Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work managers and leaders. We are a membership organisation with over 350 individual and corporate members. We exist to promote and support the development of the social work profession, and to inform, influence and improve public policy and public services.
We are excited to be recruiting for a new Adult Social Work Policy and Practice Lead. With cross-party support for the development of a National Care Service in Scotland, to include a National Social Work Agency and the legacy of COVID-19 still unravelling, the next few years will present many opportunities to reassert the role and value of social work. For adult social work and social care, new structures of governance, operations and scrutiny may be built; in each domain social work must articulate what it needs in order to deliver positive change for individuals and communities. This post with Social Work Scotland will be at the centre of those national debates, helping to facilitate the engagement and leadership of our Adult Standing Committee members, Chief Social Work Officers and the Social Work Scotland Board. In partnership with colleagues in Social Work Scotland and the Scottish Government’s Office of the Chief Social Work Advisor, this post also offers a chance to join up interdependent but disconnected policy agendas, constructing a more coherent and enabling operational environment for social work as a whole. The post will have a role in supporting national projects currently hosted by Social Work Scotland, such as implementation of Self-Directed Support.
If successful in securing the post, you will have the opportunity to build relationships with the leadership of the social work profession in Scotland, in operations, regulation, advocacy, policy making, education and academia. You’ll also build or strengthen links across the Adult Social Work and Social Care sectors, within Scotland, the UK and internationally. You will be a visible representative of the profession, and you will help Social Work Scotland’s members to realise opportunities and resolve challenges. At the core of Social Work Scotland is a commitment to assisting the profession be the best it can be for the individuals, families and communities who need social work or social care support; the Adult Social Work Policy and Practice role is central to us delivering on that commitment.
The Promise Scotland is responsible for driving the work of change demanded by the conclusions of the Independent Care Review.
It works with all kinds of organisations to support shifts in policy, practice, and culture so Scotland can #KeepThePromise it made to care experienced infants, children, young people, adults, and their families - that every child grows up loved, safe and respected, able to realise their full potential.
The Promise Scotland’s sole reason for being is to facilitate and support change, wherever that change needs to happen to make sure that Scotland will #KeepThePromise.
More information can be found in the below resources
Independent Care Review Reports
Information about the forthcoming Plan 24-30
Find out more at thepromise.scot
Job Purpose – Strategic Communications Lead
This is a new cross-organisational role within The Promise Scotland for an experienced communications strategist. The postholder will develop a strong, central communications function with a focus on:
You will be an outstanding all-round communicator, comfortable working in high pressure environments and adept at working collaboratively.
You will possess strategic communications expertise, pairing this with a strong track record of delivery, as well as substantial experience of planning and delivering communications strategies.
You will have excellent writing skills, strong organisational skills and will help grow a positive culture of delivery and good decision-making across content and engagement.
Experience of delivering communications with senior leaders is essential, with the authority and credibility to lead teams and to influence and engage senior leadership colleagues and external partners in complex situations. You will also have proven experience of leading and supporting a small team, including line management.
As part of a small, agile organisation, you will also be happy to undertake the whole gamut of communications work from writing copy and responding to media queries to handling high-profile, sensitive announcements.
This job doesn’t come up often. In fact, we’ve never advertised it before. Due to an internal move, we are looking for someone really special to be the CHAS Director of Nursing and Family Support.
In Scotland, three children a week die from a life-shortening condition. CHAS provides unwavering care for children who may die young, and their whole families. Our team includes nurses, doctors, AHPs, chaplains, social workers and a wide range of family support specialists. They work across two children’s hospices, in community settings across the country, and in hospitals alongside NHS staff.
Reporting to the Chief Executive and working hand-in-glove with the Medical Director, you will deliver exceptional care for children and families. You will lead a team of 160 nurses and family support staff working across all parts of Scotland and in multiple settings.
Nursing plays a key role in our care, with nurse specialists involved in delivery, education, advanced practice and organisational leadership. You will inspire our nursing and family support teams to deliver exceptional care in hospice, home and hospital settings. You will work closely and collaboratively with NHS partners, to arrange seamless care.
You will envisage new ways of delivering care and lead teams through change as we implement our 2024-2028 Strategic Plan. You will inspire people behind our vision of delivering excellent care every day.
You will be an experienced nurse leader, confident at working in a multi-agency way. The majority of staff in our multi-disciplinary team are nurses, so you will need to have significant experience of leading nurses and healthcare professionals. You will be professionally registered but don’t need to be a children’s nurse.
