VOCAL - Voice of Carers Across Lothian - seeks two enthusiastic and experienced Carer Brokerage Practitioners to join its busy and expanding team to provide brokerage support to carers across Edinburgh and Midlothian.

VOCAL is a carer-led organisation and provides a wide range of services to support unpaid carers in their caring role. Postholders will be expected to work as part of a team, improve outcomes for carers and maximise uptake of VOCAL and community services.

Postholders will be part of a SDS focused project, VOCAL about Independent Living funded by Support in the Right Direction, Inspiring Scotland. They will liaise with staff, relevant organisations and the funder whilst running the project, including Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living (LCiL) who will also have a funded post as part of this project . SDS carer support is already well established at VOCAL, and postholders will be able to benefit from the expertise of the practitioners who have been involved with SDS support to date.

Applicants will evidence excellent people, and communication skills, brokerage and person-centred support work. Applicants will also demonstrate awareness of the diverse range of caring situations, the impact of caring on peoples’ lives and barriers carers face at different points of the caring journey. Good working knowledge of health and social care will be expected, with preference given to candidates with applied knowledge of self-directed support. Applicants will be digitally competent and effective communicators with individuals, carer groups and partner agencies.

Join CrossReach Counselling Scotland’s well-respected counselling team and make a profound difference to the lives of clients.

You already know the incredible power of therapeutic care. The impact you can make with a thoughtful question, a gentle prompt, open ears and a human connection. Every day in our counselling services we see and value how these skills can transform people’s lives. And that’s why we value professionals like you. The demand has never been higher for our expertise and with dedicated teams working across our services, we are making a profound difference to our communities. You’ll be part of a close-knit team providing therapeutic face-to-face and online support in one of our Edinburgh-based services - working with children, young people and adults.

It’s a role for a seasoned professional, with a Diploma in Counselling or equivalent. Excellent communication skills and plenty of post-qualifying practice hours go without saying, while experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams and with volunteers would also be a plus.

We would be particularly interested to hear from you if you have experience of working with children and young people, adults in the perinatal period or adults impacted by drug use.

At CrossReach, even though we’re one of Scotland’s largest voluntary social care charities – with a 1,600-strong team working across 60 services around the country – we genuinely value the individual. For our clients that means being treated with respect and care, regardless of the circumstances. For professionals like you, it means being part of a genuinely caring environment where you can contribute ideas, have your needs recognised and help shape your role around your ambitions.

As a relief member of staff, you will have the flexibility to work as and when you want, with as few or as many shifts as you are able - with evening work available. This is a great way to achieve a work life balance, fitting work in around your other commitments. This role offers the right candidate an outstanding opportunity to join an established and well respected counselling service and to focus on what really matters – the clients.

As we do our work in Christ’s name you must be respectful of our Christian Ethos and be able to work within it.

This post requires you to be a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme and undertake the necessary vetting checks.

We have a legal obligation to ensure that it does not employ any worker who has not been granted the relevant permission to work in the UK. This permission is without exception granted by UK Visas and Immigrations. We are required to check the entitlement to work in the UK of all prospective employees, regardless of nationality or job category

If you have any queries regarding this role or our recruitment process, please contact the Recruitment team on recruitment.team@crossreach.org.uk

Fife Carers Centre seeks a Carer Support Worker (Localities) to join their team.

Fife Carers Centre is a well-regarded and well-established organisation that has supported thousands of families and unpaid carers throughout Fife since 1995. The vision of Fife Carers Centre is to ensure that unpaid carers throughout Fife are valued, recognised, and supported to have equal access to a good quality of life that is not prejudiced by their caring role.

You will be based at the Fife Carers Centre in Kirkcaldy, but you will also be working from home and in the community, as part of normal work you will be expected to travel throughout Fife, particularly in the City of Dunfermline area.

Your work will include providing a sensitive, person-centred support service for unpaid and family carers. You’ll be assisting carers to maintain their physical and mental wellbeing by providing carers with a comprehensive information service to enable them to make informed choices about their own emotional, physical, and economic wellbeing. This will include giving one-to-one support to carers in order that they know how to access services helping them to develop self-advocacy and, where necessary, advocate on the carer’s behalf.

You’ll be supporting carers to identify and achieve their own outcomes using the Carer Support Planning process and providing carers with a benefit check, assisting with benefit applications, and very importantly providing a listening ear for carers.