Volunteer Advisor

Who Are We?

Horsham Debt Advice Service (HDAS) was founded by the church community in 2003, in recognition of the fact that there was no source of impartial and free debt advice in the Horsham area. 

The Role:

Our need for advisors has become more urgent than ever, due to the cost of living crisis, cuts in Universal Credit, the massive hike in energy bills, the rise in rents and mortgages. We have seen a significant increase in the demand for our services. One local debt advice centre has closed and another is likely to in the very near future. This makes it all the more important that we recruit volunteers to meet the demand created by these closures.

For clients to have recognised that they need help is a big and bold step for them. They can often find the first meeting daunting and stressful. Therefore, it is important that our advisors have good people and listening skills. It is also important that our advisors act in an impartial and non-judgemental manner at all times. Our advisors meet with clients with the aim of helping them to create a plan to repay their debts and to give them the tools and knowledge to control their financial affairs going forward.

Your role would be to meet clients face-to-face in our offices. Using specialist software, you will draw up a personalised debt repayment plan. Part of the overall process will involve liaising with creditors. Where ever possible we work in teams of five. To keep everyone safe, we cannot meet a client without at least 2 advisors present. Our teams tend to work weekday mornings or afternoons, with a minimum commitment of 3 hours per session. In future we would like to be able to offer clients an evening session.

To fulfil this role, you will need to complete 3 short training courses and subsequently pass the associated tests. All training will be organised and paid for by HDAS. Coupled with this, you will also be trained in the specialist software that we use to capture our client’s details. The software will generate a document called a Standard Financial Statement (SFS). The SFS is recognised by creditors as an agreed template for creating a debt repayment plan.

If you are interested, you should consider this to be a long term commitment, and should be prepared to commit to all the training involved. Our advisors find the role most fulfilling and stay with us for many years. HDAS will commit to provide you with all the tools and guidance necessary to fulfil this vital role. Whilst success is never guaranteed, it is most fulfilling when we reach a point where a client is debt and worry free. The testimonials on our website tell the story.

What skills do I need?

Skills needed:

• Good people skills
• Good listening skills
• Be able to put people at ease
• The ability to work within a team
• Have a degree of computer literacy
• A willingness to develop the skills needed for this much needed service