Help shape Citizens Advice Broxbourne - Volunteer

We’re looking for new trustees to help shape the future of our independent local Citizens Advice. It’s a chance to use your experience, perspective and ideas to strengthen a valued community charity and make a real difference locally.

What difference will you make?

Your contribution as a trustee will help us build a stronger, more sustainable local charity and ensure we continue to provide the advice and support that people in our community need.

Citizens Advice is often there at a difficult point in someone's life, helping them understand their options and take the next step. Our trustees help make sure that support is available, accessible and sustainable for the future.

We’re currently developing new partnerships, looking at new ways of reaching people in the community and building a stronger financial and organisational foundation for the charity. Having a broader range of experience, ideas and perspectives around our Board will help us make better decisions as we do this.

You might bring experience from your working life, your local community, volunteering or simply your own perspective on the issues facing people today. You don't need to be an expert in charity governance or have been a trustee before. What you bring can be just as valuable as what you already know.

As a small charity, trustees can see the impact of their contribution directly. You’ll have the opportunity to get to know our staff and volunteers, understand the difference our advice makes to local people and help decide where we go next.

For someone looking to get involved in their local community, develop their understanding of charity governance, or simply use their experience to help a good local cause, this is an opportunity to make a tangible contribution.

What are we looking for?

We’re looking for people who are interested in their local community, willing to listen and ask questions, and able to bring their own experience, perspective and sound judgement to the Board.

The skills listed are areas that could be particularly useful to us, but they shouldn’t be seen as a checklist. There are many different types of experience that can make a valuable contribution to a Citizens Advice Board.

For example, you might have developed transferable skills through

• Running your own business or managing a team
• Working with customers, clients or members of the public
• Managing budgets or making decisions about how resources are used
• Building relationships with customers, partners, suppliers or community organisations
• Negotiating, resolving problems or handling difficult conversations
• Working on projects or introducing new ways of doing things
• Understanding your local community or bringing connections with other local organisations
• Volunteering, campaigning or being involved in a community group
• Supporting family members or others to navigate services or difficult situations
• Working in housing, health, education, social care, local government or other public services
• Understanding the challenges people can face around money, debt, benefits, housing, employment or access to services
• Using data or information to understand problems and make decisions
• Communicating complex information in a straightforward way
• Asking good questions and constructively challenging ideas
• Listening to different perspectives and finding common ground
  
  

Lived experience can also bring an important perspective to our Board. You may have used Citizens Advice or another advice service yourself, supported someone who has, or have personal experience of some of the issues that bring people to us. You don't need to disclose anything you're not comfortable discussing.

You don't need to have experience at Board level, or fully understand charity governance before you start. What matters is having something useful to contribute, being open to learning and wanting to help us make good decisions for the charity and the community we serve.

We’re keen to hear from people who may not immediately see themselves as a "typical" trustee. Sometimes the most valuable experience is the experience you don’t realise is relevant.

Hybrid

What will you be doing?

As a trustee, you’ll have a genuine opportunity to help shape the future of Citizens Advice Broxbourne and the way we support people across our local community.

We’re a small, independent charity with a committed team of staff, volunteers and trustees. We’re at an exciting point in our development, with a new CEO, new partnerships and funding opportunities, and a renewed focus on strengthening our services and our role within the local community.

We’re looking to grow our board and bring in people who can offer different perspectives, experience and ideas. You don’t need previous trustee experience, and we’re not looking for a particular set of skills. We’re interested in people who care about their community and want to play a part in shaping what we do next.

Our current board is a friendly and supportive group with a mix of experience. As we develop, trustees will have the opportunity to contribute to discussions around our strategy, partnerships, fundraising, financial sustainability, governance and the development of our services. There are also opportunities to get more involved in particular areas depending on your interests and experience.

Most importantly, this is an opportunity to have a real voice in a local charity. Every Citizens Advice is an independent organisation with its own board, so our trustees aren't simply overseeing a branch of a national organisation. They help determine the direction of their own local charity and ensure it continues to meet the needs of the community it serves.

We’re particularly keen to hear from people with connections to Broxbourne and the surrounding area, although this isn't essential. We welcome applications from people of all ages and backgrounds, including those who have never been a trustee before.

Trustees are expected to attend around 4 to 6 evening Board and subcommittee meetings each year, currently held online, plus around 2 to 3 in-person meetings each year. These provide opportunities to meet our staff and volunteers, attend local events and come together for our AGM.

Full induction and support will be provided, so if you’re interested but haven’t been a trustee before, please don’t let that put you off.