Children First
Children First

Charity registered in Scotland SC016092

Children First is Scotland's National Children's Charity. We help Scotland's families to put children first, with practical advice and with support in difficult times. And when the worst happens, we support survivors of abuse, neglect, and other traumatic events in childhood, to recover.

Current vacancies

Community and Events Fundraiser

  • Full time
  • £25,155 – £30,083
  • Hybrid: Edinburgh
  • Closing 27th July 2026

In this role, you’ll:

• Build and grow strong relationships with supporters, volunteers, and community groups to drive engagement and maximise fundraising income

• Support and empower Action Groups and community fundraisers to reach their full potential through guidance, motivation, and stewardship

• Support to plan, deliver, and evaluate a diverse programme of community and third party fundraising activities and events, ensuring targets and objectives are achieved

• Identify and secure new fundraising opportunities within the community, developing innovative ideas to expand Children First’s reach and impact

• Work collaboratively across teams to promote fundraising activity

We’d love to hear from you if you have:

• Experience in income generation or working in a target-driven environment.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write concise and engaging fundraising copy and promotional materials.

• The ability to build meaningful relationships with a range of stakeholders.

• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.

• A proactive, collaborative approach and commitment to our values.

What we offer:

• A workplace with values of with love, with purpose and with strength

• 40 days annual leave, inclusive of bank holidays

• Pension scheme and wellbeing support

• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements

• Access to Westfield Health, giving colleagues and their families confidential counselling support, wellbeing resources, and access to health and lifestyle benefits to support physical and mental wellbeing.

• Blue Light card discount

• A Fair Work accredited workplace

Our Values

Living our values, you will help create a workplace where our people can thrive, ensuring we deliver the best possible support to children and families.

With love, we put children first.

With purpose, we transform lives together.

With strength, we do whatever it takes to protect Scotland’s children.

Shortlist

Service Manager (Rights and Quality Improvement)

  • Full time
  • £44,087 – £50,726
  • Hybrid: Any Children First Base (Scotland)
  • Closing 29th July 2026

Help shape a national service that protects children's rights.

Every child deserves to have their voice heard and their rights upheld.

At Children First, we stand up for Scotland's children by protecting them from harm, helping them recover from trauma and ensuring they have the opportunity to thrive. As Scotland's national children's charity, we are looking for an experienced and values-led leader to join our National Safeguarders Panel team.

This is a unique opportunity to influence practice at a national level while leading quality improvement, children's rights and accountability across one of Scotland's most important child protection services.

About the role

Working alongside the Assistant Director and two other Service Managers, you will help lead the National Safeguarders Panel on behalf of the Scottish Government.

You'll take the lead on complaints and concerns relating to Safeguarders, ensuring these are managed fairly, consistently and in line with legislation and best practice. You'll champion children's rights throughout our work, drive continuous quality improvement and help shape learning and development for Safeguarders across Scotland.

You'll also build strong partnerships with Scottish Government, Children's Hearings Scotland, the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration and other key stakeholders to ensure children remain at the heart of everything we do.

This is a strategic leadership role where you'll combine operational management, quality assurance, relationship building and service development to make a lasting difference for children and young people.

What you'll bring

We're looking for someone who can demonstrate:

  • Significant leadership experience within children's services or a related environment.
  • Experience of managing investigations, complaints or quality assurance processes.
  • Strong knowledge of Scotland's Children's Hearings System and children's rights.
  • The ability to build effective relationships across complex partnerships.
  • Experience leading teams, managing resources and delivering service improvement.
  • Excellent judgement, communication and decision-making skills.
  • A collaborative leadership style that reflects our values.
  • A Social Work qualification or another relevant professional qualification at SCQF Level 9 (or equivalent) is essential.

Why join Children First?

By joining us you'll be helping to shape services that protect children's rights across Scotland while working alongside passionate colleagues who share your commitment to making a difference.

We offer:

  • A workplace with values of With love, With purpose and With strength
  • 40 days annual leave (inclusive of bank holidays)
  • Flexible and hybrid working
  • Pension scheme
  • Westfield Health wellbeing support
  • Blue Light Card discounts
  • Learning and development opportunities
  • A Fair Work accredited workplace

Our values

Everything we do is guided by our values.

With love, we put children first.

With purpose, we transform children's lives together.

With strength, we do whatever it takes to protect Scotland's children.

If you're an experienced leader who shares our commitment to children's rights and wants to influence practice on a national scale, we'd love to hear from you.

Shortlist

Corporate Fundraiser

  • Part time
  • £25,155 – £30,083 pro-rata
  • Hybrid: Edinburgh
  • Closing 17th August 2026

In this role, you’ll:

  • Support the development of a corporate pipeline through prospect research.
  • Support the delivery of cultivation events, proposals and pitches to secure new partnerships.
  • Build strong, values-led relationships with corporate partners.
  • Work with colleagues across services to identify opportunities and gather impact stories.
  • Contribute to partnership activity that supports income growth and engagement.

