Are you passionate about making a difference to your local community? Are you willing and able to give up some of your valuable time to work with a Charity that has a social ethos and values to make a difference in the local communities we serve? As the need for our services has grown, we are looking for new trustees to contribute to help us develop and deliver our strategy, values and vision.

About East Ayrshire Citizens Advice Bureau

As a member of the Scottish Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux network, East Ayrshire CAB provides free, independent, impartial, and confidential advice and information to ensure that people understand their rights and responsibilities and can express their needs effectively. We campaign and influence to tackle the root cause of the problems people face and work to strengthen their rights.

East Ayrshire CAB currently operates from two offices in Kilmarnock and Cumnock. We have 17 staff and are supported by 12 volunteers including board members. The Bureau supports individuals with a wide range of general enquiries whilst project staff provide specialist support on topics including benefits, debt, utilities, and money matters.

The Role

We’d like to enhance our board to better reflect the diverse individuals and communities we work alongside, so we welcome applications from all backgrounds. Our bureau is a place for learning, innovating and connecting, so whether you’re already an experienced trustee, or taking your first step, we’d love to hear from you. Just some examples of the experience or expertise you may bring include:

• Equality, diversity and inclusion

• Third sector leadership and governance

• Digital strategy

• Legal

You may bring different skills and strengths – more important is your passion to use your skills and experience in guiding and supporting us as we tackle the challenges people face today.

Becoming a volunteer Board member is not just about what you can offer us, it is a rewarding role that helps you learn new skills, broaden your network, raising your profile and make a real difference for the people in East Ayrshire.

There are an average of six Board meetings per year to commit to as well as preparation time and regular collaboration /communications with the team and stakeholders.

Main Purpose:

To break the cycle of food bank dependency by building financial capacity, energy capability and independent living skills within the target community; reducing social isolation, tackling poverty and inequality, reducing social drift, building community cohesion and developing community capacity and resilience.

Roles & responsibilities

The post-holder will support TRI (Tackling Rural Isolation) Outreach Support Service users to achieve increased financial capacity, become energy capable and develop independent living skills, by providing bespoke advice, support & advocacy as follows:

• Assistance with mitigating the impact of the cost of living crisis and maximising income.
• Help with financial and digital inclusion: support to access bank accounts & to digitally access cheaper services to free up income and build digital capacity, confidence and savings.
• Support to access appropriate affordable borrowing; to explain implications of borrowing; and to access debt resolution strategies.
• Support to access, efficiently use and manage economically viable energy provision in partnership with the Stirling CAB Energy Advice team
• Social prescribing & assistance to access further support to address underlying vulnerabilities such as loneliness, mental health, addiction, chaotic lifestyles, offending behaviours.
• Support to better integrate into the local community to address social & economic isolation and loneliness.
• Support for developing financial confidence and responsible financial management, improving independent living skills.

Full details can be found in the job description below.

The post holder will be responsible for developing and delivering training courses/sessions to enable the EASE Project end users (AFTAR/CAB tenants of five partner Housing Associations, located throughout North Lanarkshire) to empower digitally excluded clients to claim online benefits, grants, offer IT sessions and employability sessions. The post- holder will have responsibility for planning group training sessions as well as one to one coaching sessions for the end users in their own home, or at community based venues or at partners’ premises. Learning will be evaluated through client user surveys and other feedback.

Owing to the flexible delivery nature of this project, a clean current driving licence and use of a car is required for this post.

Employee Benefits

• Competitive reward package including annual performance bonus scheme

• 5% employer pension contributions

• Generous holiday entitlement 38 days inclusive of public holidays

• Additional holidays for length of service

• Family friendly policies

• Home & Flexible working scheme

• Occupational Sick Pay

• Dedicated Training and Personal Development Budget as part of our Talent Management Pool

• Leadership Mentoring

• A wide range of Social Events and Team Building Days

The Youth Engagement Caseworker will provide advice, support and empowerment to young people in order tor them to thrive and contribute to matters that affect their lives. This is a new project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.