Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our mission is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland and we currently have over 3500 Care Experienced members.

At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual lifelong relationship-based independent advocacy and a broad range of imaginative participatory and engagement opportunities for Care Experienced people across Scotland. We work alongside Corporate Parents and communities to broaden understanding and create change. We work with policy makers, leaders, and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy, and practice, working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.

This unique role offers the opportunity to listen to and work directly with children and young people with experience of care, in an individual relationship-based advocacy role, and within participation and group activity across our West Central region.

The post-holder will be a key member of the Advocacy and Participation team within the West Central team, supporting young people from across the region and wider Local Authorities, as well as in educational settings, to ensure their rights are upheld and their voices are heard. In this role you will have the opportunity to provide independent advocacy, children’s rights, and participation opportunities for children and young people who are looked after, Care Experienced or subject to formal processes and structures. The role will see you actively participating in child’s plan meetings, children’s hearings, and other formal processes, as well as assisting children and young people to prepare for them. In partnership with professionals, carers, and organisations, you will help to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people by keeping detailed records of the work you undertake, writing liaison reports, and monitoring statistics.

As a vital part of the work of Who Cares? Scotland, your role will include facilitating group opportunities for and with children and young people within Stirling and at Seamab School. This includes providing engagement and participation opportunities throughout the Who Cares? Scotland local and national network, as well as meeting with care experienced children and young people to introduce the service in agreement with the local authority. Raising awareness of Who Cares? Scotland and its services with children, young people, professionals, and carers you will also be responsible for facilitating training amongst care corporate parents.

The right candidate for this post will be able to form positive relationships with children and young people and have good interpersonal skills. You will feel confident communicating with individuals and groups, both in writing and verbally, and be able to adapt to a wide range of contexts. Secure in making effective plans, as well as evidencing your work, you can prioritise and meet deadlines. You take enjoyment from working collaboratively with partners, believing in equal opportunities and inclusive working. Committed to children’s rights, you are someone who knows that all young people can make transformative change happen in their lives if given the opportunity. You can demonstrate knowledge of the current structure, developments, policy, and practice in relation to children and young people experiencing care in Scotland. You are also flexible, given the remit of the role, as some evening and weekend work will be necessary, along with a full driving licence and access to transport.

While we would welcome the knowledge gathered through relevant qualifications, we are just as interested in relevant work experience. We welcome and encourage applications from those with experience of care.

The successful candidate will be joining Who Cares? Scotland and working within the West Central team at an exciting time, when the voices of those who are in or have experienced care are growing in power, individually and collectively - bringing with them insight, challenge, hope and change.

We are looking to recruit a permanent Family Support Coordinator to join our team based in Raploch. Home-Start Stirling works with families who have at least one child under the age of five years and are experiencing challenging times. Home-Start Stirling provides support within the family home by trained volunteers with the aim of helping families to achieve lasting change that will improve the early life environment for their children. As Family Support Coordinator you will be expected to coordinate support to families, provide support and supervision to volunteers allocated to families on your caseload, some direct work with parents and children and this could include facilitation of some groupwork.

Previous experience of working with children and families is essential. Facilitation of training and working with volunteers would be desirable. Experience of working within the Third Sector would be an advantage.

Full driving licence and use of a car would be desirable but not essential.

This post is also subject to registration with the SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council) and therefore the candidate will have to hold a minimum level of HNC/SVQ 3 qualification in a related field.

About Sycamore Fife

The Aberlour Sycamore Services are based in Fife and are widely recognised in Scotland for providing a range of quality therapeutic residential, education and fostering experiences for some of the most vulnerable young people in the country. The Service is a national resource and as such receives referrals from throughout Scotland.

What we are looking for....

We are looking to recruit 2 Residential Workers to join our Sycamore Services team in our home in Kirkcaldy. You should be enthusiastic, warm, playful, accepting, curious and empathetic and be able to bring these qualities to your work with children and young people. Our approach is to work in a therapeutic way to support the vulnerable children and young people who live in our residential houses.

Our night worker will play a crucial role, providing security to the young people if any of them are unable to sleep or become unsettled during the night. This can be particularly difficult for the young people and your ability to adopt a calm and comforting approach is a key skill to help them through these difficult experiences.

You must be comfortable working in a culture based on respect, integrity, innovation and the ability to challenge. You should be able to work in a nurturing way, enabling the children and young people to feel safe and loved. We are looking for individuals who will help us to achieve our vision, which is to:

• Provide the best option in Scotland for children who require to live in residential care;
• Provide the best life-long learning environment in Scotland which supports children to lead happy and successful lives;
• Be the best place in Scotland for staff to have a fulfilling work experience and to achieve their individual and collective potential.

Through a wide variety of learning and development opportunities we support our staff to be as effective as they can be, equipping them to employ best practice in their work and to be exceptional role models for the children and for staff.

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.

Do you have relevant experience of working with children and young people with a disability/and or autism or relevant experience in a similar sector or work environment?

About Options Ayrshire

Our Service is a busy respite care unit for children and young people with additional support needs, including complex learning and physical disabilities. As well as providing short residential breaks the service offers outreach to families and is also involved in the managing and running of an after school club as well as a busy Easter and Summer play scheme.

Our after school club is based outside of Ayr within a building at Mosshill Industrial Estate. Our disability support service offers a safe, nurturing environment for a child to come and play for a short break that gives their families a rest from their caring role. During that break, children enjoy a range of fun activities and experiences with our staff who specialise in taking care of children with disabilities.

What we are looking for...

Working as part of the staff team you will ensure that the highest level of physical and emotional care is provided to the children and young people using the Out of School Club. Ideally, you will have experience of working with this group of young people.

This post is for 15 hours per week, term time only (38 weeks over a full year). This post attracts a 5% unsocial hours allowance. You will be required to be on the SSSC Day Care of Children register and meet, or be prepared to gain, the qualifications requirements for this category which is at SCQF level 6 (for example, SVQ Level 3 or HNC).

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. Aberlour’s values are critical and drive everything we do. We will be looking for someone who can demonstrate how Aberlour’s values of Respect, Innovation, Integrity and Challenge will be visible in their practice.

What we offer...

You will receive a planned and supported induction consisting of a varied training programme, including Child Protection. You will be working alongside a highly motivated and skilled team. Find out more about our Employee Benefits and our commitment to Equality and Diversity on our website.

Aberlour is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of all our service users and uses a thorough and rigorous recruitment and selection process including PVG Scheme checks to ensure this commitment is not compromised.

If you have any queries please e-mail: jobs@aberlour.org.uk