At Children 1st our ambition is for every child in Scotland to be safe, loved and well with their family. As a charity we offer emotional, practical, and financial support to help families to put children first and campaign to uphold the rights of every child.

We support the whole family when they need it, for as long as they need it. We offer help to prevent families reaching crisis point, to keep children safe and to support children and families to recover from trauma and harm.

This important and exciting position plays a role in both the day to day running of the Edinburgh office and in cross organisational administration matters, assisting with the management of health and safety and working with service teams in all of Children 1st locations.

This role within the Corporate Services Team will involve:

• managing the efficient running of our current headquarters in Edinburgh as well as leading the administration support team to provide high quality administrative support across Children 1st.

• acting as the main point of contact in the administrative support team

• supporting teams across the country with property and facilities management of service bases

• working with internal teams and external contractors to ensure all legal and statutory requirements are met throughout the property portfolio.

• maintaining organisational and property files, registers and working collaboratively with all members of the Corporate Services Team to maintain high levels of confidentiality and data security

The post holder will be the key point of contact for organisational Health and Safety requirements, will manage the property database, and will maintain office supplies and records, in addition to overseeing contractors and reviewing corporate contracts.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Children 1st team in Midlothian as a peer support worker. You will provide support to parents impacted by substance use and poor mental health and their families. You will be skilled in “getting alongside” parents with a compassionate approach, using your own lived experience of substance use, poverty and poor mental health amongst other factors, to form trusting relationships, facilitating lasting, meaningful change.

The role will be varied, including 1:1 and group based supports which will see you supporting parents to engage in mutual aid meetings, attend health and wellbeing appointments, be more connected in recovery communities and feel more confident. You will support parents in their understanding of how substance use has impacted on both themselves and their family, and working with colleagues help families to strengthen their relationships with each other.

If you have compassion, are skilled at forming trusting relationships, dedication to making a meaningful difference, are non judgemental and can evidence stability in your lived experience, we would be interested in hearing from you. You will be expected to have an understanding / experience of recovery orientated support and an awareness of the supports available in the Midlothian community.

What kind of person will make a great peer worker for Children 1st?

• is fiercely passionate about supporting parents and their families through recovery
• thinks it’s a privilege to work with and on behalf of parents, children and their families
• is kind and will bring their whole selves to the job: heart and mind
• is committed to being part of a wider team to promote meaningful change for families.
• is flexible and creative in their approach

Further Information

This is a full time position however we are open to accepting applications from people who are interested in working a minimum of 14 hours, up to 35 hours.

We're thrilled that you're considering a career with Action for Children so here's what you need to know….

About Us

At Action for Children, we believe that every child should have a safe and happy childhood. Last year, we helped more than 600,000 children and families across the UK. We work to ensure their voices are heard, and campaign to bring lasting change to their lives.

The role

Through our Employability Services we provide a range of programmes, services and support structures enabling young people to progress positively into activity that further enhances their learning and employment opportunities.

This role will be working in our Youthbuild team who deliver this construction programme aimed at 16-24-year olds who have faced considerable disadvantage and who may face a range of issues/barriers affecting their ability to maintain and sustain employment. The Youthbuild programme provides participants with a comprehensive 4 week in-house training programme followed by a work placement and 6 months paid employment within the construction industry. Each young person is assigned a dedicated key worker to support them through the duration of the Youthbuild programme.

You will make a difference by:

• Providing a responsive, high quality and customer focused service to young people seeking to enter the labour market and our partners based on an assessment of need that is regularly and professionally reviewed and the development of aspirational action plans which are outcomes driven.
• Applying Action for Children's and professional practice standards and ensuring their implementation as necessary and being proactive in their implementation.
• Managing and co-ordinate a caseload of young people, providing a range of targeted interventions to assist their entry to the labour market through group, coordinated or individual support.
• Delivering of a range of group work modules that contribute to our overall employability programmes, promoting inclusion and allowing for individual learning styles.

You will need:

• An SVQ 3 in Social Care, Guidance or equivalent.
• Experience of working in group settings with young people facing multiple barriers.
• Knowledge and understanding of young people facing unemployment.
• A full driving licence and access to a car to use for business
• Knowledge/Experience of the Construction industry would be beneficial

Working here is so much more than a job. Whether this is a career change for you or the next step in your journey, we'd love to hear from you.

We work together to reach our vision of safe and happy childhoods. A diverse workforce enriches the lives of the children and young people we work with and we welcome applications from everyone. We value and celebrate our differences and as an inclusive workplace we want everyone to be themselves.

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 3,500 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 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 for Care Experienced people.

The Education and Engagement Officer will work as part of the Education and Engagement Team at Who Cares? Scotland, reporting to the Education and Engagement Manager. The post holder’s main responsibilities will be to develop positive relationships with Corporate Parents; to design and deliver education and learning projects and activities for Corporate Parents and relevant stakeholders that will help drive positive lasting change for Care Experienced people in Scotland.

You will be joining the Education and Engagement Team at an exciting time, sitting within a wider Engagement and Influence Directorate. You will collaborate with colleagues to support the influencing of policy makers, leaders, and elected representatives locally and nationally. You will utilise Each and Every Child framing to play a key role in our anti-stigma approach for Care Experienced people.

The right candidate will be a highly effective communicator, facilitator and presenter and have a keen interest and skill in communicating complex policy landscapes to a wide audience in engaging ways. Knowledge and experience of delivering learning programmes is essential, as is the ability to present to senior professionals across the public, private and third sector. The location of the postholder is flexible, however they will be expected to travel across Scotland, with a focus on the central belt, to fulfil their remit. Occasional evening and weekend work, including overnight stays, is a requirement of the role.

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