Autism Information and Advice Service Volunteer

This role would be to support our Autism Information and Advice Service, a free information and advice service for Derbyshire County and Derby City autistic community.

What will you do?

• Complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and specialist training relating to autism.
• To support the Community Hubs Project Officer, Community Engagement Officer and Autism Advisors at events, information days, stands, drop ins and training.
• To assist at events and to be a point of contact for autistic people, parent and carers in attendance.
• To co-deliver training to parents and carers via the Community Hubs.
• Have regular supervision support from the Manager of the team.
• Always remain professional and display best practice to maintain the reputation of the service.
• Be open-minded and committed to improving the lives of neurodivergent people in Derby and Derbyshire.
• Use your existing skills to support the service and those we help.

Some examples of what you could do:

• Run a drop in at a Children’s Centre.
• Attend and lead when needed at peer support groups and events.
• Support autistic people to access the right service by signposting and/ or providing information.

What’s in it for you?

• This is an excellent opportunity to support autistic people, parents and carers across Derby City and Derbyshire and enhance their quality of life and well-being.
• Attend a range of great events.
• Make a real difference to people’s lives.
• Build on valuable skills such as communication, listening and analysing.
• Increase your employability.
• Work with a range of different people, independently and in a team.
• Have a positive impact in your community.

And we’ll reimburse expenses too.

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 to your own.
• Have patience and treat people with kindness.
• Have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Be comfortable talking to Neurodivergent people and the general public face to face.
• Enjoy working out in the community.
• Understand the role of an unpaid/informal carer.
• 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 reliable and committed.
• Have good time keeping skills.
• Be willing to undergo a Standard DBS check.
• 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 a volunteer and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us by emailing: staff@citizensadvicemidmercia.org.uk

Applying and next steps
If you would like to join The Autism Information and Advice Service as a Volunteer either complete our application form or send us your CV with a cover letter detailing why you would like to work for us and what you would bring to the role to staff@citizensadvicemidmercia.org.uk.

If you can’t use a computer or struggle with technology let us know and we can send you an application form in the post. Please call us for the return address information.