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 bureaux 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.

Our vision is for a Fairer Scotland where everyone has the advice and information they need to realise their rights, and that the barriers to accessing those rights are effectively challenged.

In order to be a member of Citizens Advice Scotland every Citizens Advice Bureau must comply with a set of membership conditions and standards. These conditions and standards aim to ensure a bureau adheres to the principles of the Scottish Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and provide clients with holistic, quality assured information, advice and support.

This role offers you the opportunity to work right at the heart of supporting Scotland's largest independent advice network and to make an invaluable contribution to citizen’s lives. If you are someone from either an advice, quality or learning background with an eye for improvement then this could be the role for you.

As a Learning and Standards Officer, you will be member of the Learning and Standards Team which is responsible for learning support and assessment of each Citizens Advice Bureau’s compliance with these membership conditions. This is an interesting, varied, challenging, and rewarding role.

Using a defined set of criteria and indicators you will assess the quality of advice provision across a range of topic areas and produce reports which summarise your findings. You’d work with colleagues to produce and maintain a variety of learning materials and learning opportunities for bureaux. The role also involves working with bureaux to help ensure consistency of approach to quality of advice and case checking across all Citizens Advice Bureaux in Scotland.

For more information about the role, please refer to the Job Pack.

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 hybrid working opportunities for every role. For more details of some of the other benefits on offer to our employees, please see the section on employee benefits in the job pack.

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 hybrid 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.

Hamilton Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) was formed over 50 years ago to provide a holistic advice service to the residents of Hamilton. As a member of the Scottish Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux network, Hamilton CAB aims to provide 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.

Hamilton CAB currently operates from two offices in Hamilton and are supported by 18 members of staff and 31 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 are seeking a committed and dynamic individual to serve as the Chair of our organisation.

As Chair, you will play a vital role by providing strategic leadership to the board, ensuring it fulfils its responsibilities for the governance of the organisation. You will also provide line management, support and direction to the Chief Officer, helping them to achieve the organisation’s aims and objectives; and ensures the smooth running of Hamilton CAB.

We are looking for an individual who has experience of leadership and governance. You will have a passion for the voluntary sector, strong leadership skills and an ability to drive forward positive change.

Although, not financially remunerated, the role is high profile and respected within the community and will offer a great challenge, learning and networking opportunity for the right person.

There are an average of 6 Board meetings per year to commit to as well as preparation time and regular collaboration /communications with the team and stakeholders.

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.

Citizens Advice Scotland provides a business development function and a series of national specialist advice services known as projects which require centralised project co-ordination and support. As the organisation continues to expand in our response to the cost of living and energy crisis, and to meet unprecedented demand for our advice services, we are seeking new team members to join us. You will work alongside the rest of the allocated team, ensuring successful development, delivery, and continuous improvement.

The roles will support a number of projects and therefore a dynamic and flexible individual who can multitask is required. The national projects are delivered by the Citizens Advice bureau network, with the Project Officer providing vital support to enable the advice and support people need.

You will also support a number of internal functions and services and you must have the ability to communicate clearly and to proactively gather information from a wide stakeholder and participation base ensuring deadlines are met.

The roles offer the opportunity to be part of an influential organisation that campaigns for a fairer Scotland in order to make a real difference to consumers' lives. 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.

For more information about the role, please refer to the Job Pack.

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.

Do you want to help a local charity support our local community. We are looking for new Trustee Board Members to join us. We’re looking for individuals who share our passion and values, who will support us to deliver our mission to empower and support citizens throughout Perth and Kinross in areas such as debt, benefits, employment, consumer rights, and to create a more equal and inclusive society.

The Board’s role is to provide overall governance for the Bureau, to set strategic direction, and to ensure that as an organisation we are providing the services required to support the community. We are looking for individuals who want to share their knowledge and experience, to work collaboratively with other trustees and our CEO to ensure Perth Citizens Advice Bureau continues to thrive in responding to the needs of our community.

If you don’t think you meet the ‘traditional’ profile of a charity trustee which may have put you off applying in the past then we want to hear from you! We want our board to reflect the communities we serve and would welcome applications from diverse backgrounds.

Our trustees are asked to attend a board meeting once every two months and to join at least one sub-committee; Finance, Governance or People. The time commitment is between four and six hours a month including meeting preparation.