We would be keen to hear from candidates with the following skills and experience:
We are open to hearing from people from a range of backgrounds. You may be working at or near board level in the NHS, health and social care partnership, or operating at nurse director level in a children’s or adult’s hospice.
The role can be based at any of CHAS’s main sites, with frequent travel to others.
The salary is expected to be c. £98,000, depending on experience, and will be attractive to nurses working at very senior roles in the NHS and other organisations. A higher salary may be provided to exceptional candidates who are already working beyond this level. Membership of the NHS Scotland or Local Government Pension Scheme is provided.
We expect this role to attract interest from Scotland, the UK and internationally so relocation expenses are available.
Interviews will be held on 26th April 2024.
This post is subject to a Disclosure Scotland PVG Check.
We are seeking an experienced, dedicated, and passionate Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to join us at an exciting stage in our history at SiMBA, as we embark on embedding and delivering upon a refreshed vision, mission and strategy.
Our CEO will lead our team in meeting our strategic goals, work in collaboration with our Board of Trustees to develop our strategic direction, and ensure that we are operationally effective whilst raising the profile of SiMBA within the bereavement care sector.
Our CEO will focus on building strategic partnerships with other organisations with aligned goals and values, cementing SiMBA’s niche amongst the range of charities who support bereaved families through the loss of their baby, and will empower our fundraising team to raise the funds necessary to achieve our goals.
Having a strong grasp of the challenges facing the Charity and bringing creativity, a practical and commercial approach to decision making, as well as being a ‘people person’ is essential to help SiMBA support as many bereaved families as possible in Scotland to grieve, honour and remember their precious baby.
Expertise in strategic planning, financial management, and effective charity governance is critical. Our CEO must guide our hard-working and dedicated team as we refine our offer and build our impact and reach within Scotland.
Our CEO, along with all of our team, will have contact with people who have experienced the loss of a baby; parents, family members, friends, colleagues and healthcare professionals who are supporting them. Therefore, it is important to feel comfortable working in a bereavement care environment and talking about baby loss with multiple stakeholders.
The Yard is a Scottish charity with one simple aim; to build thriving communities of support that enrich the lives of disabled children, young people and their families. We offer play, respite and family support from our adventure play centres in Edinburgh, Dundee and Fife. Our approach is rooted in learning from lived experience and our team are skilled, patient and understanding and invested in each and every child and family.
To meet the increasing need in Scotland, we are planning to increase our services reaching more children and young people. We are looking to recruit a Head of Service who will be part of our Executive team.
Leading a team of experienced service managers, the successful applicant will ensure the delivery of the new services whilst making sure our current delivery is not compromised. They will implement a comprehensive evaluation system meeting the varying needs of our stakeholders; families, funders, partners and the Care Inspectorate.
Our culture is central to our success and the successful applicant will need to lead and manage in line with our values of community, inclusive, inspire, kindness and adventure. We work collaboratively, valuing insights and opinions across the team. We recognise that we have an ambitious agenda and look forward to welcoming the person who is enthused and energised by this opportunity.
In return, the successful applicant will join a warm, motivated team, where user satisfaction of our services is high. We are open to new ideas and welcome ways to develop and improve.
Read more about some of the excellent benefits available to people who work at The Yard.
If you would like to understand more about the role and The Yard, Tricia Stewart our Director of Resources, would be happy to have a conversation with you. Please email tricia@theyardscotland.org.uk to set up a time for a call.
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the East Lothian Family Support Team. Children 1st have supported children, young people, and families within East Lothian for a number of year and are well established service.
Children 1st along with partners share a determination to act upon the recommendations from The Independent Care Review and deliver The Promise for children and young people. We are also determined that the full incorporation of the UNCRC means that children will have their rights respected in all areas of their lives and will have a real say in the way they are supported.
What kind of person will make a great Administrator for Children 1st?
Above all else, the most important thing to us is that you are someone that will support the team who are doing the right thing for children and their families at every turn.
If you have an interest in supporting the activities of a compassionate and committed staff team then we would like to hear from you. In particular, we are seeking to further enhance our diversity from the perspective of ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender and disability.
Base
You will be office based within our two bases within Musselburgh MECA and Fisherrow Community Centre.
Our core hours are Monday-Friday 9am – 5pm working days are flexible.
Salary, Conditions, Pension
We will offer you a competitive salary, generous annual leave entitlement (40 days (pro rata) inclusive of 7 public holidays) and a contributory pension scheme. In addition, we offer further benefits ranging from a cashback health plan to a Cycle-to-work scheme.
