Citizens Advice South West Surrey

Vice-Chair of Trustees - role

complete an introduction for your role
● maintain an awareness of how CASWS is operating
● read papers for board meetings and attend 4-6 meetings per year
● work on specific projects with other trustees or staff within CASWS to 
further the strategic objectives of CASWS
● provide support and assistance to the Chair in carrying out their 
responsibilities, acting as a ‘critical friend’ and sounding board
● take on specific responsibilities delegated by the Chair, e.g. supporting 
new trustees with their induction
● carrying out the Chair's duties in their absence, with the 
acknowledgement of the board as being capable and suitable to do so
● providing support and assistance to the chair in carrying out his or her 
responsibilities, acting as a 'critical friend' and sounding board.
● being open to approaches, where appropriate, from other trustees about 
the work or judgement of the Chair. The Vice-chair will then discuss any 
issues arising with the Chair.
● 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 CASWS
- monitor the financial position of CASWS ensuring that it operates within 
its means and objectives, ensuring that there are clear lines of 
accountability for day to day financial management
- seek the views of all sections of the community and monitor how well the 
service meets the needs of the local community
- ensure that the service plans for the recruitment and turnover of staff and 
volunteers
- review its own work and how effectively it operates including action for 
improvement

● make a positive impact for people in your local area by ensuring that 
CASWS is sustainable and meeting the needs of the community
● meet people and build relationships with trustees, staff and other 
volunteers
● build on your governance, leadership and strategy skills
● increase your employability
And we’ll reimburse expenses too.
What do you need to have?
You’ll need to:
● understand the type of work undertaken by CASWS
● understand and accept the responsibilities and liabilities as trustees
● be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are 
different to your own
● a good basis of leadership skills 
● ability to facilitate and lead meetings
● good interpersonal skills
● 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

Trustee boards usually meet in the afternoons or evenings and you’ll likely need 
to give 20 hours per month and you may need to attend other meetings if you’re 
involved in specific projects, or meet with volunteers and staff occasionally 
within CASWS. We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you 
volunteer 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 trustee and would like to discuss flexibility 
around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please 
contact us. Please fill in the on-line Application form.

We help people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice, and by influencing policymakers.

We have a town centre location in Haydon Place, Guildford, offering a telephone,  and appointment service five days a week.

We use the information we gather carrying out this work to campaign for social justice, so that individuals do not suffer through a lack of knowledge or an inability to express them selves effectively.

We provide an increasingly vital front-line service for those in the greatest need in our local community.

The benefits of our work are not limited to improving our clients’ financial situation but also contribute to improving their health, reducing their stress and improving their confidence in dealing with their own problems.