We are not recruiting for volunteers at the moment. If you are interested in volunteering with us in the future, please complete the form below and we will be in contact with you when we next recruit. Thank you.
Are you passionate about helping others and making a difference in your community? Do you have good communication skills and a desire to learn and develop new skills? If so, we have some exciting opportunities for you!
Available Roles for Volunteers
You will help at outreaches and community events, raising awareness of our services and chatting to the public. You may also do this at your school, college or place of work. You will have support and be part of a friendly team.
Adviceline is our Dorset-wide telephone service. As an assessor you will answer calls from the public on a wide variety of topics (see below). You will explore the client’s situation and look up relevant information to help. You may be office-based or working remotely but you will always have support.
You will help clients face to face and by telephone and email. You may help with awareness events, social media or research and campaigns. You will join us for a 30 week placement.
You will help clients face to face or on the telephone with a variety of different enquiries. You will explore the client’s situation in detail and look up relevant information to help the client take action or take action on their behalf.
Citizens Advice Champions
You will help at outreaches and community events, raising awareness of our services and chatting to the public. You may also do this at your school, college or place of work. You will have support and be part of a friendly team.
Adviceline Telephone Assessors
Adviceline is our Dorset-wide telephone service. As an assessor you will answer calls from the public on a wide variety of topics (see below). You will explore the client’s situation and look up relevant information to help. You may be office-based or working remotely but you will always have support.
Student Placements
You will help clients face to face and by telephone and email. You may help with awareness events, social media or research and campaigns. You will join us for a 30 week placement.
Information Assistants
You will help clients face to face with accessing our public website to look for information. You may assist with simple forms. You will not need to write any casenotes but will complete some short training online.
What Subjects Can Advisers Help With?
- Welfare benefits
- Debt/money
- Consumer
- Housing
- Relationship & family
- Employment
- Immigration and nationality
- Legal matters
- Tax
- Disability information
- Discrimination
- Education
- Health matters
- Completing forms
How much time do you need to give?
Ideally we ask for 7 hours per week, which can be over one day or spread over two days, for at least 12 months. You will also need extra time for ongoing training.
Full training and support will be provided, so no previous experience is necessary. You will receive comprehensive training in a range of areas, including advice-giving skills, communication techniques, and the specific issues facing our community.
What Qualifications Do You Need?
No formal qualifications necessary as full training provided. However, you will need:
- The ability and willingness to work within the aims, principles and equal opportunities of the Citizens Advice service
- Good communication skills
- Good IT skills
- Ability to interact with and respect others
- Openness to new ideas and willingness to learn
What Training Will You Receive?
Initial training varies according to role. This could be as little as 3 hours for an Events Champion. Our Adviceline Assessor Programme includes a mixture of group and self-study, e-learning, webinars and observation along with practical experience in one of our offices. You will need to commit to 1-2 days a week for this but hours are flexible. You will be in a very supportive environment and will receive a certificate on completion of the training.
Why Do People Volunteer?
We are often asked by clients “Why do you do this work? You aren’t paid!”. Some of the reasons given by advisers are:
I volunteered for CA work because….”I wanted to do something worthwhile to help others, and develop myself personally and intellectually.“
What I like most about coming in is….”The friendship from fellow advisers – the support shown, the exchange of ideas and opinions.“
It’s lovely when….”You get a successful result, and when you know the client really appreciates the effort that has been made on their behalf – then it’s brilliant.“
Valuing Inclusion
Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from disabled people, people with physical, cognitive or mental health conditions, carers, LGBTQ+ and non-binary people, and people from the global majority.
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.
For more information about volunteering with us, please complete the form below and we will be in contact.
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Here are some client quotes to prove what a difference our volunteers really do make to people’s lives.
