giving information and advice to the Hillingdon Community via our Adviceline. You will join a team of volunteers and paid members of staff and be supported by an experienced supervisor.
Adviceline acts as the first port of call for many of our clients and a lifeline for those in crisis situations. You will deal with a range of issues including benefits, debt, housing, energy, relationships and much more. Full training and coaching will be provided as part of the role. All relevant equipment is provided.
You don’t need specific qualifications or skills but you’ll need to:
Demonstrate that you understand and support the aims and policies of the Citizens Advice service and have good listening skills.
Be friendly and approachable and be able to work effectively in a team.
Have good verbal and written communication skills and good IT skills.
Be prepared to follow a training programme.
Ability to speak a language other than English would be an advantage.
Location: Remote, with possibility of occasional visit to outreach venues or visit/volunteer from office.
Commitment: Ideally we ask for 6 hours per week, which can be over one day or spread over two days, for at least 6 months.
Training commitment is essential to this role.
Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from racially minoritised people/people of colour, disabled people, people with physical or mental health conditions, LGBTQ+, non-binary people and people from Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
If you are interested in volunteering with us and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.
Before e-mailing or submitting The Expression of Interest Form please:
Download and familiarise yourself with The Role Description.
Download and complete The Volunteer Application Form (When completing the volunteer application form, please read through carefully and ensure all pages are completed before sending it back to us).
RESEARCH AND CAMPAIGNS VOLUNTEER
About the role: You will be joining Citizens Advice Hillingdon a crucial point of their Research and Campaign development. You will have the opportunity to make a real strategic difference to our work.
Key Responsibilities:
Identify common or unfair problems that clients come for help about.
Help volunteers and staff in the local Citizens Advice Bureau to 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).
Read national Citizens Advice newsletter and update volunteers and staff so that they know about common issues Citizens Advice clients face, and campaigns to raise aware or promote change.
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.
Help to develop some training for new volunteers and staff about research and campaigns.
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.
You do not need specific qualifications or skills but you will need to:
Be friendly and approachable.
Demonstrate that you understand and support the aims and purpose of the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own.
Have excellent organisational, verbal and written communication skills even with complex information.
Have a positive attitude towards research and campaigns, keeping up to date with current issues, and sharing your knowledge.
Be confident using IT and in your ability to communicate to a wide range of audiences.
Key Responsibilities:
Identify common or unfair problems that clients come for help about.
Help volunteers and staff in the local Citizens Advice Bureau to 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.
You do not need specific qualifications or skills but you will need to:
Be friendly and approachable.
Demonstrate that you understand and support the aims and purpose of the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own.
Have excellent organisational, verbal and written communication skills even with complex information.
Have a positive attitude towards research and campaigns, keeping up to date with current issues, and sharing your knowledge.
Be confident using IT and in your ability to communicate to a wide range of audiences.
Location: Remote, with possibility of occasional visit to outreach venues or visit/volunteer from office.
Commitment: 1 full day or 2 half days per week.
Training commitment is essential to this role.
Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from racially minoritised people/people of colour, disabled people, people with physical or mental health conditions, LGBTQ+, non-binary people and people from Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
If you are interested in volunteering with us and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.
Before e-mailing or submitting The Expression of Interest Form please:
Download and familiarise yourself with The Role Description.
Download and complete The Volunteer Application Form (When completing the volunteer application form, please read through carefully and ensure all pages are completed before sending it back to us).
LANGUAGE COMMUNITY CHAMPION VOLUNTEERS (Multiple Projects)
About the role: The role of a volunteer interpreter is essential to bridging the gap between our advice and support services and those that need our help the most.
Key responsibilities:
Provide interpreting support in a variety of settings, helping others to find information that can help them solve their problems.
Contribute to project development and communication initiatives.
Support at project promotion events as requested.
Optional role to include adviceline.
Help us engage with the community.
We are looking for Volunteer Interpreters and Translators with fluency in the following languages:
Arabic
Amharic
BSL
Dari
Sorani
Mandarin
Portuguese
Polish
Pashto
Somali
Tamil
Tigrinya / Tigre / Bilen
If you speak any other languages fluently, we encourage you to still apply.
