Gateway Assessor
What will you do?
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complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role
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talk to clients over the phone or face to face to explore what problems they’ve come for help with
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find information about the clients’ problems and help them to understand their options
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write a summary of the clients’ problems and what action you’ve taken
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look out for problems that are common, or are unfair, and write a short report about the problem or a letter to an elected official like an MP or local councillor
Some examples of what you could do:
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find the information online that explains how to apply for Housing Benefit in a client’s local area and explain it to them
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identify what steps a client can take to resolve their problem with a second hand car
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help a client find and understand what steps they can take to deal with their rent arrears
What’s in it for you?
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make a real difference to people’s lives
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learn about a range of issues such as benefits, debt, employment and housing
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build on valuable skills such as communication, listening and analysing
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increase your employability
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work with a range of different people, independently and in a team.
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have a positive impact in your community
And we’ll reimburse travelling expenses too up to £3.50 per day.
What do you need to have?
You don’t need specific qualifications or skills but you’ll need to:
● be friendly and approachable
● be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are
different from your own
● have good listening skills
● have excellent verbal and written communication skills
● have good maths and IT skills
● be able to understand information and explain it to others
● be willing to learn about and follow the Citizens Advice aims, principles
and policies, including confidentiality and data protection
● be willing to undertake training in your role
How much time do you need to give?
Ideally we ask for 6 hours per week, which can be over one day or spread over two days, for at least 6 months.
We can be flexible so come and talk to us.
Valuing inclusion
Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from disabled people, people with physical or mental health conditions, LGBT+ and non-binary people, and people from Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
If you are interested in becoming an assessor and would like to discuss flexibility
around time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you, please contact us.