Citizens Advice Somerset

Who we are

We are Citizens Advice Somerset.

We are Somerset’s largest independent advice service, and we're a charity. We've been in Somerset since 1939 when the Second World War led to people needing advice about rationing, homelessness and evacuation. A lot has changed since then but the need for advice continues.

Each year we help thousands of people find a way forward. We do this by providing information, tailored advice/casework, practical support, and influencing policies that affect our clients.

We’re a friendly and welcoming team of around 170 staff and volunteers working across the county. What makes us special is the tremendous passion and enthusiasm that we bring to our important work, advising and assisting the people of Somerset and beyond.

We have grown from strength to strength since four local Citizens Advice charities merged in 2023 to become Citizens Advice Somerset. We’re embarking on a mission to establish our organisation as a centre of excellence in the delivery of advice services, and we see our people as key enablers of this ambition.  

Our culture and values

Our core values inform every aspect of our work, how we behave, how we support each other and how we work with clients, partners and other agencies. Together we ensure that our values are brought into our everyday behaviours so we can offer the best possible service to our clients, colleagues and communities.

Accessible

We respect and appreciate one another. We treat one another as equals. We work hard to create a friendly and professional work environment.

Professional

We trust each other as professionals and as people. We take individual ownership for our own performance and we show consideration for each other’s needs.

Trustworthy

We practice open and honest communication. We are committed to spending time together and to developing our skills and knowledge.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is of real importance to us.

We subscribe to the view that we are all equal through our common humanity. We value and embrace the diversity of our staff, volunteers and clients, and we work hard to eliminate discrimination.

Central to pursuing our EDI goals is building diverse and inclusive teams in which everyone has a sense of belonging.

We believe inclusion is a social justice issue - a principle that underpins our all EDI work. To that end, we particularly welcome applications from people we would like to see better represented in our organisation and sector - people of colour, LGBTQ+ people and disabled people.

We are a committed Disability Confident employer and we follow the social model of disability.