Community Outreach Adviser
The role
As a Community Outreach Adviser, you will provide advice and support to clients both at our office and in outreach locations across Hart District, reaching those who may not otherwise be able to access our services facing a range of issues including financial difficulties, housing, employment, family, and health.
Working with an enthusiastic team of staff and volunteers, you will be engaging with clients throughout the community to give them the tools and knowledge to find a way forward.
We want people who are passionate about giving an effective service to those most in need. You will need to demonstrate that you can engage skilfully with clients who are vulnerable and distressed and you will have proven skills in working in a busy environment.
Projects
In addition to our core service, we receive project funding to deliver specific advice and outcomes to clients. As part of this role, you will work flexibly to meet the needs of different projects subject to funding requirements.
We run several projects and services including supporting people leaving hospital – Home & Well, Advice First Aid to upskill community staff and volunteers, Foodbank, Outreach, Financial Resilience and Digital Exclusion. We are forward thinking and ambitious to develop new services to support the people who need us most.
Job Profile
Our main office is located in the Civic Offices, Harlington Way, Fleet, GU51 4AE. Services are also provided in outreach locations across the Hart District area to which you will be expected to travel.
Reporting to the Head of Services, in conjunction with the Advice Services Manager and Advice Session Supervisors, you will meet clients to help them overcome presenting issues including, but not limited to, financial hardship, housing, employment, family and health related matters.
You will meet clients both one to one and in group settings, providing tailored information and advice to meet their needs. You will also work with other local community organisations to promote and deliver this work.
Role Purpose
You will be expected to work to the quality of advice standards required by Citizens Advice, to treat everyone equally, work as part of a team and have excellent communication skills including the ability to answer telephone and electronic enquiries.
Key work areas and tasks
Working with clients
- Meeting clients face to face at our office and in outreach settings, or via telephone and email contact.
- Using sensitive listening and questioning skills to allow clients to explain their problems and empower them to address these, ensuring you understand the presenting issue and any underlying causes.
- Identify key information about the problem including potential discrimination, time limits, key dates and any requirement for urgent advice or action.
- Using our internal information system and other trusted sources to find, interpret and communicate relevant information to the client in a way they can understand.
- Explore options and implications to enable the client to make informed decisions.
- Act for the client where necessary by calculating, negotiating, drafting letters and communicating on their behalf.
- Refer or signpost the client as appropriate, internally or to third parties
- Clearly communicate the agreed next steps with the client
- Working flexibly to make reasonable adjustments for clients where applicable
Administration
- Accurately record and input client data and case notes in line with the Citizens Advice quality standards and local procedures, using secure IT systems
- Measure and input outcomes in line with local office and project KPIs
- Monitor key statistics for reporting purposes
- Produce client case studies
Research and campaigns
- To assist with research and campaigns work by identifying unfair policies on a national and local level and highlighting these to the research and campaigns team through completion of Evidence Forms.
Professional development
- Undertake any training required to meet Citizens Advice adviser competencies and specific project requirements.
- Keep up to date with legislation, policies and procedures through ongoing training and attending team meetings
Stakeholder engagement
- Develop and maintain strong partnerships with existing and potential stakeholders, statutory and voluntary agencies
Equity and Diversity
- Promote and work within an environment that is equitable, accessible and inclusive to all clients, staff and trustees
Other duties and responsibilities
- To carry out any other tasks that may be within the scope of the post to ensure the effective delivery and development of the service.
- Comply with all the organisation’s published policies and procedures
- Uphold the aims and principles of the organisation
Person Specification
- A commitment to the aims and policies of the service.
- Experience in delivering generalist advice on a variety of topics, including benefits, debt, housing and employment.
- Possess interpersonal skills, including sensitive listening and questioning skills to understand the needs of others.
- Able to use IT systems to input data for record keeping and navigating online information systems.
- Ability to engage with service users/clients, including challenging clients and those in vulnerable and distressing situations.
- Willing to work within guidelines, protocols and procedures, taking feedback in a constructive manner
- Ability to work to targets and use time effectively.
- Able to work on one’s own initiative, prioritising caseload to meet deadlines.
- Have a commitment to continuing professional development, including a willingness to learn and develop knowledge and skills in main enquiry areas.
- Able and willing to work as part of a team, collaborating with staff, volunteers and external stakeholders.
Terms and conditions
The terms
- Salary £26,500 Full-time equivalent (pro rata for hours worked, up to £21,200 for 30 hours)
- Permanent
- 30 hours a week (hours negotiable)
- Fleet office based plus outreach
Our standard terms and conditions include
- 37.5 hours is a FTE working week 0900-1700 with 30 minute break
- 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (holiday year runs January – December)
- 5% employer pension contribution to People’s Pension personal pension scheme- with 3% minimum employee contribution
We provide
- IT equipment and reasonable adjustments
- Free parking
- Tea, coffee and biscuits
- Social events
- A warm and friendly team
What we give our staff
One of our key strategic objectives is to ‘Make Us a Great Place to Work and Volunteer’.
We prioritise learning and development to both fulfil individual potential and to meet our strategic plan objectives. We also nurture a supportive team approach reflected in our behaviours to each other including well-being and dignity at work.
Our Trustee board ensures that our workplace is a healthy and safe one and reviews policies to ensure they are fit for purpose and available to all.
We conduct an annual people survey which gives us feedback about how we can improve our support to those who work and volunteer for us and we hold regular team meetings to enhance communication and teamwork. In our last survey 100% said they would recommend working at Citizens Advice Hart and 100% said we cared about their wellbeing.
Citizens Advice Hart Aims
Vision: Finding a Way Forward
Statement of Purpose: To ensure that all individuals within our community are heard and understood, whatever challenges they are facing, guiding them with care to confidently find a way forward.
About Citizens Advice Hart
Citizens Advice Hart is an independent charity and a member of the national Citizens Advice network.
Citizens Advice Hart provides a free, independent impartial and confidential advice service to around 4,000 people each year. We help our clients find a way forward with a range of problems including accessing benefits, managing debt, resolving employment, consumer, family relationship and housing issues. We operate from an office in Fleet (North East Hampshire), remotely and at outreach locations across Hart District.
Our service is run by around 40 volunteers and 16 part time staff. Our advice facing roles operate across different channels such as face to face appointments, webchat, email and telephone as this makes our service far more accessible to our clients.
Deadline for applications: 9am Monday 13 October 2025
How we will use your information
The information you give us on this form will be used to help us decide whether to recruit you as an employee – this is our ‘legitimate interest’ under data protection law. It will only be seen by staff involved in the recruitment process, and will be stored securely. We will retain unsuccessful application forms for up to 1 year from the date the application form was received.
If you are recruited we will retain your contact information in order to involve and support you. We will also collect additional information, such as next of kin details, and over time records of training, support meetings and where relevant, appraisals. Again, it will be kept securely, and only those people who need to see your information in order to involve you will have access to it.
All use of employer information will be relevant to their involvement, and may include;
- Contacting employees when necessary
- Making changes to role, support or equipment to improve accessibility
- Monitoring statistical details of our employees
- Providing ongoing support to employees
- Monitoring the quality of advice given to clients
- Addressing the problems or complaints
You have legal rights over your data, including access to it, and the right to ask that it is corrected, restricted or deleted. There is more information on these rights on the Information Commissioner’s Office website: www.ico.org.uk
If you have any questions about how your information is collected or used, you can contact our office.
Telephone: 01252 878435