Jobs in Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy, Fife

Are you passionate about helping people to live a better life? Do you want to work for a charity where your health and wellbeing matter just as much as the people you support? Do you want to be part of a trauma-informed team where you will be supported to develop creative and flexible ways of working?

At LinkLiving, our values and people are at the heart of everything we do including how we recruit our staff. It is important for us to find people who share our values, which are:

• Empathy (listen to and understand an individual’s needs and circumstances)
• Respect (treat others the way they wish to be treated)
• Integrity (be honest and have strong moral principles)
• Caring (show kindness and concern for others)

LinkLiving is a Scottish health and wellbeing charity that supports people to manage or overcome the effects of negative life experiences (including trauma, mental health challenges, poverty and inequality) so that they can build on their strengths and aspirations in order to live their best possible lives. We support people through a range of models including:

• Personal development and employability programmes
• Self-help coaching
• Supported accommodation
• Care at home
• Housing support
• Befriending
• Social cafes

The Service

The Link Academy team works primarily with people with complex backgrounds. The experiences of these young people often result in low self-esteem and confidence, poor mental health and a pattern of destructive behaviours. Because of this, these young people find it difficult to manage key transitions such as moving into work or training, into a tenancy or leaving care. The service works hard and creatively to maintain the early engagement of participants. By offering mental health and wellbeing programmes, independent living skills and a wide range of qualifications to support their progression, we give young people the tools to better manage their own mental health. Doing so helps them break negative and destructive cycles of behaviour and thinking, with the aim of putting them on the path to having the best life possible. Staff are trained in using a trauma-informed approach to support young people to build confidence, develop resilience and realise their goals for the future.

The Job

The purpose of the Development Worker role is to provide support to children and young people with a range of issues affecting their lives to achieve their goals and aspirations by providing guidance and practical tools to enhance their knowledge and skills. The Development Worker will provide support and offer guidance to young people, and develop training to help young people address the issues facing them and guide them towards a positive destination. You will support the achievement of high standards and provide monitoring information in relation to the programme’s outcomes.

LinkLiving aims to provide volunteering and ongoing learning and capacity building opportunities to enable more vulnerable people to actively participate in our service. This role will support that aim by ensuring that opportunities are provided to course participants equipping them with the skills to make a valuable contribution to the service and their wider community. The Development Worker will develop relationships with other agencies and services and actively promote LinkLiving’s volunteer programmes and employability services.

About You

The post holder must be educated to HNC level or equivalent and possess a SCQF Assessor and Verifier Qualification/ LD9-LD11, or be willing to work towards obtaining this. You will be required to have experience in the delivery and development of training programmes. You will have experience of working with young people with complex needs/backgrounds and will have the ability and understanding of how to build positive relationships with people using a trauma-informed approach.

It is essential that the post holder has an understanding of issues affecting young people and demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to people’s emotional and social health. The postholder will have knowledge and understanding of Scottish policies and mental health self-help resources.

The Development Worker will have effective communication skills, including excellent written, oral and IT skills and will have a non-judgmental attitude and willingness to embrace diversity.

You must be able to prioritise and plan your own and other members of the team workload and will have the ability to create relationships/partnerships with other voluntary, employability and statutory agencies.

The postholder must have a current driving license and access to a roadworthy car.

For a comprehensive list of the essential and desirable criteria required for this post, please refer to the Job Specification in the Job information Pack.

What’s in it for you?

The benefits of being a LinkLiving employee (subject to the policies and benefit terms and conditions) include:

• Competitive salary, reviewed annually, and opportunity for annual performance related salary increases and discretionary non-consolidated pay awards, subject to terms of the scheme
• 35 days’ holiday per year (inclusive of public holidays) pro rata plus additional 3 days pro rata after 3 years’ service
• opportunity to buy and sell holidays
• enhanced company sick and family-friendly pay
• access to paid qualifications and a wide range of learning and development opportunities
• funded Disclosure Scotland and Scottish Social Services Council memberships
• defined contribution pension scheme with generous employer contributions plus salary exchange and additional voluntary contribution options
• access to an Electric vehicle leasing scheme, subject to the terms of the scheme
• life assurance scheme providing death in service benefits to named beneficiaries
• healthcare cash plan for employees (and dependents) to support health and wellbeing plus discounts on shopping, restaurants, and other services
• employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate household dependants to support health, mental and financial well-being
• annual flu vaccination
• access to a savings and borrowing scheme
• cycle to work scheme
• monthly bus pass scheme
• season/travel ticket loan and much more!

For a full list of benefits available to employees, please see the following link - linkliving.org.uk/work-with-us

This post is subject to Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme registration. Link will meet the cost of any new PVG scheme membership or scheme record update.

Further Information

Interested? If you have any questions about the role, please email jobs@linkhaltd.co.uk and we can arrange for someone from the service to call you for an informal chat.

To find out more about what LinkLiving do and to view the generous pay and benefits package, please visit our website at linkliving.org.uk