Are you passionate about creating unforgettable play experiences for children aged 5-14? Play Midlothian is seeking an enthusiastic and dedicated Operations Manager to oversee the smooth functioning of our outdoor play programs. With a focus on safety, efficiency, and creativity, you'll have the opportunity to lead a dynamic team, shape innovative play initiatives, and make a lasting impact on the lives of children. If you're ready to take on this exciting role and be part of a vibrant organization, apply now to join our Play Midlothian family as our Operations Manager!

About Play Midlothian

Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to support children to thrive through play. We focus on play because we know how much this benefits children’s health, wellbeing and development. It is important for their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances.

We strive to remove barriers to play where they exist, to ensure all children have access to play that meets their needs. We provide services for children and families and build the capacity of communities to support play. This includes training and development opportunities for other settings, including schools. We are also a partner in the Midlothian Play Strategy, which takes a strategic approach in planning for and promoting play in Midlothian.

We have an office base in Gorebridge (in an attractive modern building with a great cafe downstairs) but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and if commissioned, beyond.

About the role

Responsible to: Chief Executive

Job purpose:

To enable delivery of high quality and effective services in accordance with Play Midlothian’s objectives, which ultimately enable children to thrive through play Line manages: Team Leader(s), Development Officer(s) and Admin Assistant(s) Key job outcomes:

1. Play Midlothian’s services achieve planned outputs and outcomes and Play Midlothian can robustly evidence this is the case. Accountable for quality of services, and quality assessment and improvement. Accountable for ensuring effective impact measurement is in place, and for writing strong evaluation reports, to meet internal and external stakeholder requirements. Links operational decisions to approved strategy.

2. Play Midlothian’s services are safe and nurturing. Fulfils the roles of safeguarding officer and health and safety officer and is accountable for all operational risk management. Recognises that children can benefit from risky play and ensures this is appropriately managed.

3. Play Midlothian’s services have the resources they need and are cost-effective for what they achieve. Leads on operational recruitment. Accountable for service budget management and for supplying service budgets for fundraising targets. Leads on ensuring quality is coupled with value for money, and improves sustainability.

4. Play Midlothian’s services are well-attended and well-designed to meet the needs of service users. Accountable for local service marketing and referrals and pathways for service users. Accountable for correct handling of complaints. Leads on ensuring the voices of service users, particularly children, are central to our objectives.

5. New services are created to meet different needs. Incubates pilot projects and is accountable for learning and development processes to lead to effective rollout. Proposes new services, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders on need and design, and leads on community consultations. Links service development to strategic plans.

6. The operational team has the support and tools they need to deliver great services. Accountable for ensuring the team understands policies and procedures.

Accountable for SOPs (other than finance, data protection and fundraising) and overarching systems to support delivery. Leads on grievances and disciplinaries for operational staff. Enables learning and innovation in the team. Provides exemplary support, both formally and informally.

Other responsibilities:

• Accountable for writing and maintaining own work-plan. • Coordination operational events such as our annual Playday. • Any other duties relevant to the responsibilities of the post and which may be delegated by Play Midlothian management

Introduction

We are seeking a playful, adaptable, confident and organised individual for this post.

The purpose of the post is to coordinate and deliver high quality services in accordance with Play Midlothian’s objectives, enabling children to thrive through play.

Please note that the appointment will be made to the first point on the salary scale.

About Play Midlothian

Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to support children to thrive through play. We focus on play because we know how much this benefits children’s health, wellbeing and development. It is important for their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances. We provide services for children and families and build the capacity of communities to support play. This includes training and development opportunities for other settings, including schools. We have an office base in Gorebridge but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and at times beyond.

About the role

The Team Leader will both coordinate the day to day practicalities of our play services, and be the senior member of staff present at sessions, carrying out playwork and supporting services users and team members. They will also share their play skills and knowledge, for example through running training, compiling information on play, and working with schools to introduce new approaches (such as loose parts).

The postholder will work alongside another Team Leader, and a team of Community Playworkers and volunteers – with support from the Operations Manager. Coordination and delivery of services will be divided between the Team Leaders. This will not be fixed and could change over time, according to operational requirements. Therefore, it is important the postholder is adaptable, and can work their hours over up to five days, including evenings and weekends (on a rota pattern – our aim is for no employee to work every weekend whenever possible).

Play Midlothian’s services take place in a variety of community settings. Some are indoors, though a high proportion of our current services are exclusively outdoors (all year round), therefore the role will particularly suit applicants with a fondness for the outdoors.

We work with children and young people aged 0-13 (and at times older), with their parents/carers at some of our services, and at times with specific needs (including disability and emerging mental health challenges). We work with a variety of service models, though with the focus firmly on self-directed play. The ultimate goal is always to ensure that children have access to play opportunities that enable them to thrive.

Information on our current services can be found on our website. We will soon launch a new service supporting children aged 7-9 with emerging mental health challenges (such as difficulties with peer relationships, social anxiety or stressful transitions) through play in nature. We are also currently fundraising for group play sessions for disabled children and their families, which we hope to launch this year.

For the right candidate, this will be a highly rewarding and stimulating role, offering plenty of variety in their work – all the while enabling their passion for children’s play to shine though.

Introduction

We are seeking a dynamic and effective individual with leadership skills, to enable delivery of high quality services, which enable children to thrive through play.

We are looking for the right person to lead our services rather than someone with a specific type of experience. Our services utilise a variety of models of delivery, and although self-directed play is always the core, they overlap with a range of fields including family support, youth work, participation work, befriending, health and social care, outdoor learning and policy work. Each service has its own set of planned outcomes, that link into our overall goals.

Further information on the role is in the application pack available from our website. We are looking for the best applicant and therefore flexibility regarding hours and work arrangements can be negotiated. Please note that appointments are usually made to the first point on the salary scale.

About Play Midlothian

Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to support children to thrive through play. We focus on play because we know how much this benefits children’s health, wellbeing and development. It is important for their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances.

We strive to remove barriers to play where they exist, to ensure all children have access to play that meets their needs. We provide services for children and families and build the capacity of communities to support play. This includes training and development opportunities for other settings, including schools. We are also a partner in the Midlothian Play Strategy, which takes a strategic approach in planning for and promoting play in Midlothian.

We have an office base in Gorebridge (in an attractive modern building with a great cafe downstairs) but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and if commissioned, beyond.

Introduction

We are seeking a playful, adaptable and confident individual for this post, to deliver high quality services, enabling children to thrive through play.

Please note that appointments are usually made to the first point on the salary scale.

About Play Midlothian

Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to support children to thrive through play. We focus on play because we know how much this benefits children’s health, wellbeing and development. It is important for their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances.

We strive to remove barriers to play where they exist, to ensure all children have access to play that meets their needs. We provide services for children and families and build the capacity of communities to support play. This includes training and development opportunities for other settings, including schools. We are also a partner in the Midlothian Play Strategy, which takes a strategic approach in planning for and promoting play in Midlothian.

We have an office base in Gorebridge (in an attractive modern building with a great cafe downstairs) but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and if commissioned, beyond.

About the role

Our Community Playworkers support session planning and the day to day practicalities of our play services, carry out playwork, and support services users. It is essential that the successful applicant enjoys all types of play and can respond flexibly to the needs of participants.

We are looking for someone who enjoys working as part of a team and can build productive relationships with our participants, colleagues and other stakeholders, while demonstrating an enthusiasm for Play Midlothian’s aims and values.

The postholder will be directed day to day by a Team Leader, and work as part of a team of Community Playworkers and at times volunteers.

It is important the postholder can be flexible enough about their hours, which will be worked over four or five days on a rota pattern. We could run sessions across the seven days of a week, and potentially evenings. At present we don’t have any Sunday sessions, only Saturdays, and four of our weekday shifts go on till around 6 or 6.30pm, so slightly into the evening. This may develop further in future as we take on new work. We value employees having work/life balance and aim to establish a rota pattern that shares out any evening and weekend working, so each employee has regular weekends off.

Play Midlothian’s services take place in a variety of community settings. Some are indoors, though a high proportion of our current services are exclusively outdoors (all year round), therefore the role will particularly suit applicants with a fondness for the outdoors.

We work with children and young people aged 0-13 (and at times older), with their parents/carers at some of our services, and at times with specific needs (including disability and emerging mental health challenges). We work with a variety of service models, though with the focus firmly on self-directed play. The ultimate goal is always to ensure that children have access to play opportunities that enable them to thrive.

Information on our current services can be found on our website. We are about to launch a new service supporting children aged 7-9 with emerging mental health challenges (such as difficulties with peer relationships, social anxiety or stressful transitions) through play in nature. We are also currently fundraising for group play sessions for disabled children and their families, which we hope to launch this year.

For the right candidate, this will be a highly rewarding and stimulating role, offering plenty of variety in their work – all the while enabling their passion for children’s play to shine though

Play Midlothian is seeking trustees

Would you or someone you know be able to help? Being a charity trustee is a very rewarding voluntary role.

About Play Midlothian

Play Midlothian is a small registered charity (no. SC025474) and company limited by guarantee (no. SC240729), which started in 1996, and has an office in Gorebridge, Midlothian.

We work to support children to thrive through play. We focus on play because we know how much this benefits children’s health, wellbeing and development. It is important for their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances.

We:

• Provide enriching opportunities for children to play in support of their health, wellbeing and development
• Build family, community and professional capacity to support play
• Advocate for play and inform and influence decision-making

You would be joining the organisation at an exciting juncture and be instrumental in helping the Board to navigate a programme of organisational development to ensure its long-term growth, and sustainability.

About Play Midlothian’s board

The board is comprised of up to 12 trustees (who are legally also company directors).

We recruit trustees both through our existing membership and through advertising, with the aim of ensuring access to a range of skills and knowledge that would be useful to the board in fulfilling its remit.

The board is non-executive in its role, in that it is not involved in direct service delivery, rather it is there to review, guide, advise and oversee, ensuring that the staff team is performing well and is supported.

“Being a Trustee with Play Midlothian is hugely rewarding. I’ve been serving on the Board for nearly three years now and have had the opportunity to help support the organisation to grow and ultimately reach more children with the power of play. It’s a really exciting time to join the team as we look to continue to develop the organisation to make it more sustainable, and ensure that more children in Midlothian can flourish through play. If you’ve got skills that you think you could contribute to help support our work then we’d love to hear from you.” Natasha MacKinnon, recent Trustee

Responsibilities of a charity trustee

All trustees collectively have responsibility for Play Midlothian, with day to day management delegated to staff. The legal responsibilities for each trustee, under the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act (2005), are to:

1. Act in the interest of the charity: Trustees should put the interests of their charity before their own interests or those of any other person or organisation.
2. Operate in a manner consistent with the charity’s purposes
3. Act with due care and diligence
4. Ensure that the charity complies with the provisions of the 2005 Act and other relevant legislation.

Play Midlothian has identified the key responsibilities of its trustees as:

• To contribute to setting the vision and overall strategic direction for the organisation
• To ensure good financial planning, agreeing the income generation strategy and budgets
• To ensure that income and expenditure levels are regularly compared to agreed budgets and that variances are identified and explained
• To manage, safeguard and protect the assets and resources of Play Midlothian and ensure that they are used only for the purposes set out in Play Midlothian’s governing document
• To oversee the development and delivery of Play Midlothian’s business plan, including monitoring and reviewing progress against agreed activities and outcomes
• To promote a culture of evaluation and learning within Play Midlothian and with its stakeholders
• To manage and safeguard the reputation of Play Midlothian and oversee the strategy for external and stakeholder relations
• To ensure that Play Midlothian adheres to its own values, particularly in relation to service users, volunteers, staff and other stakeholders
• To ensure a commitment to equalities throughout the policy and practice of Play Midlothian

Skills sought

We are currently particularly interested in hearing from people with the following backgrounds or experience:

• Entrepreneurs and in particular those working within or leading social enterprises (or those who work with these organisations as clients)
• Change management
• Delivering growth for smaller organisations, or experience of working with similar sized organisations as clients to achieve the same growth, ideally within the third sector

However, we do have a few spaces available, so please do still get in touch if interested but have a different skillset to the above.

Time commitment

As a minimum, you need to be able to commit to:

• Frequently attending board meetings, of which there are approximately six per year (every two months, on a weekday evening, for two hours)
• Attending infrequent development or strategic planning sessions (usually no more than once per year)

From time to time other short life working groups may be established by the board to progress particular pieces of work. In addition, individual trustees may agree to work closely with member(s) of the staff team on a specific issue, depending on their own skills and areas of expertise.

More widely trustees are expected to advocate on Play Midlothian’s behalf using a wide range of networks and may become involved in supporting and representing Play Midlothian at fundraising or other events.

Expenses

Trustees are not paid for their duties, but are able to claim the cost of travel to and from meetings (within reason) and other appropriate expenses.

Training and induction

Trustees will receive an induction to enable them to understand Play Midlothian, what we do, how we work and the role of the trustees and board. In addition, trustees are offered ongoing opportunities to access training on the role of a charity trustee and other topics. Trustees are also offered opportunities to get to understand the impact of Play Midlothian’s work better, which may include; shadowing staff, attending staff team meetings, meeting service users and volunteers, or linking more closely with one specific team or area of activity.

PVG

As Play Midlothian is a children’s charity, trustees must be PVG checked before they commence their role. If you are not already a member of the PVG scheme, you will need to join (which Play Midlothian will administer and there will be no cost).

