Job Description

It's a great time to join the team!

If you are looking for an exciting challenge to have an impact on local communities with the opportunity to share your lived experience, as well as continue to learn within a welcoming community focused team, this is the place for you.

Citizens Advice Wokingham, since 1977, has been offering free, confidential, impartial and independent advice and information to anyone living or working in Wokingham borough. We provide free, high-quality advice and information on various issues, including welfare benefits, debt, housing, employment law, energy, relationships & family and much more. We continue to support the most vulnerable in our community by empowering individuals to take action with the advice Citizens Advice Wokingham provides. We work to build stronger networks and create opportunities for collaboration with local partners and businesses to support our community to thrive.

We are currently in a period of growth, where we are actively engaged with our communities to ensure we are delivering locally and campaigning nationally for proactive responses to evolving needs.

Business Support & Operations Manager

27,869 - 32,573 (depending on experience) + 10% employers pension contribution

Full-Time, Permanent

Please

submit your CV and Cover letter

in line with Personal Specification, closing date 9am Monday 8th September 2025. Interviews will take place the week of 15th September 2025.

We are looking for a well organised fully competent or willing to learn Business Support & Operations Manager to join our service.

Ideally, the successful candidate will have a good working knowledge of finance/booking keeping and Sage accounting system, or transferable skills and a good understanding of GDPR and/or willingness to train in this area. The candidate needs the ability to identify priorities across multiple workstreams and allocate appropriate resources to ensure tasks are completed to a high standard and within an allocated timeframe to meet business objectives.

This senior role offers the opportunity to work creatively alongside the other members of Leadership Team, to continue to shape our financial and data governance frameworks, recruit and manage a team of business support volunteers, whilst making a direct impact on the service that supports Wokingham's most vulnerable residents. Join a welcoming, community-focused team where learning is encouraged and your expertise ensures our financial sustainability. Flexible working arrangements available.

Job pack

Thank you for your interest in working at

Citizens Advice Wokingham.

This job pack should tell you everything you need to know to apply for this role and what it means to work at Citizens Advice.

In this pack you will find:

Our Principles, Our Values and our Equality Statement Our Vision 2025-2027 Our Mission 3 things you should know about Citizens Advice Information about the local Wokingham office The and Person Specification

Our principles

Citizens Advice Wokingham provides free, confidential, impartial and independent advice to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, religion or faith, or nationality. It recognises the positive value of diversity, promotes equality and challenges discrimination.

Our values

We encourage trying new things and we support each other to figure it out. We question every idea to make it better and we adapt when things aren't working.

We're approachable. We work together with stakeholders and partners to find the best way forward for our clients. We ensure that our services reach those who need us. We are transparent, honest and act with integrity. We welcome change and are not afraid to adapt.

We're confident - we do what we say we'll do and keep our promises. We remember that we work for a charity and use our resources effectively.

Equality and Diversity statement

At Citizens Advice we believe that our common humanity makes us equal in worth, dignity and rights.

We will be a strong champion for equality by:

listening to, and working with our communities. challenging discrimination through advice. championing equality through research and campaigns. valuing diversity as an employer and volunteer organization. finding ways to embed diversity of thought.
We will be a stronger organisation by embedding diversity of thought into our decision making processes.

(Citizens Advice Wokingham Strategic Business Plan 2025-2027)

Our vision for 2025-2027

Our vision is to be

' the peoples champion'

in Wokingham, making a positive and lasting difference in the lives of people living and/or working in the Borough. We are a helping hand for people who need support navigating through life.

We help people find a way forward

We can all face problems that seem complicated or intimidating. At Citizens Advice Wokingham, we believe no one should have to face these problems without good quality, independent advice. That's why we're here: to give people the knowledge and the confidence they need to find their way forward - whoever they are, and whatever their problem.

We speak up for our clients

No one else sees so many people with so many different kinds of problems, and that gives us a unique insight into the challenges people are facing today. With the right evidence and working as a network, we can show big organisations - from companies right up to the government - how they can make things better for people. We see how problems can be linked. By helping people with the underlying cause of their problems and making sure they don't get worse, we save the government and public services hundreds of millions of pounds every year.

We make a difference

Our service saves society money. In 2023 to 2024, the advice we delivered as a network across the country directly saved government and public services at least 759 million. For every 1 spent on the service, we benefit our clients by 14.60. We estimate our value to society at 5.7 billion. Locally we serve the community in Wokingham, ensuring that every contact contacts from raising awareness and preventing issues escalating to supporting those in crisis.

Our Mission

As a National Network of local independent charities, Citizens Advice is moving to a missions-based approach because it's a good way to link the ambition we have for our work -the difference we make for the people we help - with the federated nature of our service delivery. Mission-based working is most powerful when multiple partners need to unite around achieving ambitious goals; and when innovation is needed to find effective ways to address challenges.

Missions are bold and long lasting ambitions. They will be used to focus shorter-term activity to drive forward change in 1-3 year plans, whilst providing our longer term direction and definition of success.

Citizens Advice Wokingham is a member of Citizens Advice Federated Network and is committed to its three missions:

Provide advice fit for the future

- we'll be there for people when they need us in the ways that help make the biggest impact

Close the gap

- we'll address the disparities in access and experience for marginalised people

Take early action

- we'll prevent more people reaching crisis by addressing problems earlier
It's crucial that we're flexible and able to adapt, so our local strategy needs to fit with the national mission and will live and evolve, with some things changing as we learn together. We'll balance adaptability and responsiveness with staying true to our way of doing things. As a result we have also added a local mission to be 'Match Fit' so that the service is able to adapt as the conditions evolve, linking to our enablers to success below.

3 things you should know about Citizens Advice

1. We're local and we're national

. We have national offices offering direct support to people in over 265 independent local Citizens Advice services across England and Wales

2. We're here for everyone.

Our advice helps people solve problems and our advocacy helps fix problems in society. Whatever the problem, we won't turn people away.

3. We're listened to - and we make a difference.

Our trusted brand and the quality of our research mean we make a real impact on behalf of the people who rely on us.

Together we helped over 2.5 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and chat in England and Wales last year.

(Citizens Advice Wokingham Strategic Business Plan 2025-2027)

Information about Citizens Advice Wokingham

Citizens Advice Wokingham Local Citizens Advice (LCA) delivers services across the Wokingham Borough with offices in Wokingham Town Centre and Woodley behind Woodley Shopping Precinct.

Every year thousands of people come to us for free, independent, confidential, and impartial advice and information. We're here for everyone and help with problems like Income maximisation, managing debt, energy advice, housing issues, welfare benefits, employment law and much more.

In the year 2024/25 we helped 4,325 people and supported people manage a total of 1,815,825debt and 163,905 was written-off with our help. Across the service we helped people increase their income by 1,091,110.

Citizens Advice Wokingham is a brilliant and dedicated team of 11paid staff and 51volunteers who go out of their way to support everyone who comes to us.

We receive 'core' funding from our valued collaborator Wokingham Borough Council and we also operate a number of projects including Household Support Fund (HSF) and Financial Inclusion within our partnership with Trussell Trust Food Bank service across a number of locations in the Borough.

Through our daily interaction with clients, we have a credible understanding of local needs. We use our data and insight to tailor our services, as well as help improve policies and practices locally.

We put our clients' needs at the heart of our decision-making.

Our Culture

At Citizens Advice Wokingham our people are at the heart of everything we do - without them, we wouldn't be able to deliver the first-class service we provide every day. We offer much more than a place to come to work; we offer the chance to be part of a team that is welcoming and inclusive, a role that makes a difference to people's lives, particularly during the current cost of living crisis, and somewhere that recognises that work is only one part of your life - getting the right work life balance for you is important to us. We have a learning culture and therefore ensure that we learn and evolve to meet the needs of the community we serve - we are the 'people's champion' and ensure that we are proactive in our communities.

Job description

Reporting To

CEO

Salary

27,869 - 32,573 (depending on experience)

Location

Office based/Hybrid Considered

Role Purpose

To work closely with, and in support of, the CEO to:

Ensure the efficient and effective day to day running of the office by supervising staff and volunteers in: HR and Finance management IT and Facilities (including H&S) management Data Protection and Data Analysis Charity Governance & Administration Line management of a group of volunteers and/or paid staff depending on organisational need Monitor and, where necessary, improve the operational processes to reflect developing situations and maintain service delivery standards.

