Positive Changes (Scotland) CIC is an organisation which supports women who have touched the Scottish criminal justice system towards sustainable, paid employment by making and selling exquisite chocolates. One hundred percent of our profits are reinvested to support our work and fifty per cent of our workforce is made up of women who have previously accessed our services. Women can engage with our services: on regular production days; as a participant in our Making Positive Changes programme and/or as part of our mentoring programme.

By engaging with us the women have the opportunity to gain work experience, write a Personal Development Plan, improve their CV and gain workplace skills which will help lower barriers they face when looking for fulfilling employment. Each woman is encouraged to develop their own Personal Development Plan to help her set goals and aims which is her pathway towards a permanent job. The women are involved in all aspects of the making and selling the chocolates and our customers include: individuals for gifts and treats; weddings; corporate organisations for serving and giving as gifts to their clients; restaurants and event companies; and other Public Sector organisations for gifts and serving to their guests.

This post is a fixed-term contract for 3 years. The intention is the post will become permanent, subject to funding.

The Role

We want to enhance and expand the mentoring programme we are currently piloting where women with convictions are mentored by volunteers including women with lived experience of the criminal justice system and skilled volunteers keen to share and grow their existing knowledge and skills. The programme supports and encourages women with convictions on their journey to desistence by providing a holistic, wrap around service and providing a fulfilling volunteering experience for volunteer mentors. We want to increase our pool of volunteer mentors to include more people with convictions and attract skilled volunteers who have existing gifts and skills to share which they are keen to develop and grow. We have existing relationships with referral agencies and your role will include strengthen these relationships and providing greater access to volunteers facing barriers to volunteering.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Recruit volunteer mentors
• Build relationships with potential mentee referrers
• Adhere to processes and procedures in accordance with the Scottish Mentoring Network Quality Awards standard.
• Evidence the effectiveness of the mentoring programme demonstrating our social impact
• Attend regular 1-2-1 support and supervision sessions

Skills and Experience Required:

Essential:

• Excellent project management skills
• Well organised with great attention to detail
• Able to build relationships with all members of the community
• Excellent IT skills including: Word and Excel, social media and other internet platforms
• Willing to complete Mentoring Coordinator training with Scottish Mentoring Network

Desirable:

• Experience of coordinating a volunteer programme
• Existing relationships with potential referrers

Reporting To: Chief Executive, Positive Changes (Scotland) CIC

Our Team

As a social enterprise we have the chocolate production team in addition to a team of staff and volunteers who help and support women who have touched the criminal justice system. Each team member has clearly defined roles, responsibilities and duties to undertake within and across the organisation. Their collective talent, skills and strengths means that we deliver high-quality products and services to our customers and clients.

We place great value and importance on positive relationships, on our ability to communicate effectively and on our abilities, systems, processes and partnership working to support us in our work. Our aim to set high standards of practice in everything we do.

We are a small, but growing, team who work well together with the primary aim to support the women. Your contribution will be as a valuable member and enhancement of that team. We encourage positive learning using self-reflection to problem solve and learn from our mistakes. As a result, we have a harmonious working environment and it’s a pleasure to come to each day.

The kind of person we are looking for:

• Is passionate about our ethos, goals and aims of the organisation
• Highly organised with great attention to detail
• Is willing to work as a member of the team
• Is willing to pitch in, has a “can do” attitude and to go the extra mile
• Is willing to adapt to our positive learning work ethos
• Has a certain degree of flexibility around working days
• Is reliable with integrity and passion

Are you passionate, enthusiastic and motivated to support women who have touched the criminal justice system? We are looking for the right person to help deliver our services which will support the women as they gain qualifications, work experience, life skills and have the opportunity to raise their self-esteem and confidence while improving their health & wellbeing. You will be part of a team which deliver a suite of programmes which includes: Making Positive Changes, our highly successful training programme; RISE our mentoring programme and our work experience opportunities where the women join us on our regular production days. You are likely to have existing experience and contacts within the employability sector in Scotland and you will have experience of working with women which may include those who have touched the criminal justice system. These services complement each other and provide holistic support which the women can access on a stand-alone basis or in conjunction with the other services as they journey towards the world of work. Liking chocolate is a bonus, what is more important is that you have the knowledge, skills and experience: want to work in a positive learning environment and are empathic with our values and team spirit.

The organisation

Positive Changes (Scotland) CIC is an organisation which supports women who have touched the Scottish criminal justice system towards sustainable, paid employment by making and selling exquisite chocolates, branded Grace Chocolates changing lives. The women can engage with our services in two ways: on regular production days and as a participant in our Making Positive Changes programme.

