Jobs in Tweeddale West, 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

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.