Change-makers sought! Do you want to help Scotland to Keep The Promise?

We’re looking for an experienced professional to help us to improve the lives of children, young people and care leavers by supporting the stability and security all children and young people have a right to.

As a leading improvement and innovation centre in Scotland, CELCIS works to improve the lives of children and young people in need of care and protection, their families and carers, and care leavers, by supporting the people and organisations responsible for their care to make changes in the services, practices and skills they use.

We’re looking for someone to be part of our Children’s Services Implementation team who’ll bring passion, insight and understanding to our work focussed on enabling effective family support and, where needed, high quality alternative care for children and young people. This role will work with partners and stakeholders to create the readiness and conditions necessary to support transformational change in practice.

This involves working with children’s services, other partner organisations and with those who have lived experience to support and embed impactful systems change and improvement. With others in the team, this post will support the development of genuine partnerships, groups and forums to share and embed best evidence and to facilitate staged based approaches to change. At CELCIS we apply a variety of methodologies across our work, within this team there is a particular focus on the use of Implementation approaches to drive, enable and embed sustainable complex change.

Central to the role is the ability to apply evidence based approaches, facilitation, coaching and practical skills to support improvement and support implementation of innovative and evidence-based practices that will better meet the needs of children, families and carers. The role would suit candidates with compassion, sensitivity and the strong relationship-building skills required to support, facilitate and encourage systemic and strategic change in practices.

Do you have experience of working within the children’s care and protection sector? Can you demonstrate a deep understanding of and commitment the change and improvement set out in the Promise Change Plan, and respecting lived experience of care? Are you passionate about using improvement approaches to make this happen?

You will have an appropriate professional qualification / relevant degree, with substantial practical experience and evidence of successful collaborative working, including experience of using an improvement and implementation approach.

Does this sound like you? Apply now.

Funding for the post: Like for all colleagues in the team, this post is initially funded for 12 months, with a further 2 years of funding indicated by Scottish Government. CELCIS has received funding in this way from Scottish Government since 2010 where we agree our funding level every year, as well as agree the next two years indicative level.

All CELCIS staff are working remotely at home until the University has ensured it is safe and essential to work in the office (we are based in the Curran Building at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow). Flexibility for blended working arrangements (from home, in the office, and travel to work with local partners as required for the role) can be available and we are happy to discuss.

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Claire Burns, Director (Acting) (claire.m.burns@strath.ac.uk).

The Wise Group is a leading social enterprise helping to lift people out of poverty across the UK. In 2020 the Wise Group supported over 40,000 people through various services and programmes across three key areas – employability, energy advice & advocacy and community justice. The Wise Group builds better lives, better communities, and stronger businesses in partnership with a diverse range of organisations across the UK.

The fallout from covid has impacted us all and The Wise Group have been working tirelessly to support those in need throughout 2020 and 2021, providing tailored services and embracing new organisational values. They want to attract exceptional people that want to join their winning team. The group have achieved so much in the last 12 months that they are on a high. Revenue has increased by 50% in this period to accommodate the delivery of key contracts and services. The Group expects this growth to continue as their services are in high demand UK wide.

The Wise Group now has an ever-growing pool of opportunity and they are looking to recruit a new Bid Lead. This post will own and manage all aspects of bidding to grow the enterprise income through competitive tenders, grant awards and other sources. The Bid Lead will project manage and continue to develop and improve the bid process whilst producing high quality, engaging proposals.

We are seeking enthusiastic candidates with a strong track record in bid management who can work with a range of stakeholders and lead teams. The role is open to bid experts from any background, if relevance and capability are highlighted within your application.

Scottish Adoption delivers high quality placement and adoption support services. The bulk of our services are delivered across Edinburgh and the Lothians, although we work with Local Authorities from across Scotland and other parts of the UK. We are an ambitious organisation with strong governance. In recent years we have undertaken a journey of incremental growth, combined with launching a number of adoption support initiatives including our sector leading Adoption Therapy Centre for Children.

Scottish Adoption is seeking a new Chief Executive who will be responsible for providing leadership, developing, and implementing Scottish Adoption's strategic and operational plans, partnership and being an effective advocate for the charity and the families it serves. You will lead and work with a team of 30 permanent staff and a pool of freelance staff. They will be responsible for ensuring financial control as well as supporting and advising on service delivery and maintaining good governance across all aspects of Scottish Adoption.

To be considered for the role you must meet the following criteria:

- Recognised social work qualification and registered with (or eligible to register with) the Scottish Social Services Council.

- Evidence of continuous professional development relevant to the role.

- Experience of leading people successfully through progressive development, innovation, and projects to deliver strategic development plans.

- Recognised as a highly professional and effective partner and communicator.

- Experience and proven success in leading a teams or significant projects/programmes which include budgets, people, and stakeholders.

- In depth knowledge and experience of managing Adoption and Fostering services.

For a confidential discussion contact Debbie Shields on 0141 212 7555.

Change-makers sought! Do you want to help Scotland to Keep The Promise?

CELCIS, the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection, is an internationally recognised leading improvement and innovation centre based in Scotland at the University of Strathclyde. We are dedicated to supporting change and improvement for children in need of care and protection, their families and carers, and care leavers.

