Research & Campaigns Assistant

Gathering evidence and using insights to campaign for social justice.

Every local Citizens Advice is uniquely positioned to gather evidence about the root causes of the problems people face. This is because we all help so many people with so many different kinds of problems, and that gives us a unique insight into the challenges people are facing today. With the right evidence, we can show organisations, from companies to statutory services right up to the government, how they can make things better for people.

You would receive training and support for this role and we can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer. You would work alongside and be part of the staff team.

What will you do?

Identify common, or unfair, problems clients about which clients come for advice.

Help workers in Barrow Citizens Advice understand the cause of the problem, how it affects clients, and what change would solve the problem (by talking to them, or writing a summary).

Help to organise campaigns with the aim of raising awareness of the problem. This might involve creating materials, such as newsletters, or presentations, or writing something for social media or newspapers, which could be used to explain the problems to others (such as local councillors, or members of the public).

Help to organise campaigns with the aim of getting the organisation (person or elected body such as MP, AM or local councillor) that is causing the problem, to change the way they do things. This could mean meeting with the organisation, person or elected body, writing to them or holding an event.

Help national Citizens Advice carry out research about how certain issues affect clients in our local area. This might for example involve doing a survey with clients to find out how a change in a benefit is affecting them.

What are we looking for?

You don’t need specific qualifications but you’ll need to:

have an understanding of key current social issues, and their potential impact on our clients.

be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own.

have excellent verbal and written communication skills.

be able to understand complex information and explain it (verbally and writing) so that others understand it.

have excellent IT skills.

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.

If you’re interested in this role please contact Christine McKinlay, CEO via [email protected]