Advice worker : Employers and vacancy sources

The Citizens Advice Bureau , which is the operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB), is the largest network of advice centres in the independent, voluntary and charity sector. There are 416 centres in England and Wales and a further 22 in Northern Ireland.

Bureaux in Scotland belong to a separate organisation, Citizens Advice Scotland , and bureaux in Northern Ireland also belong to Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NIACAB) . The NACAB, or CAB for short, has a national workforce of 27,000 people, and the majority of these (21,000) are volunteers. There are other independent advice centres which offer general or specialist advice in a range of areas, including mental health, single parent families and homelessness.

Local authorities also employ advice workers. These can be attached to specific council departments, such as education, housing, social services, youth and community services, or consumer advice. They can also be run as general advice centres which provide advice in several areas and offer referral to specialist support if necessary.

The National Health Service (NHS)  employs advice workers at community health centres and centres offering advice on health issues such as sex education, drug and alcohol dependency, dieting and smoking. Some NHS trusts work with local social services, employing staff who offer telephone advice (e.g. on issues affecting older people).

Universities, further education (FE) colleges and students' union welfare offices also employ advice workers, as do some trade unions and professional bodies.

The nature of advice work develops in response to particular issues, for example, communities dealing with large-scale redundancies, a newly arrived refugee population or individuals coping with HIV/AIDS.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Guardian Jobs  
• Advice UK
• Community Care
• Adviser Magazine , a bimonthly magazine published by National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux which also produces occasional lists of voluntary and paid posts.
• Inside Housing
• Local Government Jobs
• The Big Issue
• Opportunities: The Public Sector Recruitment Weekly
• The Voice
• Third Sector
• Municipal Year Book (MYB) Online
• Local and regional press - contact your local authority to find out how to receive these and how frequently they are produced.
• Local authority job bulletins.

Recruitment agencies rarely advertise opportunities.

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