By engaging with us the women have the opportunity to gain work experience, write a Personal Development Plan, improve their CV and gain workplace skills which will help lower barriers they face when looking for fulfilling employment. Each woman is encouraged to develop their own Personal Development Plan to help her set goals and aims which is her pathway towards fulfilling work. The women are involved in all aspects of the making and selling the chocolates and our customers include: individuals for gifts and treats; weddings; corporate organisations for serving and giving as gifts to their clients; restaurants and event companies; and other Public Sector organisations for gifts and serving to their guests.

This post is initially funded for 1 year with the intention that it will become a longer-term position. This is not guaranteed and is subject to funding.

The Role

The successful applicant will be a core member of our team with responsibility for providing a range of professional, flexible and responsive services and support to the users of our services contributing to the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation as a whole.

Key responsibilities and duties include, but are not limited to:

• Facilitating on our Making Positive Changes programme up to 4 times per year;

• Building relationships with referral organisations, including: Scottish Prison Service, local authority social justice teams and other agencies;

• Building relationships with potential employers to secure work placements and job interviews for the women who use our service;

• Oversee our online health & wellbeing workshops;

• Support women accessing work experience in our production environment;

• Building relationships with colleges and places of further education to best support the women in their application process should they choose further education as a path towards employment; and

• Producing information and data to demonstrate the effectiveness of our work to stakeholders.

A full Job Description is available for download below.

Are you passionate, enthusiastic and motivated to support women who have touched the criminal justice system? We are looking for the right person to deliver our Health & Wellbeing online workshops to help improve the health & wellbeing of the women we support. Our suite of programmes support the women as they gain qualifications, work experience, life skills and have the opportunity to raise their self-esteem and confidence and our workshops add to the wrap around support we provide. You will be part of a team which deliver a suite of programmes which includes: Making Positive Changes, our highly successful training programme; RISE our mentoring programme and our work experience opportunities where the women join us on our regular production days. You are likely to have existing experience and contacts within this sector in Scotland and you will have experience of working with women which may include those who have touched the criminal justice system. These services complement each other and provide holistic support which the women can access on a stand-alone basis or in conjunction with the other services as they journey towards making positive changes in their lives. Liking chocolate is a bonus, what is more important is that you have the knowledge, skills and experience: want to work in a positive learning environment and are empathic with our values and team spirit.

The organisation

Positive Changes (Scotland) CIC is an organisation which supports women who have touched the Scottish criminal justice system towards making positive changes in their lives and reaching their potential. We use the vehicle of making and selling exquisite chocolates, branded Grace Chocolates changing lives to engage with the women and generate revenue. 100% of profits are reinvested to support our services.

By engaging with us the women have the opportunity to gain work experience, write a Personal Development Plan, improve their CV and gain workplace skills which will help lower barriers they face when looking for fulfilling employment, which for many is an aspiration. Each woman is encouraged to develop their own Personal Development Plan to help her set goals and aims which is her pathway towards fulfilling work. The women are involved in all aspects of the making and selling the chocolates and our customers include: individuals for gifts and treats; weddings; corporate organisations for serving and giving as gifts to their clients; restaurants and event companies; and other Public Sector organisations for gifts and serving to their guests.

This post is initially funded for 1 year with the intention that it will become a longer-term position. This is not guaranteed and is subject to funding.

Are you passionate, enthusiastic and motivated to support women who have touched the criminal justice system? We are looking for the right person to deliver our services which will support the women as they gain qualifications, work experience, life skills and have the opportunity to raise their self-esteem and confidence. You will be part of a team which deliver a suite of programmes which includes: Making Positive Changes, our highly successful training programme; RISE our mentoring programme and our work experience opportunities where the women join us on our regular production days. You are likely to have existing experience and contacts within this sector in Scotland and you will have experience of working with women which may include those who have touched the criminal justice system. Our services complement each other and provide holistic support which the women can access on a stand-alone basis or in conjunction with the other services as they journey towards making positive changes in their lives and fulfilling their potential. Liking chocolate is a bonus, what is more important is that you have the knowledge, skills and experience: want to work in a positive learning environment and are empathic with our values and team spirit.

The organisation

Positive Changes (Scotland) CIC is an organisation which supports women who have touched the Scottish criminal justice system towards making positive changes in their lives and reaching their potential. We use the vehicle of making and selling exquisite chocolates, branded Grace Chocolates changing lives to engage with the women and generate revenue. 100% of profits are reinvested to support our services.

By engaging with us the women have the opportunity to gain work experience, write a Personal Development Plan, improve their CV and gain workplace skills which will help lower barriers they face when looking for fulfilling employment, which for many is an aspiration. Each woman is encouraged to develop their own Personal Development Plan to help her set goals and aims which is her pathway towards fulfilling work. The women are involved in all aspects of the making and selling the chocolates and our customers include: individuals for gifts and treats; weddings; corporate organisations for serving and giving as gifts to their clients; restaurants and event companies; and other Public Sector organisations for gifts and serving to their guests.

This post is initially funded for 1 year with the intention that it will become a longer-term position. This is not guaranteed and is subject to funding.

Positive Changes (Scotland) CIC is an organisation which supports women who have touched the Scottish criminal justice system towards sustainable, paid employment by making and selling exquisite chocolates. One hundred percent of our profits are reinvested to support our work and fifty per cent of our workforce is made up of women who have previously accessed our services. Women can engage with our services: on regular production days; as a participant in our Making Positive Changes programme and/or as part of our mentoring programme.

By engaging with us the women have the opportunity to gain work experience, write a Personal Development Plan, improve their CV and gain workplace skills which will help lower barriers they face when looking for fulfilling employment. Each woman is encouraged to develop their own Personal Development Plan to help her set goals and aims which is her pathway towards a permanent job. The women are involved in all aspects of the making and selling the chocolates and our customers include: individuals for gifts and treats; weddings; corporate organisations for serving and giving as gifts to their clients; restaurants and event companies; and other Public Sector organisations for gifts and serving to their guests.

This post is a fixed-term contract until March 2024 and the intention is the post will be extended, subject to funding.

The Role

The role involves the coordination of the Mentoring programme from all aspects. It was developed from a pilot in 2021 and launched in Spring 2022. The programme supports and encourages women with convictions on their journey to desistence by providing a holistic, wrap around service and providing a fulfilling volunteering experience for volunteer mentors. We want to increase our pool of volunteer mentors to include more people with convictions and attract skilled volunteers who have existing gifts and skills to share which they are keen to develop and grow. We have existing relationships with referral agencies and your role will include strengthening these relationships and providing greater access to volunteers facing barriers to volunteering.

The organisation

Positive Changes (Scotland) CIC is an organisation which supports women who have touched the Scottish criminal justice system towards fulfilling their potential. We use the vehicle of chocolate making, branded as Grace Chocolates changing lives, to help the women become economically independent and grow in self-esteem and confidence. By engaging with Positive Changes the women have can engage with any of our 4 services: RISE our mentoring programme; Health & Wellbeing workshops; workplace experience and Making Positive Changes (MPC). Women choose how long they wish to engage and which programme or programmes are right for them RISE and Health & Wellbeing are delivered online while the work experience and MPC are delivered face to face. When working in our kitchen the women are involved in all aspects of the making and selling the chocolates and our customers include: individuals for gifts and treats; weddings; corporate organisations for serving and giving as gifts to their clients; restaurants and event companies to serve to diners; and other Public Sector organisations for gifts and serving to their guests.

We are a growing organisation and are looking for a person who has the flexibility, adaptability and ambition to grow as the organisation thrives.

The role

This is an exciting opportunity to join the organisation at this time in our development. This is a role you can help shape and develop. We are a small team and you will be a pivotal part of the organisation providing support to the rest of the team, including: the women we support; customers for the chocolates; the production team; the service delivery team; and management. No two days will be the same. You will respond to the needs of the day which will vary with the seasons, and the courses and programmes we are delivering at the time. You will be responsible for the smooth, efficient and effective operation of the organisation: you will meet with team members to ensure they are supported to conduct their role to the best of their ability; ensure our systems, processes and procedures best meet the needs of the organisation; and supporting and deputising for the CEO, as required.

Main responsibilities

• Plan, implement, monitor and control processes and procedures across a range of operational functions to deliver efficient and effective service while managing operational, financial and reputational risk.

• Demonstrate positive people leadership while developing and supporting staff. Agreeing and reviewing staff members targets and objectives so everybody can be the best version of

themselves. Reinforcing our positive team culture and working environment that makes this a great place to work.

• Ensure operational activities are consistent across the organisation while remaining on time and within budget

You will have:

• A passion to make a difference in the world and empathy for the aims and values of the organisation

• Experience of operational planning which may include but not limited to staffing, equipment and training

• Operational experience ideally gained in an organisation with a social purpose.

• The ability to priorities and change priorities to meet the needs of the organisation

• A desire to be proactive as well as the ability to be responsive when required

• A team spirit and can do attitude

• A willingness to adapt to our positive learning work ethos – every mistake is an opportunity for learning

• A skilled communicator who can deal sensitively and appropriately with difficult situations

• A proven track record of motivating staff in a leadership role