Charity registered in Scotland SC026076
Top job! Head of People & Culture
- Full time
- £47,782 – £52,560
- Hybrid: Glasgow
- Closing 27th September 2026
Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our mission is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland and we currently have over 3000 Care Experienced members.
At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced children and young people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual relationship-based independent advocacy and a broad range of imaginative participatory opportunity for Care Experienced young people across Scotland; we work alongside corporate parents and communities of all sorts to broaden understanding; we work with policy makers, leaders and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy and practice on the basis of all that can be learnt from the voices of those with experience of care – working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.
Who Cares? Scotland is looking for an experienced and committed Head of People & Culture to lead and deliver our People & Culture function.
This is a hands-on, generalist HR leadership role with responsibility for the full employee lifecycle and the continuous improvement of people practices across the organisation. Reporting to the Chief Executive and managing the People & Culture Officer, you will provide practical advice and support to managers and colleagues while ensuring our people policies, processes and systems are effective, consistent, inclusive and legally compliant.
You will be the first point of contact for managers on a wide range of people matters and will play a key role in building management capability across the organisation. The role covers recruitment and onboarding, employee relations, performance and absence management, learning and development, wellbeing, equality and inclusion, payroll coordination, people data and reporting, and day-to-day HR operations.
You will also identify opportunities to improve how we work, enhance employee engagement and ensure our approach to People & Culture continues to reflect the values, purpose and ambitions of Who Cares? Scotland.
About you
You will be an experienced HR professional with substantial generalist experience and a practical understanding of the full range of people issues that arise within an organisation.
You will have a confident understanding of UK employment legislation and experience advising managers on employee relations matters, performance management, recruitment, policy development and workplace wellbeing. You will be comfortable managing sensitive and sometimes challenging situations, providing clear, balanced and pragmatic advice.
You will be highly organised, solutions-focused and able to manage competing priorities while maintaining accuracy, professionalism and confidentiality. Most importantly, you will be approachable and capable of building trusted relationships with colleagues at every level of the organisation.
Why join us?
This is an opportunity to lead a People & Culture function within an organisation with a clear social purpose. You will have the opportunity to make a tangible difference to the working lives of colleagues across Who Cares? Scotland, while ensuring managers have the advice and support they need to lead their teams effectively.
The role offers variety, responsibility, autonomy and the opportunity to shape and continuously improve how we support our people.
Advocacy and Participation Worker – Orkney
- Full time
- £25,354 – £30,184
- Hybrid: Orkney
- Closing 4th October 2026
Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our strategic vision is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland.
At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual lifelong relationship-based independent advocacy and a range of local and national participatory and engagement opportunities for Care Experienced people across Scotland. We work alongside Corporate Parents and communities to broaden understanding and create change. We work with policy makers, leaders, and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy, and practice, working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.
The Advocacy and Participation Worker will provide independent advocacy supports to all of Orkney’s children and young people, including children who are identified as being vulnerable, children who are involved in complex decision-making processes (including both formal and informal processes), looked after children (including those who have been formerly looked after), children subject to child protection and child in need processes.
The Advocacy and Participation Worker will provide independent advocacy support to children and young people to help amplify their voices and share their views, especially within decision-making forums.
Advocacy and Participation Workers will also inform children and young people about their rights, ensuring that rights are upheld and respected by others.
At the heart of the advocacy relationship is trust – built through transparent, honest, accountable and reliable interactions between the child and their Advocacy and Participation Worker. Skilled at developing positive relationships with children and young people, you will place young people at the heart of everything you do.
As the Advocacy & Participation Worker, you will also help facilitate participatory opportunities via the Young Persons collective group. The group brings young people together, allowing them to develop confidence, a sense of belonging, and the opportunity to identify common issues. You will help ensure the collective voice of the group is heard by Corporate Parents via the Promise Board.
While we would welcome the knowledge gathered through relevant qualifications, we are just as interested in relevant work experience. We welcome and encourage applications from those with experience of care.
The successful candidate will be joining Who Cares? Scotland at an exciting time, when the voices of those who are in or have experienced care are growing in power, individually and collectively – bringing with them insight, challenge, hope and change.
If this sounds like the role for you, we would love to hear from you.
Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our strategic vision is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland.
At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual lifelong relationship-based independent advocacy and a range of local and national participatory and engagement opportunities for Care Experienced people across Scotland. We work alongside Corporate Parents and communities to broaden understanding and create change. We work with policy makers, leaders, and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy, and practice, working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.
This role will contribute to this aspiration through supporting the delivery of a policy and public affairs influencing programme supported by members from across the country. The overarching purpose of this role is to develop our local and national work to influence elected representatives from across Scotland’s political parties in a way that is shaped directly and indirectly by the lived reality of the Care Experienced population in Scotland.
The successful candidate will be joining Who Cares? Scotland at an exciting time, when the voices of those who are in or have experienced care are growing in power, individually and collectively – bringing with them insight, challenge, hope and change.
If this sounds like the role for you, we would love to hear from you.
We welcome and encourage applications from those with experience of care.