#BePartOfCitizensAdvice: John

Meet John C , Business Support Team Leader

John is our Business Support Team Leader at our Charity and has been a part of the team for many years now. John’s career background has always been in caring and supportive roles, which is why working for Citizens Advice is very much aligned to John’s own values and ethics.

But why work for a charity and a fast paced, ever changing one at that? John comments: “I’ve always worked in roles that help people. I’ve had many roles over my career and working for a charity such as Citizens Advice means there are always considerations we need to take into account. I like the fact that every decision has an impact and that our clients are at the forefront of everything we do.”

One key element to John’s role is the flexibility it brings, over recent years a lot has been said about flexibility in a role with many companies choosing to only pay lip-service to work/life balance. John explains: “I know that I can work truly flexibly at worl, I came back to work following a period of being a stay-at-home parent, possibly one of the toughest jobs there is – anyone who has done this knows what I’m talking about! That said, being able to be flexible in my work life and balance it against my home life is invaluable.”

“I’ve always been able to effectively manage my caring responsibilities, as well as manage my work load, the charity understands that work is just one part of my life – I have other responsibilities I need to manage. There’s always someone close by to support you if needed – we’re a really close-knit team with a can-do attitude.”

John also understands the importance of constantly learning and evolving his thinking and the charities learning and development programme allows him to access resources, take part in additional training and expand his knowledge, which in turn helps him to focus his time better on helping others overcome their problems.

He adds: “Good communication is key and the close working relationships between the teams, makes us better communicators. With this comes a better ability to listen to others and to understand their needs, this works with both clients and colleagues. As a team we focus on finding the solutions to other people’s situations. Being able to think out of the box, allows me to challenge my team and myself more effectively on a daily basis. Every day is a journey but one we all thrive to be on.”