Jobs in Scottish Borders

Tweedsmuir is a remote rural area in the Scottish Borders. It is within the Upper Tweed locality of Scottish Borders Council and is bounded to the South by Dumfries and Galloway Council and by South Lanarkshire Council to the West. The small population is scattered over a wide area. Tweedsmuir is one of the most sparsely populated areas in the Borders and is within the top 10% most deprived areas in Scotland for its geographical isolation.

Tweedsmuir Community Company (TCC), a registered charity, is looking to employ a part-time Community Development Manager, to help with delivery of their new 5-year Community Action Plan (CAP).

This plan sets out the actions needed to ensure Tweedsmuir continues to develop and thrive as a vibrant and sustainable community, to shape its future, address its needs and make the most of its assets.

The plan clearly identified the need for a Community Development Manager. Working in partnership with the community and other organisations and agencies they will take the lead to ensure the delivery of the plan’s ambitious objectives.

The postholder should be passionate about community engagement, development and capacity building with a demonstrable record of delivery, able to turn ideas into action and engage with and influence a range of stakeholders.

The delivery of the new CAP will offer new challenges for the board of TCC, who have previously managed specific projects, with clear objectives, delivered by a funded contractor appointed by the TCC, contributing to the successful delivery of the first CAP. The requirement of the TCC to respond to the needs and aspirations of Tweedsmuir will be an increasing challenge for the small board of volunteers, as the size and scope of the projects increases. The success of the organisation so far has relied heavily on a huge amount of volunteer input.

The Community Development Manager will report regularly to the Board and feedback to Tweedsmuir Community Council (the body which has ownership of the CAP), and will deliver outcomes based on the decisions made through discussions between Community Council and the Community Company.

Key Areas within the role

• Maintain, clarify and expand the partnership working agreements with external partners such as:
  • Tweedsmuir Community Council
  • Destination Tweed
  • Southern Upland Partnership
  • Talla/Hartfell Wildlands Area
  • Borders Forest Trust
  • Connecting Threads
  • Buglife

• Develop and implement an effective communication strategy:
  • Internally with the Community Company and Community Council
  • To membership of the Community Company
  • Locally (Tweedsmuir)
  • Wider community (Upper Tweed)
  • Nationally – developing tourism

• Communication methods
  • Publicity
  • Website
  • Social media
  • With funders

By the end of the six-month period of development the TCC should have cemented their partner working and improved both internal and external communication

Actions to undertake year 1

Work with TCC board and local community to develop a delivery plan for Tweedsmuir Community Company.

This will involve:

• Using the Action Plan to set priorities, actions and delivery (with input from community) to create a delivery plan. This delivery plan will identify how the CAP will be delivered over the next 5 years.
• Identifying funding requirements within CAP and securing funding
• Implementing the Comms strategy to improve communication internally and externally.
• Working as part of the CAP to explore solutions to the other Crook Inn site developments.

After Year 1

Progress report and planning of the next steps in the 5-year CAP would inform the annual targets.

This project is a 5-year plan and options to fund the Community Development Manager over the whole life time of the plan must be considered and actioned in a timely way.

Part-time role - two days per week

Salary - £16,016 (£40,040 pro rata)

One-year fixed term contract, with grant funding secured.

Funding options are currently being explored for future years.

If you have any questions about the role, please email enquiries@tweedsmuir.scot

The number of places we can offer and the geography this programme will be available in, is entirely dependent on funding.

Applications are being accepted Scotland wide, but are particularly welcome from people living in the following areas where the project has previously been or is currently being funded:

Argyll and Bute, Borders, Glasgow, East Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Highland, Inverclyde, Fife, & North Lanarkshire

Do you have lived/living experience of drug and / or alcohol problems?

Are you at the stage in your life where you are ready for employment in the drug and alcohol field?

At SDF, we support, train, and prepare people with personal lived and living experience of their own substance use, to enter the drug, alcohol, and wider social care workforce.

We do this by supporting you through an intensive programme of formal learning and paid work placements.

At SDF, we believe your experience of drug and / or alcohol problems is a strength and the perspective you will offer as a trainee will be valued.

We will provide:

· access to a programme of quality assured training from our specialist workforce development teams.

· a fully funded SVQ level 2 in Social Services and Healthcare with our SQA Learning Centre.

· intensive support, this extends to IT and includes a device to use, we will also provide access to a confidential Employee Assistance programme

We will also provide a salary: £12,192 over the 39 week duration of the course

As a Trainee with SDF, you will learn how to support people who are currently experiencing drug and alcohol problems. You will be supported to use your own experience alongside professional training during a nine-month paid work placement in one of our local partner agencies.

The qualification we will support you to achieve is the industry standard for working in the drug, alcohol and wider health and social care field, and will open up long term employment opportunities for you.

You will also connect with and become part of a tight-knit group of peers and future friends who will be on the programme with you. Alongside your Co-ordinator, they will support you every step of the way.

We offer a monthly salary and a fixed term contract of 30 hours per week for 39 weeks. You will be offered paid study time in these hours, to support you to complete your SVQ.

If you are interested in developing a career in the drug, alcohol, and wider social care field, you have personal lived or living experience of your own substance use, and you feel ready for employment, we would love to hear from you.

Please come along to one of our online information sessions which will be held on the following dates:

- 10th November 1-3pm (Online via Zoom)

- 14th November 10.30-12.30pm (Glasgow – venue TBC)

- 20th November 10.30-12.30pm (Edinburgh – venue TBC)

- 29th November 10.30-12.30 (Online via Zoom)

These sessions will allow you to get answers to any questions you may have around the programme and will be an opportunity for you to meet the Project Support Team prior to applying.

Please email Marieb@sdf.org.uk to register your interest in attending one of the sessions.

If you cannot attend the information sessions and want an informal chat about the project, please contact 0141 221 1175 and we will arrange for a member of our team to call you back.

We are looking for a Treasurer to join our Board of Trustees to help guide and advise us on financial matters.

We would be keen to hear from someone who would like to become part of our dedicated and passionate team of Trustees and staff. You should have finance/accounting experience and knowledge of financial systems and reporting.

We work with people and providers to promote equality and support change in health and social care. We do this by developing partnerships between people with lived experience, carers, third sector organisations, the health and social care partnership and other relevant organisations – to promote good practice in the co-production of health and social care services.

The Board of Trustees comprises local providers and individual members of Borders Care Voice. It meets four times a year (remotely just now) and holds the annual general meeting between September and December.

Travel costs and all out of pocket expenses are reimbursed.

We are currently seeking a new finance director to join our board and we hope to find someone who has experience of financial management and accountancy. Our current finance director will remain on the board and will be a source of support for the new finance director. We would like our Board to be representative of our local community and so would welcome approaches from people who live locally or have lived experience of the issues facing our clients. We encourage applications from all sectors of the community and you do not need to have board experience to apply, we will support you with tailored training based on your level of experience.

Role and responsibilities

As well as bearing all the fiduciary duty of a board officer, the finance director is the person specifically entrusted with management of the bureau funds. They will deal with much of the day-to-day financial business and will play a key role in planning a clear fundraising strategy. The finance director is also responsible for ensuring that accurate records are maintained and the board is informed of all relevant financial matters.

The tasks associated with this post are:

• liaising with and advising the Manager and Board on financial matters
• controlling and accounting for the bureau’s finances, ensuring that full financial records are kept for all transactions and carrying out all approved banking transactions
• liaising with the payroll administrator on monthly salary payments to paid staff
• ensuring that proper financial procedures and accounting practice are in place to safeguard the bureau’s resources
• preparing financial statements for board meetings and for the annual general meeting
• liaise with the appointed Independent examiner for the annual review of accounts
• preparing an annual budget and advising the board of its financial requirements for the year ahead

Please note this role is a voluntary one and is not remunerated.

The Supported Housing Worker role requires assisting in the management of the development thus ensuring the tenants are able to enjoy an acceptable standard of living in an environment which is clean, safe and friendly. You will be responsible for overseeing the wellbeing of the tenants and for assisting them in maintaining their independence.

As Housing Care Worker your role will involve working with our tenants to ensure they receive the support and personal care identified in their care plans. You will directly support tenants in their homes by providing individual advice, practical housing support assistance and personal care.

Both roles are to ensure that we are able to offer the best service to our tenants and make it possible for our tenants to continue enjoying as much independent living as they’re able.

As well as a competitive annual salary, our valued team also benefits from:

• competitive hourly rates of £10.50 - £10.88 per hour
• guaranteed rota hours working between 7.30am & 10pm
• generous annual leave entitlement
• a choice of pension scheme with employer contributions
• flexible working policies
• access to extensive paid training and development opportunities
• a supportive and inclusive culture.

We also have opportunities with our Trust Staff Agency - for employees who want to work across different locations, in various roles, with highly flexible hours to suit family commitments - it's a great opportunity with the same training and development that our other roles benefit from.

Previous experience working in social care or the housing sector would be an advantage but this is not always necessary. Our ideal candidate is someone with enthusiasm, a caring nature and willingness to learn as full training, support and ongoing development will be provided.