North Tyneside Citizens Advice Trustee Role NORTH TYNESIDE CITIZENS ADVICE - BACKGROUND INFORMATION North Tyneside Citizens Advice is an independent charity that provides a comprehensive advice service for the Borough of North Tyneside and beyond. The Citizens Advice Service: provide advice, information, support and assistance to people on a wide range of subjects including benefits, debt, employment, housing and consumer. In 2023/24 North Tyneside Citizens Advice dealt with more than 38,000 unique clients and we obtained over £20m in financial gains for clients and dealt with nearly £17m of client debt. We work to: ❑ Inform people about the law and how it affects them and about their rights and responsibilities ❑ Advise people on the options available to them and on the potential consequences of different courses of action ❑ Support people as they consider and decide what to do, listening to their concerns and helping them move forward ❑ Assist people in pursuing their chosen course of action by negotiation, representation and by referral to other sources of help when needed ❑ Influence those responsible for policies and services by bringing to their notice problems experienced by our clients and recommending change Principles of The Citizens Advice Service ❑ FREE: We offer a free service to our clients whatever their financial position ❑ CONFIDENTIAL: Nothing about a client is revealed outside the Bureau without the client’s permission ❑ IMPARTIAL: The service is available to everyone regardless of race, gender, religion, or disability. Advice and help will be given without prejudice according to their needs ❑ INDEPENDENT: The CA Service receives grants from Government, local authorities and commerce, but this does not prevent us from representing clients with complaints against Councils etc. What will you do? As a Trustee you will need to: ● complete an induction for your role ● maintain an awareness of how the local Citizens Advice is operating ● read papers for board meetings and attend 5 meetings per year ● work on specific projects with other trustees to further the strategic objectives of the local Citizens Advice ● take an active discussion during board meetings and work with other trustees to: - set policy and strategy direction, set targets and evaluate the performance of NTCA - monitor the financial position of NTCA ensuring that it operates within its means and objectives - ensure that all the finances and supporting financial control systems are in order, and that proper financial controls are in place to safeguard the organisation’s resources - monitor how well the service meets the needs of the local community, by monitoring performance and seeking the views of the community - ensure that the service plans for the recruitment and turnover of staff and volunteers - review how effectively the Board operates, including action for improvement. What’s in it for you? ● make a positive impact for people in your local area by ensuring the local Citizens Advice is sustainable and meeting the needs of the community ● gain satisfaction from shaping the work of Citizens Advice so it directly helps people in our community who have greatest need for support and advice ● work alongside and build relationships with trustees, staff and other volunteers ● build on your governance, leadership and strategy skills ● increase your employability by using your skills and experience Although the post is unpaid, we do cover travel expenses. What do you need to have? You’ll need to: ● understand and accept the responsibilities and liabilities as trustees ● be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own ● have good listening, verbal and written communication skills ● be able to exercise good independent judgment ● have good numeracy skills to understand accounts with the support of the treasurer ● 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. Currently, the Trustee Board is particularly keen to expand its skill base by recruiting members who have these skills or similar: ● IT, databases or generative AI, or ● have finance qualifications or experience, or ● have experience in Charity Governance or, ● have experience and/or expertise, in Diversity and Equalities issues How much time do you need to give? Trustee boards usually meet in the evenings and you’ll likely need to give 1.5 hours x 5 meetings per year. You may need to attend other meetings if you’re involved in specific projects or give time to meet with volunteers and staff occasionally to learn about our activities. We are flexible about the time spent on these additional activities. 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.