Research & Campaigns Volunteer

Citizens Advice Wigan are a local independent charity providing free, confidential, impartial advice for residents in Wigan, Leigh and Makerfield.

They are looking for volunteers who can support at their centre in Leigh.

What will you do?

• complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role

• identify common, or unfair, problems that clients come for help about  
• help volunteers and staff in the local Citizens Advice 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

What’s in it for you?

• make a real difference to people’s lives 
• learn about a range of areas such as benefits, debt and housing, and how problems in these areas can affect clients
• build on valuable skills such as communication, research, campaigns, how to engage with a range of audiences and working with clients
• increase your employability
• have a positive impact in your community and on broader society

What do you need to have?

You don’t need specific qualifications or skills but you’ll need to:

• be friendly and approachable
• be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own
• have excellent verbal and written communication skills

• be able to understand complex information and explain it (verbally and writing) so that others understand it

• have good 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

How much time do you need to give?

We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer so come and talk to us.

Valuing inclusion

Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from disabled people, people with physical or mental health conditions, LGBT+ and non-binary people, and people from Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

If you are interested in becoming a research and campaigns volunteer and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.