Role Responsibilities

Line Management of volunteers and staff as allocated Support CEO to develop a culture of learning and provide mentorship to staff and volunteers Lead Service operations (ie HR, IT, Finance and Facilities/H&S) Act as GDPR/DPO lead for the charity Act as account user for charity bank accounts To provide direction and delegation to volunteers Attend and contribute to Leadership meetings and representing CAW externally as required

Key Duties

Operational Support

Managing and maintaining databases, spreadsheets and document management systems (ie google shared drive) Preparing reports, presentations and other necessary materials for the CEO and Committees Arranging business critical internal and external meetings and events as required Supporting the management team with day to day management of people and office administration Support Business Support volunteers to provide administrative support to clients, including answering enquiries and providing information Identify opportunities for service improvement and expansion Maintaining and developing systems and processes to enable increased efficiencies in operations Supporting project management activities across the management team Maintaining contact lists, organisational charts and other relevant information

Financial Management

Maintain accurate and up to date financial records, including accounts, invoices and receipts Manage payroll, expenses, petty cash and bank payments Work closely with the Treasurer to prepare financial reports such as monthly, quarterly and annual statements and provide insights into the business financial health Assisting with budget monitoring, tracking income and spend and identifying areas for cost savings Contribute to the development of our funding base and monitor applications to report to board Identifying potential funding opportunities consistent with the aims of the organisation and the operating environment and assisting on bids for funding. With guidance from the Treasurer ensure the financial operations comply with relevant regulations and internal policies Support the management of cash flow, including tracking payments and ensuring sufficient funds are available for operations Provide general administrative and logistical support to Treasurer and Board

Human Resources

With support from Trustees, ensure HR policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and any new policy requirements are developed and implemented accordingly Ensure the electronic HR system is monitored, updated and maintained consistently in line with requirements Lead on the recruitment and induction of new staff and ensure any changes to personnel are recorded in real time on the HR system. Ensure HR letter templates are in place and kept up to date for operational use as required Work directly with Committee and board to ensure the service is compliant with HR legal requirements Monitoring and maintaining staff and volunteer training and development records, providing training related to your area where required

IT & Facilities

Ensure IT infrastructure aligns with current and future business requirements and goals Maintain and troubleshoot IT systems and equipment Provide basic technical support to staff and volunteers Implement and maintain security measures Oversee all aspects of building functions, ensuring safety and functionality Conduct routine safety inspections Manage and coordinate with contractors for maintenance and repairs Maintain records of facilities and equipment Ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards

Data Protection and Data Analysis

Ensuring adherence to data protection laws and regulations (ie GDPR) Conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) to identify and mitigate potential risks associated with data processing activities Developing and implementing procedures for handling data breaches, including investigations and reports Handling requests from individuals relating to their personal data, such as assess, rectification and erasure Contributing to the development of implementation of data governance policies and procedures Researching and compiling information for presentations and reports Gathering, organising and managing data from various sources Applying analytical techniques to identify trends, patterns and insights from data Creating clear and concise visualizations to communicate data findings for reporting Using data to inform strategic decisions and improve operational performance Ensuring the accuracy, completeness and consistency of data within the business

Leadership & Strategic Developments

Contribute to the development, implementation and monitoring of the business and development plan Lead on the development, implementation and monitoring of those sections of the Operational Plan which fall within your area of responsibility. Proactively build positive and mutually supportive partnership networks. Liaise with Citizens Advice and contribute to its work at regional and national levels where appropriate. Ensure, delegating as appropriate, that learning and development needs of all staff, including supervision and appraisal, are identified and met in accordance with Citizens Advice standards. Foster a positive working environment in which equality and diversity are well-managed, dignity at work is upheld and staff can do their best. Contribute to the communication of policies and procedures, embedding behaviours and reflecting the values and ethics of the organisation. Manage the development of team members, acting as a mentor and coach, and identifying training needs, to support their learning Ensure the development of good teamwork and effective lines of communication.

Personal Specification

Skills:

Proven experience in business support/office management Strong understanding of IT infrastructure, networking and security or willingness to learn Knowledge of booking maintenance, safety regulations and facilities management Ability to work independently and as part of a team Excellent analytical, problem solving and communication skills Experience in managing budgets and finance tracking Knowledge of data protection laws and regulations and/or willingness to learn Experience with data analysis and visualisation tools and techniques and/or willingness to learn Strong attention to detail and accuracy Experience of data governance and data security Good verbal communication skills, including the ability to deal appropriately with a range of people both face-to-face and by telephone Ability to write clearly and accurately, including drafting routine correspondence, and taking notes of meetings Ability to use IT packages, including word processing / spreadsheet / database packages, and the ability to use email and to maintain an electronic diary Ability to research, analyse and interpret information Numeracy skills and the ability to work within established financial systems and/or willingness to learn Commitment to providing excellent services to clients and staff Knowledge of the Citizens Advice network and its mission
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 27,869.00-32,573.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension Health & wellbeing programme Sick pay
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 08/09/2025