About Citizens Advice Edinburgh
The Citizens Advice Service was first established in Edinburgh in 1939.
It currently delivers services from 4 main Bureaux (Dundas Street, Leith, Muirhouse and Portobello) and over 20
project/outreach locations across the capital. In 2007 the separate Bureaux merged to form Citizens Advice
Edinburgh (CAE).
Through a team of core and project staff and over 100 highly trained and committed volunteers, CAE provides a free,
confidential, independent and impartial service to the citizens of Edinburgh on a wide range of issues
including:
- Debt and money
- Welfare Rights
- Consumer issues
- Immigration
- Employment and
workforce problems
- Housing
- Relationship and family issues
- Discrimination
- Health
services
- Legal rights & responsibilities
The charity is a trusted and well-respected organisation. It enjoys high levels of client satisfaction, and the
excellence of its training programme is widely recognised. Its volunteer workforce and paid staff are fully
committed and strive, with limited resources, to provide the advice sought by thousands of clients each
year.
For a full overview of all our services and current work, please visit our website at:
citizensadviceedinburgh.org.uk
Summary of Role
Citizens Advice Edinburgh (CAE) has been awarded a contract to deliver a new outreach advice service based the Royal
Edinburgh Hospital. We are recruiting 2 advisers, who, in combination, will deliver the service for a total of
49hrs per week. Applicants are invited to apply for any number of hours from a minimum of 14hrs (2 days p/wk) to
a maximum of 35hrs (5 days p/wk).
This new service will build upon CAE’s existing hospital-based provision in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Western
General Hospital, and Royal Hospital for Children & Young People (the latter with our advice partner,
CHAI).
The advertised vacancies are at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, and most work will be undertaken physically at that
site, however occasionally, the post holder may be required to work flexibly at the above-named hospitals,
covering periods of annual leave, sickness absence, or training.
The service will deliver welfare rights advice to patients, visitors and staff members attending the Royal Edinburgh
Hospital, which provides acute psychiatric and mental health services, including treatment for learning
disabilities and dementia. Research has shown that resolving problems with benefits, debt, employment, housing,
and family issues can have a positive effect on patient health. The service aims to engage with clients directly
at the point when they have had a change in circumstances due to a health-related issue or diagnosis, before
issues escalate.
Applicants should be experienced in giving advice, particularly in relation to benefits, but also in the areas of
money, housing, immigration, and employment. They must have an understanding of the role within the healthcare
environment and the impact of poverty on health. Although the post holder will not be providing any medical
advice, applicants must have a particular interest in mental health and ensure that patients experiencing
various health challenges are supported compassionately, sensitively, and appropriately. This may include
contact with a patient’s support network, if they share legal responsibility for managing a patient’s
affairs.
To launch and establish the service, a considerable amount of promotional work will be required. The post holder must
assertively develop and maintain links with NHS staff, Social Work staff, other CAE specialists and external
agencies, through both 1-1 contact, and by delivering presentations and briefings to prospective referrers.
The acute sector is a fast-paced, rapidly evolving, and challenging environment in which to work. Due to the
project’s setting, the work can be both physically and emotionally demanding. Clients are frequently extremely
unwell, presenting practical challenges to engagement, and advisers must move around a large hospital site in
order to meet with staff, patients and carers. In addition to possessing the necessary practical knowledge,
candidates will therefore require energy and resilience to ensure the service’s success.