You don’t need any particular qualifications or experience to train as a language champion but you will need to:
Have good communication skills and be able to read and write English and at least one other language (one of the mentioned above preferred).
Demonstrate that you understand and support the aims and policies of the Citizens Advice service.
Be friendly, approachable and patient.
Be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own.
Have good listening skills, be able to work in a team.
Enjoy helping people, be supportive to clients and colleagues.
Be confident using information technology (IT).
Be willing to undertake training in your role which will include training to provide services via F2F, telephone, e-mail and webchat communications.
About the role: The role of a volunteer interpreter is essential to bridging the gap between our advice and support services and those that need our help the most.
We are looking for Volunteer Interpreters and Translators with fluency in the following languages:
Arabic
Amharic
BSL
Dari
Sorani
Mandarin
Portuguese
Polish
Pashto
Somali
Tamil
Tigrinya / Tigre / Bilen
If you speak any other languages fluently, we encourage you to still apply.
You don’t need any particular qualifications or experience to train as a language champion but you will need to:
Have good communication skills and be able to read and write English and at least one other language (one of the mentioned above preferred).
Demonstrate that you understand and support the aims and policies of the Citizens Advice service.
Be friendly, approachable and patient.
Be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own.
Have good listening skills, be able to work in a team.
Enjoy helping people, be supportive to clients and colleagues.
Be confident using information technology (IT).
Be willing to undertake training in your role which will include training to provide services via F2F, telephone, e-mail and webchat communications.
Location: Remote with occasional work at outreach venues across Hillingdon.
Commitment: Ideally, we ask for at least 1 weekday per month. We will also seek your support at pre-arranged appointment sessions and on an ad-hoc basis.
Training commitment is essential to this role.
Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from racially minoritised people/people of colour, disabled people, people with physical or mental health conditions, LGBTQ+, non-binary people and people from Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
If you are interested in volunteering with us and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.
Before e-mailing or submitting The Expression of Interest Form please:
Download and familiarise yourself with The Role Description.
Download and complete The Volunteer Application Form (When completing the volunteer application form, please read through carefully and ensure all pages are completed before sending it back to us).
DIGITAL/ IT ASSISTANT ROLE
About the role: This role offers a meaningful opportunity to support both the local community and the Citizens Advice team.
Depending on your confidence and interests, the role can be tailored to include tasks that support residents directly and/or help our team behind the scenes.
Key Responsibilities:
Talk to clients face to face at our events, to help them find information online that can help them solve their problems.
Help clients carry out an activity online to solve their problems.
Help staff and volunteers with day to day IT issues, for example, trouble logging on to their computer, connecting to wi-fi, finding files.
If you are super confident with IT, 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 our local Citizens Advice website.
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.
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.
Have good listening skills.
Have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Be confident using IT and in your ability to communicate to a wide range of audiences.
Key Responsibilities:
Identify common or unfair problems that clients come for help about.
Help volunteers and staff in the local Citizens Advice Bureau to 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.
You do not need specific qualifications or skills but you will need to:
Be friendly, patient and approachable.
Respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own.
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.
Have good listening skills.
Have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Be confident using IT and in your ability to communicate to a wide range of audiences.
Location: Remote, with possibility of occasional visit/volunteer from office.
Commitment: We can be flexible.
Compulsory: Complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role.
Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from racially minoritised people/people of colour, disabled people, people with physical or mental health conditions, LGBTQ+, non-binary people and people from Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
If you are interested in volunteering with us and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.
Before e-mailing or submitting The Expression of Interest Form please:
Download and familiarise yourself with The Role Description.
Download and complete The Volunteer Application Form (When completing the volunteer application form, please read through carefully and ensure all pages are completed before sending it back to us).
The Expression of Interest Form
If you would like to become a volunteer, please complete The Expression of interest form.
If you would like to become a volunteer, please complete The Expression of interest form.
After You Have Sent Us an E-mail or Expression of Interest Form
Due to the high volume of e-mails and applications we receive, unfortunately we are unable to contact every candidate personally.
If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks after sending us an e-mail or submitting your expression of interest form, please, assume that we do not have any positions available or your application was not successful on this occasion. We encourage you to check our website for future opportunities and thank you in advance for showing interest to volunteer with us.