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.

The Cost of Living crisis is unprecedented in social history and continues to have a devastating impact on the lives of many Stirling citizens. The need for advice, information and crisis intervention support around money, debt, shortages of fuel and food is huge and continues to grow.

The Cost of Living Support Worker is responsible for supporting volunteer advisers deal with the increase in casework / demand due to Cost of Living drivers.

The post holder will increase volunteer advisors capacity to deal with cost of living driven enquiries & support the main Bureau volunteer led generalist service to deal with the increased volume of enquiries.

The post holder will act as support and mentor to both office-based and remotely enabled advice volunteers ensuring they have the necessary support to deal with enquires effectively and efficiently.

General Responsibilities

• To act as the main point of contact and mentor for all advice volunteers seeking casework/advice support on Cost of Living driven enquiries
• To support bureau based & remotely enabled volunteers to assist in the delivery of the core advice service.
• To provide advice support for remote & bureau based volunteer workers particularly in relation to complex/crisis Cost of Living crises driven client enquiries.
• Provide advice for maximising income & support volunteer advisers in the provision of advice & assist people maximise their income by accessing such support as is available to them (e.g. benefits and grants).
• Provide advice & support volunteer advisers in the provision of advice for managing debt. Helping people identify their options and strategies, enabling them to get control of their borrowings or removing the burden of debt entirely.
• To undertake supervisory roles within the office – e.g. 2nd tier technical support on complex Cost of Living driven enquiries
• To communicate frequently with volunteer advisers to ensure they are satisfied, well-placed and any concerns are addressed.
• To help ensure the purpose of the Stirling CAB, its actions, policies, procedures and the role of the volunteer is clearly communicated, understood and implemented.
• To help represent and present the views of volunteers and volunteering related matters to senior management.
• Help ensure that the required monthly CAB statistics are provided to the Deputy Manager
• To carry out any other reasonable task requested by CAB management or required by the Board of trustees.

Accountability

• Provide written reports to monthly supervision sessions with Deputy Manager
• Attend annual appraisal
• Attend Annual General Meeting and quarterly reviews of role with CEO

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