We’d love to hear from you if you have:

  • Experience in income generation or working in a target-driven environment.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write concise and engaging fundraising copy and promotional materials.
  • The ability to build meaningful relationships with a range of stakeholders.
  • Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
  • A proactive, collaborative approach and commitment to our values.

What we offer:

  • A workplace with values of with love, with purpose and with strength
  • 40 days annual leave, inclusive of bank holidays
  • Pension scheme and wellbeing support
  • Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
  • Access to Westfield Health, giving colleagues and their families confidential counselling support, wellbeing resources, and access to health and lifestyle benefits to support physical and mental wellbeing.
  • Blue Light card discount
  • A Fair Work accredited workplace

Our Values

Living our values, you will help create a workplace where our people can thrive, ensuring we deliver the best possible support to children and families.

With love, we put children first.

With purpose, we transform lives together.

With strength, we do whatever it takes to protect Scotland’s children.

Shortlist

Money Adviser

  • Full time
  • £30,002 – £35,076
  • On site: Inverclyde/Scottish Borders
  • Closing 31st July 2026

Are you an experienced Money or Welfare Benefits Advisor – we want to hear from you! …

This is an exciting opportunity to work within our Money Advice Team as part of our Money, debt, benefits and Energy advice delivery, supporting our additional services across the charity.

Our Money Advice service works alongside families to address the challenges and risks which may have led to vulnerability, promote connection to their local communities, and improve financial stability and resilience. Our aim is to support communties to become more resilient and a place where children feel safe, valued, understood and supported.

The Money Advice advisor will support local teams offering support, community connection, and expert benefit, energy and debt advice. This will enable families to resolve debt and money problems, become more financially resilient and break the cycle of poverty.

A priority for the Money Advice advisor will be to increase the capacity of our current service to provide Type I and II Money Advice in one of the most deprived areas in Scotland.

You will work as part of our National Money Advice team offering remote advice to families across Scotland by telephone or webchat. You will support families within their homes, deliver workshops within the community and in schools, and offer drop-in sessions within the community.

If you have experience of delivering money, and debt advice, understand the impact trauma and adversity can have on children and families, and believe that you can apply this to your practice, we want to hear from you.

This is a full time, 35 hours post funded until the 31 March 2029 with the intention to explore funding options beyond this date. Hours to be worked flexibly to suit the needs of families, including evenings and weekends as required.

What we offer

  • A workplace with values of with love, with purpose and with strength
  • 40 days annual leave, inclusive of bank holidays
  • Pension scheme and wellbeing support
  • Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
  • Access to Westfield Health, giving colleagues and their families confidential counselling support, wellbeing resources, and access to health and lifestyle benefits to support physical and mental wellbeing.
  • Blue Light card discount
  • A Fair Work accredited workplace

Our Values

Living our values, you will help create a workplace where our people can thrive, ensuring we deliver the best possible support to children and families.

With love, we put children first.

With purpose, we transform lives together.

With strength, we do whatever it takes to protect Scotland’s children.

Shortlist

Energy Lead

  • Full time
  • £30,602 – £35,778
  • On site: National Role based in West or East of Scotland with travel across Central belt
  • Closing 31st July 2026

This is an exciting opportunity to work within our Supportline Advice Service as well as support our Wider aims as a charity.

Our Advice service works alongside support collegues to help families to address the challenges and risks which may have led to vulnerability, promote connection to their local communities, and improve financial stability and resilience. Our aim is to support communties to become more resilient and a place where children feel safe, valued, understood and supported.

The Energy Advisor will work within an integrated model of family support, community connection, and expert Energy advice and exploring money and debt advice. This will enable families to stay connected, keep homes warm and resolve debt and money problems, become more financially resilient and break the cycle of fuel poverty.

A priority for the Energy Advisor will be to increase the Energy advice and support we offer our families and with the capacity of our current services to provide Type I and II money advice in one of the most deprived areas in Scotland.

You will work as part of our National Money Advice team. You will support families within their homes, by telephone and other digital methods deliver workshops within the community and in schools and offer drop-in sessions within the community.

If you have experience of energy advice welfare rights, income maximization, money and debt advice, understand the impact trauma and adversity can have on children and families, and believe that you can apply this to your practice, we want to hear from you.

This is a full time, 35 hours post. Hours to be worked flexibly to suit the needs of families, including evenings and weekends as required.

What we offer

  • A workplace with values of with love, with purpose and with strength
  • 40 days annual leave, inclusive of bank holidays
  • Pension scheme and wellbeing support
  • Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
  • Access to Westfield Health, giving colleagues and their families confidential counselling support, wellbeing resources, and access to health and lifestyle benefits to support physical and mental wellbeing.
  • Blue Light card discount
  • A Fair Work accredited workplace

Our Values

Living our values, you will help create a workplace where our people can thrive, ensuring we deliver the best possible support to children and families.

With love, we put children first.

With purpose, we transform lives together.

With strength, we do whatever it takes to protect Scotland’s children.

Shortlist