Aberlour Guardianship Scotland - National Child Trafficking Support Service

About Aberlour Guardianship Scotland

Guardianship Scotland is a specialist statutory service providing Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTG) to all unaccompanied asylum seeking children, victims of trafficking and children vulnerable to trafficking who arrive in Scotland. We deliver this in partnership with Aberlour and Scottish Refugee Council on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The children and young people we help in Guardianship have been through unimaginable traumas. Now, they must cope with being apart from their families in a strange, new country. They face language and cultural barriers, and they enter complex systems which include the welfare, asylum and trafficking processes which are very complicated, and it can be difficult for them to understand.

We support young people to understand these processes, stand by the young peoples’ side throughout these processes, support them to access the help they need and advocate when needed to ensure their views are clearly listened to. Our guardians support the young people to make informed decisions about their future and to settle into a new life in Scotland.

Could you be the person to support children to navigate complex processes and feel empowered throughout? We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team.

What we are looking for....

We are looking to recruit nine Guardians, 2 based in Aberdeen, 1 in Inverness, 2 in Edinburgh and 4 in Glasgow. This service is Scotland wide, and you will at times be required to travel to other Local Authorities. You will work 37.5 hours per week, these hours will be worked in line with the needs of the young people and service and may include evenings and weekends.

Please specify in your Supporting Statement your preferred work location.

We are looking for candidates who have a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 8 and has, or is prepared to work towards, the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner Level 2 Registration.

You will have experience of working with young people and children, dealing with child/adult protection issues, experience of advocacy work, inter-agency and partnership working and a good knowledge or experience of the asylum systems.

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. To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employeesclick here

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. Find out more about our Employee Benefits and our commitment to Equality and Diversityhere.

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.

“I lost my kids a few times they went to foster care and I would have gone to a place like this if I had the chance. This is badly needed. I hid my drug use and people only found out about it when I had my baby and she was in withdrawal. I loved my daughter and would have welcomed something like this.” A mother who has been supported by Aberlour.

About Aberlour’s Mother and Child Recovery House

Aberlour is proud to be working in partnership with the Scottish Government to establish a new dedicated Mother and Child Residential Recovery House in central Falkirk. Building on the success of our house in Dundee, also funded by the Scottish Government, which opened just over a year ago, our service is designed to enable children of women with problem alcohol and other drug use to stay with their mothers during recovery. Aberlour’s approach to rehabilitation aims to deliver positive outcomes for women and their children. The house will accommodate up to 4 women and their children under 5 years old.

We will be using the Parents Under Pressure (PuP) program which combines psychological principles relating to parenting, child behaviour and parental emotion regulation within a case management model. The program is highly individualised to suit each family. Mothers are given their own Workbook and for many of them this becomes a personal journal of their treatment experience. The overarching aim of the PuP program is to help parents facing adversity to develop positive and secure relationships with their children. Within this strength-based approach, the family environment becomes more nurturing and less conflictual. Full training on the PuP programme will be provided to the whole team.

“Too many women with problem drug and alcohol issues are having their young children taken into care and many other women won’t engage with support agencies for fear of their children being removed. The new houses will improve outcomes for these women and children; reduce deaths of mothers with problem drug use; avoid family breakdown and increase the likelihood of children being cared for by their parents.”

Aberlour Chief Executive SallyAnn Kelly

What we are looking for....

Our relief workers play an essential role in supporting our team. This work is offered on a casual, hourly paid basis to provide cover during staff absence and/or during particularly busy periods. Availability should be specified on your application form.

Ideally you will have experience of direct work with vulnerable families to support improved capacity for women and children and of working collaboratively with other professional agencies and a working knowledge of drug/alcohol use and its effects on women and children.

Applicants should hold a relevant professional qualification at least SCQF level 7 or

equivalent knowledge acquired by other means with a willingness to obtain the required qualifications for SSSC Registration.

We strongly encourage people to apply who have lived experience of alcohol or drug use, with a minimum of 2 years living in recovery, free from all drug use and problematic drinking. People with lived experience will provide crucial insight into the issues being faced by the women and children.

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.

About Aberlour Guardianship Scotland

Guardianship Scotland is a specialist statutory service providing Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTG) to all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, victims of trafficking and children vulnerable to trafficking who arrive in Scotland. We deliver this in partnership with Aberlour and Scottish Refugee Council on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The children and young people we help in Guardianship have been through unimaginable traumas. Now, they must cope with being apart from their families in a strange, new country. They face language and cultural barriers, and they enter complex systems which include the welfare, asylum and trafficking processes which are very complicated, and it can be difficult for them to understand.

We support young people to understand these processes, stand by the young peoples’ side throughout these processes, support them to access the help they need and advocate when needed to ensure their views are clearly listened to. Our guardians support the young people to make informed decisions about their future and to settle into a new life in Scotland.

What we are looking for....

We are looking to recruit an experienced administrator. You will support the service with general and financial administrative tasks, as well as respond to enquiries via phone and email. You will have administrative experience gained through working within a busy office or social care environment. You will be experienced working with Microsoft Office packages including Excel and be able to create spreadsheets and deal with numerical information. You will have excellent communication and organisational skills. A sensitive approach to dealing with vulnerable people will be beneficial.

You will ideally have a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 7 or equivalent experience of working in a busy office environment, to find out more information on what we are looking for in candidates click here

Find out more information on what we are looking for in candidates here.

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. To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees, visit our website.

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. Find out more about our Employee Benefits and our commitment to Equality and Diversity on our website.