Policy Officer
- Full time
- £25,338 – £28,700
- Edinburgh office based with options for hybrid working*
- Closing 15th June 2022
- Advertised from 2nd June 2022
- 35 hours a week. Permanent,
Role
Scotland’s Citizens Advice Network empowers people in every corner of Scotland through our local bureaux and national services by providing free, confidential, impartial and independent advice. We use people’s real-life experiences to influence policy and drive positive change. We are on the side of people in Scotland who need help, and we change lives for the better.
The Citizens Advice network is made up of 59 local CABs, each its own independent charity, the Extra Help Unit, a group of specialist case workers dealing with energy advice, and Citizens Advice Scotland as the membership body itself. We provide advice across over 200 locations and deliver 12 national advice projects for UK and Scottish Government including the Money Talks advice service and the Help to Claim Universal Support advice service.
Last year the network helped nearly 180,000 people and unlocked £147million for people through things like social security payments and employment entitlements. Our online advice received over 5.4 million page views and our awareness raising campaigns reached millions of people.
Policy at CAS
The Impact team has access to the incredible wealth of data generated by CABx as well as social policy feedback. This enables us to develop policy that is evidence based and grounded in the experiences of CAB clients. We use this, along with our knowledge of national policy, to engage with policy makers across Parliament, Government and stakeholder organisations to influence change. We do this to inform and empower individuals and communities and to change policy, law and practice.
Our goals are:
- To improve standards of living
- To increase equality
- Empower individuals to help themselves
- To build a better future.
Our impact teams are Financial Health, Stronger Communities and Social Justice. This role sits within Social Justice which is responsible for policy on social security, housing, fuel poverty and employment and there are many opportunities to work collaboratively across the different areas.
In this role you will take the lead on project work on medical assessments for disability benefits in both Scotland and the UK. Your focus will be ensuring we develop a robust evidence base that reflects clients’ and advisers’ experiences and using this to advocate for change at a national level. In addition to this you will maintain oversight on UK and Scottish Social Security to feed into the wider work of the team and to help identify policy priorities.
You will use your policy skills to influence at a national level and will represent the views of CAS on relevant Government groups as well as influencing decision makers pro-actively. Working alongside the other members of the team you will develop excellent relationships with the CAB network, engaging them in your work and utilising their experiences to better inform policy.
This is a great opportunity to play a critical role in helping to make society fairer, and in supporting our network of Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland.
*Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis the majority of CAS staff have been working from home, but we have now started a transition back to the office and expect all staff to be attending the office in some capacity from the end of June 2022. CAS have introduced a blended working policy to allow our employees to balance their time attending the office with time working from home, and the number of days you will be expected to attend the office each week can be discussed as part of the recruitment process. Candidates should be prepared to attend the office on their first day for an induction, and to attend the office thereafter as required.
Employee benefits
Citizens Advice Scotland offers excellent terms and conditions, including a total of 40 days leave (including public holidays) and a pension scheme with an 8% employer contribution. We have a flexitime scheme which enables our employees to work flexibly in line with organisational requirements, and as an inclusive employer we are happy to consider other flexible working arrangements where appropriate.
Application notes
To apply for this role, please send completed copies of the Personal Details Form, along with your current CV to: recruitment@cas.org.uk
In addition, we ask you to provide a short written statement (maximum of two pages) with examples which demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the post, as set out in the job description and person specification.
You can find all necessary forms below or on our website:
cas.org.uk/vacancies/policy-officer-citizens-advice-scotland-8
Equality & diversity monitoring
To help Citizens Advice Scotland monitor equality and diversity statistics please return the Equality & Diversity Monitoring Form separate from your other application documents by emailing it to: equalitymonitoring@cas.org.uk
About the employer
Citizens Advice Scotland is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Content Researcher and Writer
- Full time
- £31,146 – £38,067
- Edinburgh/Glasgow office with options for blended working, Hybrid/blended working - min 1 day a week at the office. This is a minimum, but a successful candidate can opt to be office based 5 days per week. (Hybrid)
- Closing 30th April 2024
The Citizens Advice network in Scotland is the largest independent advice service in the country. Citizens Advice Scotland is a charity within this network – we act as a national organisation supporting and representing the service as a whole and the interests of citizens. At the heart of the network there are 59 individual citizens advice bureau across Scotland, all operating as independent charities in their own right, which focus on providing support and advice directly to clients. Each of these organisations is a member of Citizens Advice Scotland. We believe that every citizen should have access to free, impartial and confidential advice that helps them make informed decisions, whenever they need it and however, they choose to access it.
The Digital Advice Content Team’s primary role is to provide digital advice content for Scotland. The successful candidate for this role will be:
- Comfortable using evidence, data and research to make the right content decisions
- Able to contribute to and use style guides and design patterns to produce consistent content
- Someone who puts user needs at the heart of their work, to make people's interactions with online content as simple and speedy as possible
- Experienced in evaluating current content strategies based on the results of user research and data for constant improvement of existing content
- Able to build relationships and work closely with policy, legal and other expert colleagues to make sure content is accurate and consistent
- Capable of promoting user-centred content design within the department and beyond
- Experienced in communicating in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner, choosing appropriate styles to maximise understanding and impact
- Encouraging the use of different communication methods, including digital resources, and highlight the benefits, including ensuring cost-effectiveness
- Ensuring communication has a clear purpose and takes into account people’s individual needs
- Able to share information as appropriate and check understanding
- Someone who shows positivity and enthusiasm towards work, encouraging others to do the same
- Confident in ensuring that important messages are communicated with colleagues and stakeholders respectfully, taking into consideration the diversity of interests
- Alert to emerging issues and trends which might impact your work area and new opportunities
This role offers you the opportunity to work at the heart of supporting Scotland's largest independent advice network and to make an invaluable contribution to the lives of people moving to or living in Scotland.
Occasional travel to the Edinburgh and Glasgow offices will be required.
Employee benefits
Citizens Advice Scotland offers excellent terms and conditions. We want our people to have a great work life balance and we have designed our working practices and benefits to support this. Here are some of things our employees benefit from: a 35-hour full time working week, 40 days annual leave, genuine flexibility in working hours with a flexi-time system, and blended/hybrid working opportunities for every role.
Citizens Advice Scotland is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies and flexible working arrangements to support all our staff. We are also committed to equality of opportunity for all and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.
CAS provides options for blended working to allow employees to balance their time attending the office with time working from home. The number of days you will be able to work from home each week will be dependent on your job role and can be discussed as part of the recruitment process.
Investing in Communities is a Scottish Government funded joint initiative of Midlothian Voluntary Action, Volunteer Midlothian and Dalkeith Citizens Advice Bureau that aims to improve the health, wellbeing and resilience of people in the Central Dalkeith and Woodburn areas through information, advice, learning and practical action.
The postholder is responsible for collaborating with partner organisations to develop, deliver and evaluate actions to achieve project aims. In particular, this includes advice and information provision for those in or at risk of financial hardship and building skills and knowledge of local people so they can make informed life and financial decisions.
Up to date understanding of Scottish and UK benefits system and experience of providing advice and information (paid or unpaid) to people experiencing disadvantage are essential. Postholder must hold City and Guilds Level 3 Energy Awareness Award, or be willing to work towards this as part of the role.
Workforce Wellbeing Officer
- Full time
- £32,100
- Mainly working from home, but some travel around Scotland and to our office in Glasgow will be required. (Hybrid)
- Closing 1st May 2024
Money Advice Scotland is Scotland’s money charity. Our mission is to be the driving force towards financial wellbeing for the people of Scotland.
We believe we will achieve this by supporting the money advice workforce, empowering citizens to get help and support, and advocating for fairer policy.
About the role
Over the past four years, the Workforce Wellbeing Project (formerly the Adviser Wellbeing Project) has given us the unique opportunity to document the experiences of staff within the free money advice sector and support their wellbeing through research, training, and community building.
The Workforce Wellbeing Officer (WWO) will be a creative and passionate communicator who can incite engagement and discussion on wellbeing topics in an inclusive way; acknowledging the sensitivity of wellbeing topics and the need to break down barriers – personal and organisational – which affect how wellbeing is addressed and supported in the workplace.
We are looking for an enthusiastic, dynamic and motivated person to join our team. The Session Supervisor has day to day operational responsibility for the delivery of a high-quality generalist advice service within Airdrie Citizens Advice Bureau. The Session Supervisor is responsible that the quality of advice delivered is in line with the Scottish National Standards and Citizens Advice Scotland’s Membership standards.
This post also supports the learning and development of a high-quality service by providing formal training to volunteers and staff as and when required.
The successful applicant will be encouraged and supported in their personal development by the Bureau Manager.
Employee benefits
Airdrie Citizens Advice Bureau offers excellent terms and conditions and is an inclusive employer considering flexible working arrangements where appropriate. For more details of some of the other benefits on offer to our employees, please contact us for more information.
Core Duties
- Provide supervision and support for advice workers, particularly in relation to advice enquiries, CASTLE data entry and enquiry entry.
- Support advisers to produce accurate, legible and complete client records.
- Contribute to building and supervising an effective team, understanding the importance of continual improvement of the service.
- Undertake advice work as and when required.
- Implement effective Triage Service
- Support and maintain uniform advice standards and contribute to their development. Ensure that advice work undertaken complies with CAS Quality Audit standards, Scottish National Standards.
- Actively implement the Aims and Principles of the CAB service, together with its other policies.
Essential Criteria
- Delivery of advice and information services to clients.
- Ability to work without supervision
- Basic training skills
- Ability to deal with staff, volunteers and the public in a calm, caring and competent manner
- Ability to analyse and interpret complex information
- Ability to prioritise own work and that of others, meet deadlines and manage workload in a pressured environment
- Ability to give and receive feedback objectively and sensitively and a willingness to challenge constructively
Desirable Criteria
- At least 2 years’ experience of supporting others in advice provision
- A working knowledge of CASTLE for the purpose of recording client cases
- Commitment to ongoing training
- Working within the voluntary sector
- Experience of supporting vulnerable clients
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