Information & Advice Volunteers
What do information and advice volunteers do?
Information and advice is a confidential service which plays a crucial role in improving the quality of life for older people.
As an information volunteer or volunteer adviser, you will give older people the information and advice they need to enable them to:
- secure rights and entitlements
- make informed choices about housing, care and money, and avoid future problems
- play a full role in communities and society.
With support from volunteers we are able to handle approximately 4,500 enquiries per year. Last year, our team helped increase the income of older people in Wiltshire and Swindon by over £2 million.
We need volunteers to help both in our offices or visting people in the community to help them with things like form filling. Our information volunteers also provide our front of house service and welcome people to the organisation.
What you will get out of it
- Pride in providing such detailed guidance to help others in this specialist role
- A sense of achievement from being able to make an immediate difference to someone's quality of life
- It's a great opportunity to meet new people and be part of a lovely team of volunteers
- It's a great opportunity if you want to develop skills in giving advice
Would these roles suit me?
These roles would suit someone who has had previous experience providing information and advice or anyone looking to increase their knowledge and experience to apply this to directly supporting local older people.
Click on the roles below to find out more about what they involve.
Information Receptionists
Information Receptionists are the smiling faces of Age UK Wiltshire. They are the first people our clients speak to or see when they make contact with us. Your role is to provide a reception function for callers to Age UK Wiltshire and support the day to day delivery of the Information and Advice service.
The role is to meet and greet visitors to the office, answer the phones and respond to general email enquiries. You’ll be helping people with their enquiries, showing them how they find the information themselves or directing them to the appropriate services if applicable. It’s a varied role and you can be talking to someone about finding gardening services one minute or showing people our information leaflets or helping them access our information and advice teams.
What are we looking for:
- Good communication skills and confidently use a telephone
- Understanding the need for professionalism when speaking with the public
- The ability to confidently use a computer
- Ability to record information accurately
- Friendly and approachable
- Reliable and dependable
|
What are the practical considerations?
|
Where is this based? Devizes and Salisbury offices
|
|
When can you do this? Mon - Fri between 10am - 3pm |
What level of commitment is needed? Regular weekly commitment of a minimum of 4 hours is preferred. |
What support is offered?
- Comprehensive induction and ongoing opportunities for training and personal development
- Ongoing support within a friendly team of office-based I&A staff and volunteers
- Regular I&A team volunteer meetings
- This role gives a good foundation to progress to the Advice Worker level for those that wish to develop
Information and Advice - Advice Worker
Working from our offices, your role will be to help with the delivery of our information and advice service to individual older people.
You will be taking calls from the general public made to our advice line, responding to enquries received by letter or email or providing help to people who come to our offices for information and advice on subjects ranging from help with benefits to finding a local trader.
You'll also be signposting clients to other services or making referrals on their behalf. After training, you'll also be supporting clients with complex issues by providing or offering casework.
What are we looking for:
- Holistic approach to client’s needs
- Effective communication skills
- The ability to research, interpret and convey complex information to service users
- The ability to confidently use a computer
- Good team working skills
|
What are the practical considerations?
|
Where is this based? Devizes or Salisbury
|
|
When can you do this? Mon - Fri between 10am - 3pm |
What level of commitment is needed? Regular weekly commitment of a minimum of 4 hours is preferred. |
What support is offered?
- Comprehensive induction and ongoing opportunities for training and personal development
- Ongoing support within a friendly team of office-based I&A staff and volunteers
- Regular I&A team volunteer meetings
Information and Advice - Community Advice Workers
Working in their local community, our Information & Advice community advice workers visit older people in their own homes to provide information and advice and to help them fill in forms.
The information and advice we provide varies enormously, ranging from benefits advice to information on residential care, finding help at home, housing or travel.
With support from volunteers, we are able to handle approximately 4,500 enquiries per year. Last year, our team helped increase the income of older people in Wiltshire & Swindon by over £2 million.
What are we looking for:
- Holistic approach to client’s needs
- Effective communication skills
- Sensitivity to the needs of older people
- Access to email
|
What are the practical considerations?
|
Where is this based? In your local community where possible
|
|
When can you do this? Mon - Fri during the day |
What level of commitment is needed? A few hours a month depending on need. Each visit could take up to 2 hours. |
What support is offered?
- Comprehensive induction and ongoing opportunities for training and personal development
- Ongoing support within a friendly team of office-based I&A staff and volunteers
- Regular I&A team volunteer meetings
