goodmoves

ACE IT Scotland exists to advance the knowledge and connectivity of over-50s in Edinburgh. Through IT coaching and empowerment, to improve wellbeing, independence and active involvement as citizens.

We are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic and caring person to develop and run our outreach work throughout Edinburgh. One element of our work offers one to one person-centred learning sessions for older people who are struggling with any digital equipment. The sessions are based in our offices at Nicolson Square, Edinburgh.

Our ‘Moose in the Hoose’ project provides IT learning and support to residents currently in five care homes in Edinburgh. We also perform various types of outreach work in the community from scam workshops to our Work Wise Women employability courses.

We have recently created COVID-19 response services including our free ACE IT Coaching Helpline and our new ACE IT Tech Library service which lends tablet devices to partner organisations who work with over-50s.

We already have dedicated enthusiastic trained volunteers to work with older people and care home residents and within these outreach projects.

Background

Are you passionate about making a difference for very young children and their families? Research has shown that strong attachment and nurturing relationships during the first years of life have the highest chances of building resilience and improving lifelong outcomes. Therefore, any investment made during these first years of a child’s life will have the highest impact – it is about prevention over intervention. We at Cattanach strongly believe this is how we can make the biggest difference for the public good with the endowment we have been entrusted with. The COVID 19 pandemic is bringing long-standing inequalities to the forefront and we are more determined than ever to make a difference to very young children and their families here in Scotland.

Our grants support organisations that help families with children from pre-birth to about three years of age to form strong relationships with those in their closest circles - parents, grandparents, siblings and carers – and enjoy a happy and healthy early childhood. In particular, we want to foster strong attachment, build resilience, improve family mental health and work towards prevention over waiting until things are broken. You can find more information in our 2020 Stepping Stone Strategy.We also work with partners in the voluntary, public and private sectors to jointly achieve the National Outcome for children and young people:

"We grow up loved, safe and respected so that we realise our full potential."

Together, we want to drive positive change for very young children in Scotland and hope to strengthen our support for frontline organisations. For more information on our work, please visit our website (you can find our Constitution here).

Trustee Profile

We are looking for several Trustees to join our Board. We have been growing as a funder and as an organisation, with a new and highly skilled team, fruitful and productive partnerships, and a strong commitment to being a strategic as well as a successful grassroot funder.

Cattanach welcomes applications from individuals in the private, voluntary and public sectors. We are particularly interested to hear from individuals with experience and expertise in one of the following areas:

• Early Years Practice and Pedagogy
• Researchers and/or Policy professionals with a specialisation in the Early Years
• Social work with Early Years focu
• Childhood development
• Clinical psychologists with a practice in infant and/or perinatal mental health
• Investment Management
• Accounting/Finance (ideally with a charity focus)
• Digital & IT

The list is not exhaustive, of course. Our Chief Executive, Dr Sophie Flemig (sophie@cattanach.org.uk) will be delighted to have an informal chat with you to provide further information.

We are specifically looking for a Chair for the Grants Committee and a Chair for the Finance and Audit Committee and would be delighted if you could express your interest in either position at the time of submitting your application.

We ask that all candidates demonstrate their understanding and commitment to the four Cattanach values:

INTEGRITY – We strive to be fair, ethical and accountable.

LOVE – We recognise the importance of nurturing relationships, with kindness and compassion at the heart of all our work.

HOPE – We are passionate about enabling change through our work with partners and the organisations we support.

Time Commitment

As Trustee with Cattanach, you will attend four Board meetings per year and be a member of at least one of our Committees (Finance and Audit, Investment and Grants), each of which meet four times a year. Meetings tend to be held in Edinburgh or Glasgow, and dial-in via video-conference is possible.

We ask Trustees to accompany staff on at least one project visit every year and to partake in a one-day Strategy Seminar in the autumn. The total time commitment for a Cattanach Trustee is about 10 days per year, including reading and preparation time, all meetings (Board and Committee) and individual/Board development. About 60% of this time can be organised flexibly while 40% is reserved for meetings as a Board.