Are you passionate about making a difference to the lives of young people? Do you want a flexible, varied and meaningful job in a supportive team? Do you value great employee benefits such as 360 Wellbeing membership and an annual training budget? Apply to join us!
Bridges Project is a leading youth work charity that helps young people aged 12-25 in East Lothian and Midlothian overcome challenges and adapt to adulthood. For nearly 40 years, we have helped young people develop their life skills, improve their educational attainment and move into employment or further education.
We have a vacancy for an Educational Support Worker to deliver an effective casework and group work service to young people experiencing a range of challenges such as non-attendance at school, low attainment, poor mental health and family poverty.
The successful candidate will:
This is an exciting position in which the successful candidate will take pride in developing a programme of delivery which will provide young people with clear pathways to positive destinations.
It is essential that candidates have a full, clean driving licence and constant use of a car. Membership of the PVG scheme will be an essential requirement of the post. A contributory company pension scheme is offered with a 10% employer contribution.
Bridging the Gap (Glasgow) is recruiting for a number of trustees who understand the role and importance of governance in the third sector. We are looking for people who act with integrity, compassion, honesty, and who are passionate about our work and the role of the third sector.
Bridging the Gap (Glasgow) is a Glasgow wide community charity established in 1998 working to ‘bridge the gap’ in communities, removing barriers to participate in activities whilst working towards the reduction of social and economic inequality and stigma.
Ideally you will have experience of working at a senior management level and will have a deep understanding of the nature of community development and the stigma that is attached to poverty.
We are also keen to speak with you if you match one or more of the following criteria with your professional or lived experience:
About Us
Bridging the Gap (Glasgow) is a Glasgow wide community charity established in 1998 working to ‘bridge the gap’ in communities, removing barriers to participate in activities whilst working towards the reduction of social and economic inequality and stigma.
Our vision is ‘Where people grow, thrive, fully participate in life and are free from social and economic inequality’.
We aim to reduce loneliness, develop community peer support, cohesion and resilience whilst reducing poverty and stigma. We do this by delivering a varied programme of activities and events in collaboration with key stakeholders.
We are a registered charity and Company Limited by Guarantee.
Commitment
The board meets quarterly, either face-to-face, via video chat, or as a hybrid of the two.
The duration of Board meetings is usually no longer than 1.5 hours.
All relevant papers are forwarded on a reasonable timescale, either via email or posted in hard copy.
Being a trustee is a voluntary role but Bridging the Gap (Glasgow) will cover relevant out-of-pocket travel and other expenses that would allow you to attend meetings.
Aside from the board meeting, additional time consideration should be given to allow for time to read through relevant papers, follow up on any action points, and may involve attending occasional additional meetings, events, or strategy days.
An exciting opportunity to make a significant difference to childhoods and life prospects of thousands of children in conflict-affected countries.
Lead on planning and roll-out of our £1m appeal for war-affected children in 2025
About Sustain Clackmannanshire
Aberlour Child Care Trust has recently launched a new family outreach service, Aberlour Sustain Clackmannanshire. This service works alongside families, communities and partners to offer caring and responsive support to young people and families. Aberlour Sustain Clackmannanshire delivers the support families need, when they need it, every day of the year. The aim of the service is to ensure that children and young people can continue to flourish at home, at school and in their local community.
Working with Social Work Services, this innovative and creative new service focuses on supporting young people aged 0 – 18 years, who may be on the ‘edge of care’ so that they remain living with their family in their local communities.
Our Service works with young people and their families to enhance relationships, build on existing strengths and interests, help build confidence and encourage new community connections. Our aim is to help all families feel safe, confident, capable, and included. Our approach has been developed through consultation with families and partners.
This post is to provide cover for maternity leave. We expect the post to last for 11 months.
What we are looking for....
We are looking for candidates who are passionate about supporting young people, families and communities, who are flexible and share our vision that collaborative working and relationship based early intervention is the best option for young people and families who are feeling overwhelmed or excluded. This post is being offered on a temporary basis until February 2025 to cover Maternity.
Not afraid to test new ways of working, you will bring a fresh, caring, compassionate and collaborative approach which responds empathically to the needs of young people and their families. The work will include early mornings, evenings and weekends. You will have experience of direct practice within this field of work, including child/adult protection issues as well as having experience of working with children and young people.
You will work within a variety of locations in the Clackmannanshire area, including the office base in Alloa, family homes, schools and community settings.
At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team.
What we offer...
As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers.