We are seeking Family Learning workers to deliver a series of groups and activities designed to support parents of families with limited English, to familiarise parents with nursery and primary school practices and to enable them to successfully integrate within their local communities.

Their duties will include delivering a series of Family ESOL programmes to assist parents and children with transitions from nursery to school, encourage reading in English and their home language, discuss intercultural aspects of parenting and understand the Scottish education system. This could also include support to bilingual parents attending courses such as PEEP, Raising Children with Confidence and more.

An Adult Education centred approach is required for this work.

Experience of working with people whose first language is not English or a qualification in English language teaching is desirable.

Applicants should have good literacy skills in English.

Experience of group work with adult learners is required.

We would welcome applications from speakers of Arabic, Kurdish, Dari, Pashto, Somali and Ukrainian.

As an equal opportunity employer, we recognise and value the benefits that a diverse workforce with different values, beliefs, experience, and backgrounds brings. We would like to encourage conversations with people who have not previously thought about employment within a Local Authority.

We warmly invite people to take this opportunity to demonstrate their ability regardless of age, disability, sex, gender, race, marital status, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs.

We're committed to creating a workplace culture where all our people feel valued, included and able to be their best at work, and we recognise the benefits that a diverse workforce with different values, beliefs, experience, and backgrounds brings to us as an organisation.

As part of our goal to improve our organisational culture and create a great place to work together for the people of Edinburgh, we want to make sure that we’re bringing the best people into our roles, not just in their skills and experience but also in their approach to work.

To help achieve this, we’re changing the way we interview and assess candidates by moving from a competency-based interview approach to a behavioural and technical (skills for the job) based approach. This new way of interviewing will allow us to assess how you think and how you would bring Our Behaviours of Respect, Integrity and Flexibility into your ways of working.

Our salary range typically reflects the initial starting salary and annually increases until it reaches the top of the range.

The official purposes of Earth in Common (EiC), a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC044220), can be summarised as to encourage and support the people and organisations of Leith to grow food vegetables, and flowers for pollinating insects, in urban spaces, in order to improve health and wellbeing, community cohesion and the environment. However, EiC brings together a diverse group of enthusiastic staff, freelancers, volunteers and members/supporters who are tackling an array of social and environmental issues at local, national and international levels, and so it has broader activities and interests than suggested by its current official purposes.

The charity was appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council to manage, with and for the local community, two acres at the northwest corner of Leith Links Park. Now known as Leith Community Croft (LCC), our pioneering and model ‘urban croft’ offers cross-cutting solutions to social and environmental problems through a suite of integrated projects. It accommodates a community growing project with >100 participants. The growing project is distinct from allotments and benefits agrobiodiversity (see tinyurl.com/croftabdiv).

LCC is also the site of our tree nursery, market garden, composting facilities, our Hingabootery (shed-based café, with a serving hatch), our Market on the Croft (to be re-launched in 2023), and our lovely new building (largely funded by the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund), with a well-equipped kitchen, flexible meeting/training/dining spaces and office space. This building constitutes a multipurpose community hub at the core of LCC.

To learn more about EiC, candidates are advised to familiarise themselves with the organisation’s history and current projects and campaigns by visiting its website (earth-in-common.org). More information is also provided in the Job Description.

Summary of the job

• Appointees will work as a team with other Croft Café Co-ordinators, with a main focus on preparing and serving simple but high quality food and drink. They will also sell fruit and vegetables (many from our market garden on Leith Community Croft) from our farm shop area of the same building. Barista and/or kitchen experience would be preferable, but we can provide training to the right candidates. An understanding of food safety standards is essential as well as a proactive attitude, a sense of urgency and ability to pinpoint priorities and act on them.
• The appointees will also perform all necessary ancillary work (food preparation, cleaning, stocktaking, till operation, ordering supplies, etc.). Opening hours are currently 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (subject to change during spring and summer), but there will be some meeting, preparation and cleaning time outside these hours, and possibly occasional catering at events. Candidates must be able to work weekends and early mornings.
• As well as ensuring the smooth running of all aspects of Earth in Common’s café and farm shop operations, they will assist with other aspects of running Leith Community Croft, as required. This may include, for example, waste management, litter-picking and assisting with market garden work.
• Croft Café Co-ordinators are expected to be flexible, use their initiative, and help each other as necessary, turning their hands to whatever needs to be done to further Earth in Common’s services and reputation. This includes contributing ideas to the development of café and farm shop operations to make them more biosphere- and customer-friendly and to improve profitability.
• Croft Café Co-ordinators are important public-facing representatives of Leith Community Croft and Earth in Common, and are expected to abide by the charity’s Code of Conduct, offer efficient and friendly service, also engage with people who don’t necessarily use the café, and be able to inform members of the public about the charity’s history, values, long-term vision and ongoing projects and services and direct them to Earth in Common contact points and colleagues as appropriate.
• While no guarantees can be given, it is hoped that the charity’s finances will allow contracts to be extended, assuming appointees have performed well.

Role Purpose

The Learning Coordinator works across all organisational departments to support and deliver the structured learning, training and apprenticeship programmes for members and volunteers of all ages. The role is responsible for supporting a balanced training programme, which offers opportunities for accredited employability outcomes and soft skills.

The Learning coordinator works with the Learning & Development manager and Social Enterprise team to guide clear pathways for learners, including referral routes internally and through to external positive outcomes and destinations. The role is responsible for supporting communications with training organisations to further expand learning opportunities. The Learning Coordinator will also support the Members service team in the engagement and support of Members through all aspects of the programme, and delivery of activities/sessions as appropriate.

Background

Grassmarket Community Project takes an innovative approach to providing sanctuary and support to participants many of whom are amongst the most vulnerable of our citizens. Through mentoring, social enterprise and education in a nurturing environment, the project develops skills enabling participants to develop to their full potential and reconnect with themselves, others and the wider community.

• Our vision is to create an environment where people can realise their full potential and re-connect with themselves, others and the wider community.
• People feel valued and every person is given dignity.
• People feel cared about and can move towards independent living without feeling abandoned or isolated.
• People can be confident to trust and value their own decisions, overcoming a poverty of expectation and ultimately realising their own potential.
• People can build a life which reduces dependence on others, gaining self-reliance.
• There is a commitment to be involved with individuals, meeting and welcoming them within the local community.

Our project is based in the heart of the Old Town in Edinburgh, in the Grassmarket. We work with over 300 people a year and deliver on average 800 hours of support per month.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities

• Work with Members services team to deliver and support the learning & development routes for members & apprentices at GCP to develop their knowledge, skills and competence in a range of areas, sectors, skill sets and industries.
• Work closely with social enterprise and social impact departments to ensure internal opportunities and development pathways are clearly defined and communicated to all parties
• Support and communicate learning programmes delivered by GCP to Members, Volunteers and Staff alongside Learning & Development Manager
• Co-deliver the GCP Learning Hub and associated activities on a day-to-day basis as part of the Members Programme.
• Support regular one to one support meetings for members, apprentices and volunteers engaged in work placements in GCP social enterprises
• Record information and data required to inform performance monitoring (as per GCP Impact Evaluation Framework and guidance) internally and externally to support service delivery, recording attendance, member details, monitoring and evaluation and knowledge transfer.
• To support links and relationships with relevant external contacts and organisations; to build pathways to employment, positive destinations and further education opportunities.
• Supporting the delivery of the Members Programme and Participate in Day-to-day operations; Co-Leading activities, delivering welcome meetings, monitoring and evaluation.
• Alongside Members service team assess the competence of Members and volunteers against national occupational standards for accredited qualifications, such as SVQ.
• To support learning and training activities to be person centred and specific to the individual’s needs.
• Promote the active participation of Members and volunteers in the development, monitoring and review of services to ensure that there is continuous improvement in service delivery and that services delivered are responsive to Member needs.
• Provide support to Members and volunteers to ensure their successful participation in learning programmes and to promote equality, diversity and anti-discriminatory practice in all activities
• Ensure a consistently high quality of care and support in the organisation’s services
• Accept responsibility for own professional development to remain current and informed about new developments affecting practice.
• Participate the in development of overall Strategic plan.
• Managing your time effectively and productively, including multi-tasking and efficient prioritisation.
• Working flexibly on occasions, including weekend work and other events as required.
• The above list of duties is not exhaustive. To carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by your Line Manager, SMT or CEO.

Values

• Passionate about a strengths-based approach supporting individuals to contribute
• Compassionate and trauma-informed in their approach
• Believes in setting of challenging but achievable goals for those they support
• Demands high performance of self and colleagues
• Excellent communication skills
• Responsive to Members’ needs
• Works collaboratively and builds relationships with Members to establish the key issues and anticipate requirements
• Celebrates and promotes the service, the community and Members acting as an advocate for the Grassmarket Community Project