Introduction

We are seeking a dynamic and effective individual with leadership skills, to enable delivery of high quality services, which enable children to thrive through play.

We are looking for the right person to lead our services rather than someone with a specific type of experience. Our services utilise a variety of models of delivery, and although self-directed play through playwork is always the core, they overlap with a range of fields including family support, youth work, participation work, befriending, health and social care, outdoor learning and policy work. Each service has its own set of planned outcomes, that link into our overall goals.

Further information on the role is in the application pack available from our website. We are looking for the best applicant and therefore flexibility regarding hours and work arrangements can be negotiated. Please note that appointments are usually made to the first point on the salary scale.

About Play Midlothian

Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to support children to thrive through play. We focus on play because we know how much this benefits children’s health, wellbeing and development. It is important for their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances.

We strive to remove barriers to play, and address inequalities, to ensure all children have access to play that meets their needs. We provide services for children and families and build the capacity of communities to support play. This includes training and development opportunities for other settings, including schools. We are also a partner in the Midlothian Play Strategy, which takes a strategic approach in planning for and promoting play locally.

We have an office base in Gorebridge (in an attractive modern building with a great cafe downstairs) but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and if commissioned, beyond.

About the role

We are seeking an organised and results-oriented individual, with great communication skills, to take up this new post.

The purpose of the post is to lead on fundraising strategy and plans so that Play Midlothian can meet income targets for grants, events, donations and sponsorship, effectively identifying and developing opportunities, and meeting personal income targets.

We are looking for the best applicant and therefore offer flexibility regarding hours and work arrangements. Please note that appointments are usually made to the first point on the salary scale.

About Play Midlothian

Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to support children to thrive through play. We focus on play because we know how much this benefits children’s health, wellbeing and development. It is important for their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances. It is necessary for all children and therapeutic for children in need of more support.

We strive to remove barriers to play, and address inequalities, to ensure all children have access to play that meets their needs. We provide services for children and families and build the capacity of communities to support play.

We have an office base in Gorebridge (in an attractive modern building with a great cafe downstairs) but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and if commissioned, beyond.

We are seeking a playful, adaptable and confident individual for this post, to deliver high quality services, enabling children to thrive through play.

Please note that appointments are usually made to the first point on the salary scale.

About Play Midlothian

Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to support children to thrive through play. We focus on play because we know how much this benefits children’s health, wellbeing and development. It is important for their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances.

We strive to remove barriers to play where they exist, to ensure all children have access to play that meets their needs. We provide services for children and families and build the capacity of communities to support play. This includes training and development opportunities for other settings, including schools. We are also a partner in the Midlothian Play Strategy, which takes a strategic approach in planning for and promoting play in Midlothian.

We have an office base in Gorebridge (in an attractive modern building with a great cafe downstairs) but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and if commissioned, beyond.

About the role

Our Community Playworkers support session planning and the day to day practicalities of our play services, carry out playwork, and support services users. It is essential that the successful applicant enjoys all types of play and can respond flexibly to the needs of participants.

We are looking for someone who enjoys working as part of a team and can build productive relationships with our participants, colleagues and other stakeholders, while demonstrating an enthusiasm for Play Midlothian’s aims and values.

The postholder will be directed day to day by a Team Leader, and work as part of a team of Community Playworkers and at times volunteers.

It is important the postholder can be flexible enough about their hours, which will be worked over four or five days on a rota pattern. We could run sessions across the seven days of a week, and potentially evenings. At present we don’t have any Sunday sessions, only Saturdays, and four of our weekday shifts go on till around 6 or 6.30pm, so slightly into the evening. This may develop further in future as we take on new work. We value employees having work/life balance and aim to establish a rota pattern that shares out any evening and weekend working, so each employee has regular weekends off.

Play Midlothian’s services take place in a variety of community settings. Some are indoors, though a high proportion of our current services are exclusively outdoors (all year round), therefore the role will particularly suit applicants with a fondness for the outdoors.

We work with children and young people aged 0-13 (and at times older), with their parents/carers at some of our services, and at times with specific needs (including disability and emerging mental health challenges). We work with a variety of service models, though with the focus firmly on self-directed play. The ultimate goal is always to ensure that children have access to play opportunities that enable them to thrive.

Information on our current services can be found on our website. We are about to launch a new service supporting children aged 7-9 with emerging mental health challenges (such as difficulties with peer relationships, social anxiety or stressful transitions) through play in nature. We are also currently fundraising for group play sessions for disabled children and their families, which we hope to launch this year.

For the right candidate, this will be a highly rewarding and stimulating role, offering plenty of variety in their work – all the while enabling their passion for children’s play to shine though