This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced programme quality professional to make a difference at a charity providing vital services to families across the UK. The Breastfeeding Network (BfN) is a family-friendly employer with an excellent reputation for quality-assured services, evidence-based training and information. The Programme Quality Manager is a member of BfN’s Senior Management Team. You will use your skills and experience in data and management of an experienced, multi-disciplinary team to support your colleagues to continually improve the impact, sustainability, effectiveness and relevance of our work and so to enhance BfN’s ability to influence and secure diverse funding sources. We are a Scottish registered charity making a difference to women and families across the UK.

An exciting opportunity has become available to join Families Outside as our Communications Officer. If you are passionate about making a difference for families impacted by imprisonment and working to tackle and reduce stigma, we want to hear from you!

Staff Benefits

• 25 flexible leave days plus 10 public holidays
• 4% matched contribution workplace pension scheme
• Hybrid & flexible working
• Employee Assistance Programme (Health Assured)
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Laptop and mobile phone for all staff

The Role

Joining a welcoming and friendly team, you will be working in a diverse and varied role, where no two days will look exactly the same. You’ll be involved in creating content for our social media channels, engaging with press, collaborating with teams across the organisation, developing resources, supporting our fundraising, working with families to bring their voice to the forefront of our communications, and more!

This is an exciting opportunity to take on a role that is vital to helping raise awareness of our service and the support we provide. Our communications are an integral part of Families Outside, and it is our goal for all families impacted by imprisonment in Scotland to know about our organisation.

About You

We are looking for someone who can work independently as well as part of a team, is organised, is confident using all social media platforms, and has an interest in helping vulnerable or marginalised groups.

We are looking for individuals who:

• Have excellent communication skills.
• Can effectively manage their own workload.
• Can collaborate with different teams to produce new ideas and opportunities.
• Can use a range of digital platforms and tools.
• Can demonstrate a strong understanding and commitment to our organisational mission and values.

About Us

Families Outside is the only national charity in Scotland that works solely to support families affected by imprisonment. Imprisonment can often have a huge impact on the things that matter most to families: money and secure housing, safe and connected relationships at home and in the community, and the emotional health and wellbeing of families. Families Outside is dedicated to providing a range of practical, social, and emotional support to people with someone in prison that are relationship-based, prison-aware, and family-focused.

Main Duties

The Employability Advisor will be responsible to Regional Co-Ordinator and will work as a member of OPFS Lanarkshire Employability Service, to provide employability support for single parents and young parents facing additional barriers to engaging with services, entering suitable employment, education, and training opportunities through one-to-one meetings and group work sessions.

Specific Duties

• Case Management: Work with single parents facing additional barriers, to access employability support by using case management methods, to provide a continuum of consistent support through each client’s journey of the Making Employability Works for Single Parents Employability Pathway and progress into suitable and sustainable employment.
• Barriers: Support clients to identify their presenting barriers to enter suitable employment, education and training opportunities and work with single parents to address those barriers.
• Initial Support: Enable single parents to identify their future goals, assess motivation, develop personal action plans, and support client’s access to suitable employability activities.
• Liaison: Build links with agencies, projects, organisations, and groups across the local authority area, to identify eligible young parents who would benefit from participating in a scheduled programme of employability support, that will enable them to access suitable employment, education, and training opportunities.
• Outreach & Engagement: Undertake activities to actively reach out to, and engage with, eligible single parents; supporting clients to build their confidence and develop their knowledge and awareness of the support and services available to them through OPFS’s Making Employability Work for Single Parents Employability Service.
• Work/Vocational Activities & Training: Co-ordinate and deliver a range of employability activities to single parents in 1-2-1 and group settings to enable parents facing additional barriers to employment to develop their knowledge, awareness and understanding of early work preparation, C.V development and core skills, helping to increase participants access to available employment, training, and education opportunities.
• Job Matching: Provide employability support to help single parents to become job ready through the provision of activities that focus on; active job searching, completing application forms, attending interviews and make informed decisions to secure and sustain suitable employment.
• In Work Support: Provide single parents facing additional barriers to sustain their employment role with continued support on entering employment and help single parents to progress within their working role.
• Signposting and Referral: Ensure that young parents gain access to the services and resources that will help to address their needs and support their progression along OPFS Making Employability Work for Single Parents Employability Service.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Ensure effective recording, monitoring and evaluation procedures are collated and produced on a regular monthly basis.
• Reporting, targets, and outcomes: Ensure project outcomes and targets are met in-line with funding application and submit comprehensive reports to the Services Manager on all areas of the work you are responsible for.
• Other relevant duties: Carrying out any other relevant duties related to the above.

The job description is a broad picture of the post at the time of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time.

Personal Specifications

Essential

1. Qualification: A relevant professional qualification or a good standard of education equivalent to HNC/HND, SVQ3 /4 or equivalent experience related to this area of work.
2. Experience of working in the employability support field.
3. Experience of group work: candidates should preferably have had experience of running groups and understand potential group work issues.
4. Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
5. Excellent IT skills.
6. Commitment to professional development.
7. Flexibility to meet the needs of the services.
8. Driving license and use of a vehicle.

Desirable:

1. Experience of working with single parents: Prior experience of work with families headed by a single parent in a voluntary sector or statutory context.

Terms & Conditions

1. Period of appointment: The post is funded until 31st March 2025. Confirmation of appointment will be dependent on completion of a satisfactory three-month probation period, satisfactory reference, and Disclosure checks.
2. Salary: OPFS salary scale points 13-17: £23,915 to £29,230 per annum (Appointments will be made at a point reflective of previous experience).
3. Hours of work: up to 35 hours weekly with flexibility to meet the needs of clients. Part time hours also considered
4. Holidays: Annual leave entitlement is 25 days and 12 Public holidays, pro rata for part time hours
5. Pension: You will be auto enrolled from your start date. OPFS pays 7% of your salary and you pay a minimum of 3%.
6. Training, support, and supervision: OPFS is committed to the development of its staff through internal training and access to external training. We also have an annual staff appraisal system in place and all staff receive regular monthly support and supervision from their manager.
7. Equal Opportunities and Family Friendly Employment: OPFS aims to be an equal opportunity and family friendly employer. We have Investors in People status and Living Wage accreditation.

About Aberlour…

We are a values driven organisation delivering around 50 services across Scotland supporting children, young people and families.

Our development team delivers success. We are growing year on year and are looking for the right person to help us continue our success through funding and developing new services and improving organisational sustainability to enable us to reach even more children and families.

What we are looking for...

In joining our dedicated Business Development Team, you will use your experience and knowledge of developing and coordinating tender responses and funding applications to provide a comprehensive and specialist support to the organisation. You will report directly to our Head of Business Development and work closely with specialists to negotiate their contributions and keep projects to completion deadlines.

You will have written and delivered high quality, successful public tenders, ideally in a social care or equivalent environment and have the ability to present information and ideas engaging a wide range of stakeholders.

What we offer...

As well as a supportive team, 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, life assurance worth 3x salary and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers.