Are you an enthusiastic, creative, dynamic individual who loves working with children and is committed to the realisation of children’s human rights. Children’s Parliament is excited to be recruiting for a Project Officer in our Child Human Rights Defenders Team.

“If we’re listened to and taken seriously it makes us feel like our rights are real.”

Member of Children’s Parliament

The Project Officer will primarily be working with our Child Human Rights Defenders, to empower them to influence national policy, practice and legislation on key issues important to children across Scotland. There will be opportunities to support the wider development, delivery and reporting on a range of child human rights’ projects across Scotland.

Passionate about children, an excellent communicator and highly organised, the post holder will contribute to our work to support the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and deliver human rights for children.

The role is offered on a full-time basis of 35 hours per week.

This is a Scotland wide post with an office base at the Children’s Parliament in Edinburgh. Regular working at our Children’s Parliament office is required. Our office moves to Norton Park in Leith in September 2026. We offer flexible working and we are happy to discuss working patterns.

Overview of the Role

Children’s Parliament demonstrates children’s rights in action, supporting children to influence policy, practice and legislation, and we build the capacity and win the hearts and minds of adults to realise children’s human rights. Following the incorporation of children’s rights into Scots law, Children’s Parliament has a critical role to play to support the implementation of children’s human rights in the everyday.

In this context the role of the Project Officer is to embed the views, experiences and ideas of children into decision making around policy, practice and legislation in Scotland. Supporting children to engage adult key decision makers on what needs to change.

The Child Human Rights Defenders project supports children who are experienced Members of Children’s Parliament, to participate in democratic processes at a local, national and international level. Our team is currently made up of 14 Members of Children’s Parliament from Aberdeen, Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee, Fife, Glasgow and Perth & Kinross.

Using a children’s rights approach, the project empowers children to drive change on key issues important to children across Scotland, in recent years the children have raised concerns on issues such as vaping, the climate crisis and mental health.

A key part of this project is a two-year cycle of influencing where children identify issues that need action now for children to grow up healthy, happy and safe in Scotland, they develop calls to action and drive change on these issues locally and nationally, including with the Scottish Cabinet and the Scottish Government Executive Team.