All sorts of people volunteer as Citizens Advice bureau advisers. 
Here are some of the things they have in common:

1. Good listener
2. Enjoy teamwork
3. Can read and write English, and have basic arithmetic skills
4. Are comfortable using computers, online tools and the telephone, or are prepared to learn
5. Are open–minded and don’t judge people or their circumstances
6. Enjoy helping all kinds of people
7. Prefer regular volunteering and are able to offer an agreed number of hours each week
   
   Does this sound like you? Then apply to be a volunteer!

Do I need special qualifications or experience to become an adviser? 
No! There is a tried and tested training programme, used by every bureau in Scotland when training advisers and that will give you a great start.  Also, during every advice session, bureaux will have support on hand for their volunteers. Advisers use our extensive information system to research client queries so you don't need to have legal or other specific knowledge.

What does an adviser do?
The role of a Citizens Advice bureau adviser is very varied and may include the following.

1. Interviewing clients by phone or in person. Some bureaux give advice by e-mail, webchat or even SMS
2. Providing information from our information system
3. Explaining the options or choices the client has, and what these might mean for them
4. Offering practical help to clients by making phone calls, helping them to fill in forms on paper or online, helping them to draft e-mails or letters
5. Using online tools and sometimes perform calculations to assess entitlement to benefits
6. Referring clients to other agencies which might be of help to them
7. Recording client information and summarise what information and help was provided on CASTLE, our electronic client record system
8. Helping prevent future problems by identifying issues that affect a lot of clients – this is called social policy work
9. Becoming a generalist adviser, however, in some bureaux there are opportunities for specialisation and additional tasks such a tribunal representation.
   
   Training and support
   All the training and support will be provided to become a Citizens Advice bureau adviser, once you have completed the initial training programme and have some experience, there will be opportunities for ongoing training to support you in your role and help you to develop as a volunteer adviser. All training can support you with your career development, for paid work or further education. 

Why bureaux need help with administration
Each Citizens Advice bureau has administration processes in place to keep running smoothly and there are often opportunities for volunteers to contribute to them.

What kind of things do administration volunteers do?
Each bureau is different and so the nature of voluntary administration opportunities varies.  

The kinds of tasks that a bureau may ask volunteer administrators to do include:

1. updating local information resources used by advisers and publicity materials and information resources made available to the public
2. receiving and sending mail and some types of e-mail
3. copying, scanning, printing and uploading information to the client recording system
4. taking notes and minutes at meetings
5. reception duties - acting as the main point of first contact with the bureau for clients.

The kinds of tasks that a bureau may ask volunteer receptionists to do include:

1. greet clients and make them feel comfortable
2. arrange appointments and answer phone calls and some types of e-mails
3. provide information on the bureau and it's services to clients
4. manage the waiting room
5. enter some types of client information on the electronic client record system.

Each Scottish Citizens Advice bureau is responsible for securing the funding it needs to deliver a service to its community.
Bureaux gain their funding from a mixture of sources. Scottish bureaux may obtain funding from local, national and the UK government, charitable organisations and trusts and donations.  

Each Citizens Advice bureau is a charity, run by a Board of Trustees. The Trustees have overall responsibility for the bureau, including finances and raising funds although work will be delegated to bureau staff such as the Chief Officer or Bureau Manager.  In some bureaux, volunteers may help with aspects of fundraising.

The Citizens Advice network in Scotland takes advantage of developments in IT that improve the services we provide. Some systems are shared across our network and individual bureaux may have additional systems and software.

Your local bureau may have voluntary opportunities in IT and depending on the time and expertise you have, there are a number of ways in which you may be able to help, such as:

1. supporting and training users in day-to-day use of IT systems
2. working with the Citizens Advice Scotland IT support team to identify and fix hardware and software problems
3. preparing equipment for allocation to staff and volunteers, checking equipment returned to the bureau
4. documenting and tracking allocations and updates of hardware and software
5. maintaining the bureau website
6. designing spreadsheets or databases.

Citizens Advice bureaux need to raise and maintain their profile in the community.  
This is to ensure that:

1. everyone who might need the bureau's services can easily find out what is offered, where it is available, and when
2. potential volunteers are aware of all of the volunteering opportunities they have available
3. funders recognise what great value there is in supporting their local Citizens Advice bureau

4. politicians and decision-makers see the contribution of the social policy evidence provided by the Citizens Advice network in Scotland and by the individual bureau

   Some of the tasks that might be carried out by volunteers are:

   writing content and creating graphics for social media posts
   promoting the bureau by staffing stalls at local events (rural shows, student fairs, local markets) or in shopping centres, supermarkets, town centres etc
   giving talks about the bureau to interested local organisations
   creating leaflets and posters.

Bureau social policy volunteers use information from problems brought to the bureau by clients to help bring about real change.

Bureaux do this to meet the second aim of the CAB Service in Scotland: to influence social policy, both locally and nationally.

This is a flexible role, which can sometimes be partly carried out away from the bureau and outside their opening hours. You can read more by downloading the volunteer story available at the bottom of this page.  

Social policy work can involve:

1. completing and collating evidence forms that record information about the problems that clients experience
2. keeping in touch with staff at Citizens Advice Scotland who also do social policy work
3. identifying and raising social policy issues in the bureau e.g. at staff and volunteer meetings
4. training staff and volunteers in spotting particular issues and flagging then on the electronic client recording system
5. contributing to planning and undertaking local campaigns
6. contributing to media work and liaising with other bureaux and agencies to provide a voice for clients.

As independent charities, every citizens advice bureau has a board of trustees responsible for running the organisation and meeting the aims of the Scottish CAB service.  This is a group of volunteers who have the key role of ensuring that the bureau fulfils all its legal obligations and operates efficiently and according to good practice guidelines.

Some of the things that trustees are involved in include:

1. financial matters, for example budget reviewing, fundraising and planned service developments
2. promotion and awareness raising, to make sure that the bureau is well known in the area it serves
3. working with the bureau manager and Citizens Advice Scotland to make sure that quality standards are being met in the bureau
4. devising the bureau’s business plan, and monitoring its implementation
5. making sure the bureau is fulfilling its responsibilities as an employer of paid staff.

What kinds of people sit on Citizens Advice Bureau boards/management committees?

For the board of trustees to be effective a wide range of experience is required. 

You don’t need to be a professional or have particular qualifications to be a trustee and bureaux need people of all ages, skills and experiences so that everyone can learn from each other.  You can find out more by reading the volunteer story which you can download at the bottom of this page.

People who volunteer as trustees are usually:

1. aware of local issues
2. hold values aligned with the Aims and Principles of the Service
3. able to think creatively and exercise good, independent judgement
4. able to work effectively in a team
5. happy to improve their own and others awareness of Equality and Diversity issues
6. able to understand and accept the responsibility of being a trustee and employer
7. experienced and have knowledge useful on a board of trustees such as a background in other charity work, HR, community education, finance, health and safety, or have relevant lived experience.