Focused on improving the lives of children and young people in need of care and protection and their families and carers, we support people and organisation’s responsible for their care to make long-lasting changes in services, in systems and the practices and skills they use

We work with organisations and people across Scotland at local and national to level to realise The Promise of the Independent Care Review (2020). The focus of the work of this team is to support those across Scotland, who are working to ensure the stability and permanence of babies, children and young people and also ensure their protection from abuse, harm and neglect.

Our Head of Protection and Permanence leads on how we assist national and local government and their partners to develop and apply evidence-based ways to drive change and improvement in services and practices. The team covers Child Protection, Addressing Neglect, Permanence and supports effective decision making across Children’s Services and will lead on the CELCIS contribution to the Scottish Government Child Protection Improvement Plan and delivery of support to CPC Scotland.

You will have an appropriate Degree, with significant experience of directly relevant roles and considerable experience of leadership and management contributing to and realising an organisation’s strategic and business objectives. You will also have extensive experience of leading complex change projects which have delivered positive and sustainable change.

A member of our Strategic Management Team, you will share responsibility for the planning and delivery of CELCIS’s strategy which prioritises supporting improvements in early help, effective decision making, and quality care, all underpinned by valuing the voice of lived experience. We are seeking a motivated individual with strategic management and leadership experience who can contribute to how we deliver our strategy and meet and exceed key stakeholder expectations.

All CELCIS staff are working remotely at home until the University has ensured it is safe and essential to work in the office (we are based in the Curran Building at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow). Flexibility for blended working arrangements (from home, in the office, and travel to work with local partners as required for the role) may be available.

Funding for the post: Like all the team, the post is funded for 12 months, with a further 2 years of funding indicated by Scottish Government. CELCIS has received funding in this way from Scottish Government since 2010 where we agree our funding level every year, as well as agreeing the indicative level for the next two years.

Change is happening. Be part of it. Together we can make things better for children, young people and their families and carers. Apply now.

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Claire Burns, Acting Director (claire.m.burns@strath.ac.uk).

Youth Scotland is Scotland’s national charity for the support and delivery of community based youth work and we would love you to come and lead our dynamic organisation.

Now, more than ever, Scotland’s young people need effective community based youth work services. Youth Scotland is seeking a visible, dynamic and progressive CEO to lead the direction of community based youth work in Scotland and shape a 21st century sector, emboldened to meet the needs of the critical youth work organisations working to affect grass roots change.

Youth Scotland supports over 1,600 youth groups across the country, which provide youth work opportunities for more than 74,000 young people. These young people are supported by over 8,000 youth workers, including 5,000 volunteers.

You should have experience in leading an organisation. You should be qualified in Youth Work and be able to demonstrate an understanding of the policy landscape in Scotland. You will also have significant management, finance, fundraising, governance, compliance and communications skills.

This position is based in our Edinburgh office pending COVID-19 restrictions.

Edinburgh College is one of Scotland's biggest Colleges with around 30,000 students across four campuses in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Offering a wide variety of vibrant vocational and academic courses, Edinburgh College provides flexible learning opportunities to suit all learning needs. We offer over 700 courses from access to degree level and continuing professional development to help enhance career ambitions of all students.

Our academic centres have skilled, knowledgeable staff with expertise in specialist areas with industry experience to ensure our students have the most relevant and up to date teaching. The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of industry and we are continually committed to the highest academic standards and excellence in learning and teaching.

We have established relationships with employers and universities to create a connected community that provides students with strong links to work or further study. We are committed to ensuring our students are prepared for successful careers through work placements, internships, and connections to industry.

The opportunity

We are seeking to appoint an experienced and strategic senior manager with commercial and economic acumen and a proven track record in achieving business growth and diversification against a background of public funding cuts.

As a member of the Senior Management team the Director of Enterprise & Knowledge Exchange will be responsible for growing and diversifying income streams through expanding commercial, international, partnerships and knowledge exchange opportunities in Scotland’s capital college.

We are looking for you to provide vision and leadership across the college with the aim of supporting departments to increase their alternative income, increase professional liaison between curriculum teams, business and other organisations within their relevant sectors, as well as helping drive up commercial revenues. This liaison will support the College in ensuring our sector specific knowledge is up to date and relevant.

Working with colleagues across the College, the Director will enhance and maximise strong collaboration with business, local and regional stakeholders and national agencies to ensure that our curriculum teams develop the skills training and qualifications required to achieve and sustain positive outcomes in the fast-moving economy.

The Director will focus on alternative income generation by supporting curriculum colleagues to identify, develop and exploit business opportunities. In developing a deep understanding of the Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and wider Scottish economy (including future economic growth potential), the Director will identify funding opportunities and leverage that the College could access by maximising our specialist knowledge, expertise and links with a wide range of businesses and our university partners.

Our vision is that all children and young people are loved and respected. That they enjoy their childhood and achieve their full potential.

Our mission is to provide a loving and caring school and home environment for children and young people up to the age of 18 with challenging or complex needs. We will build relationships where they learn to trust and be trusted, feel safe, and have fun. To educate our children in ways that work for them as individuals, including through the outdoors, play and adventures. To teach them crucial life skills in a stimulating and nurturing environment where every adult is focused on their happiness and wellbeing. To enable them to grow up to be confident, contented and valued members of society. Their voices will be listened to and be at the heart of everything we do.

At Seamab, we have ambitions to build a new school and this role will be an important addition to the team. Full details are contained within the job pack.