Children's Hearings Scotland
Children's Hearings Scotland
Children's Hearings Scotland (CHS) was established by the 2011 Act to support members of the national Children's Panel and their National Convener; Our vision is of a Children's Hearings System where everyone works together, making sure that all children and young people are heard, respected, valued, cared for and protected. If you share our vision and apply, you will be making a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children and young people.

Current vacancies

Procurement and Contract Management Officer

  • Full time
  • £38,142 – £41,889
  • Hybrid: Edinburgh
  • Closing 17th April 2025

Why apply for this role?

Deliver a professional, flexible and inclusive procurement service in line with CHS’s Procurement Policy, to both internal managers and external suppliers. The post holder will ensure that CHS receives best value for money in the procurement of all goods, services and works to deliver an effective and efficient service. They will also be responsible for implementing and overseeing a contract management system across CHS.

The post holder will ensure full compliance with all relevant Public Sector regulations giving due regard to CHS’s operational needs and requirements to ensure operational effectiveness is maximised and ensure CHS’s procurement practices continually evolve to reflect new developments and best practice. The role will support the delivery of CHS’s strategic aims, objectives and values, whilst ensuring compliance with national policies and will contribute to CHS’s net zero targets and the Scottish Government’s objective for sustainable economic growth and achievement of relevant National Outcomes.

Please find instructions on how to apply at the bottom of the page.

Key Responsibilities

  • Delegated Purchasing Authority – Individual Contracts up to £50k
  • Managing and influencing Procurement Spend of c. £2 million per annum
  • Following effective competition, commit CHS to contracts
  • Approval of Non-Competitive Actions – up to £10k per contract
  • Excellent organisational and administrative abilities
  • Good project management and negotiation skills
  • Initiative and ability to work with minimal direct supervision
  • The ability to foster and contribute to collaborative working
  • Driven towards continuous improvement
  • Ability to handle difficult or challenging situations
  • To support National and Regional team colleagues as required.

OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABILITIES

  • Qualification in relevant discipline or equivalent experience
  • Monitor, register and manage all commercial arrangements throughout CHS including keeping a register of all contractual engagement across CHS
  • Knowledge of the application of Public Sector and National Legislation and experience of conducting complex procurement exercises
  • Significant experience of purchasing and procurement in the public sector

Our Finance Team

Our finance team will comprise of you as the Procurement and Contract Management Officer, Finance Officers and the Finance Manager. The role of the team together, with our shared service finance team SCRA, is to support our National Team consisting of just under 100 colleagues. The team is passionate about delivering a high quality financial, procurement and contract management service to support CHS’ wider strategy. You will be part of this small and dynamic team while collaborating with other departments and teams across the wider organisation.

Life at CHS

Our 2,500 volunteer Panel Members take part in children’s hearings in their local areas, making decisions with and for infants, children and young people. Our organisation also supports a network of Area Support Teams made up of volunteers who support Panel Members in their local communities.

As an organisation that works within the children’s hearings system, we are passionate about making a positive contribution to improving outcomes for Scotland’s infants, children and young people.

You can read more about our core values HERE as well as view an introductory video to our organisation. We also offer a generous benefits package from hybrid working, flexi hours and a fantastic pension scheme - you check out our full benefits summary HERE.

Diversity and Inclusion

CHS is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We actively encourage applicants from all protected characteristics and are committed to providing any reasonable adjustments required during application and assessment process, and upon joining us.

Shortlist

Finance Officer

  • Full time
  • £29,794 – £31,560
  • Hybrid: Edinburgh
  • Closing 17th April 2025

Why apply for this role?

Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) is undergoing an exciting period of reform, designed to make a step change in improving the outcomes for infants, children and young people who need us most. Children’s Hearings Tribunal Members play a vital role in Scotland’s society. They listen and make legal decisions for infants, children and young people. They ensure that the young person is at the heart of every decision taken – because every decision, no matter how big or small, has an impact.

As the Finance Officer, you will be taking on a support role across a diverse range of financial services and supporting the delivery of our business plan.

This is an exciting time to join the CHS finance team as the organisation continues to evolve in line with the delivery of ‘The Promise’ and wider transformation. Your insight will be crucial in development of our financial systems and procedures within the context of a growth organisation.

Please find instructions on how to apply at the bottom of the page.

Key Responsibilities

  • Provide administrative support for procurement activity – publishing and co-ordinating tender specifications and responses, collating and recording contract awards and reporting on procurement activity.
  • Manage CHS’ invoicing process using manual, electronic processes, and multiple e- mailboxes ensuring system controls, error detection and resolution in line with Shared Services Provider’s timetable.
  • Manage and report on the performance of supplier payments in line with key performance indicators.
  • Monitor finance/payroll mailboxes, respond to enquiries where possible, and escalate to appropriate National team colleague when required.

Our Finance Team

Our finance team will comprise of Finance Officers and the Finance Manager. The role of the team together, with our shared service finance team SCRA, is to support our National Team consisting of just under 100 colleagues. The team is passionate about delivering a high-quality financial service to support CHS’ wider strategy. You will be a key member of this small and dynamic team while collaborating with other departments and teams across the wider organisation.

Life at CHS

Our 2,500 volunteer Panel Members take part in children’s hearings in their local areas, making decisions with and for infants, children and young people. Our organisation also supports a network of Area Support Teams made up of volunteers who support Panel Members in their local communities.

As an organisation that works within the children’s hearings system, we are passionate about making a positive contribution to improving outcomes for Scotland’s infants, children and young people.

You can read more about our core values HERE as well as view an introductory video to our organisation. We also offer a generous benefits package from hybrid working, flexi hours and a fantastic pension scheme - you check out our full benefits summary HERE.

Diversity and Inclusion

CHS is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We actively encourage applicants from all protected characteristics and are committed to providing any reasonable adjustments required during application and assessment process, and upon joining us.

Shortlist

Information Security Manager

  • Full time
  • £45,707 – £51,180
  • Hybrid: Edinburgh
  • Closing 20th April 2025

Why apply for this role?

Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) is undergoing an exciting period of reform, designed to make a step change in improving the outcomes for infants, children and young people who need us most. Children’s Hearings Tribunal Members play a vital role in Scotland’s society. They listen and make legal decisions for infants, children and young people. They ensure that the young person is at the heart of every decision taken – because every decision, no matter how big or small, has an impact.

You will play a key role in creating and designing data and information security processes and will be the main driver in aligning our systems and processes across the organisation to data and information security standards ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials+. You will also be responsible for drafting and maintaining documentation and developing architecture patterns and security approaches to new technologies.

For information on how to apply, please see bottom of the advert.

Key Responsibilities

  • Ensure that the organisation obtains ISO27001 accreditation as part of its overall digital and data roadmap.
  • Work collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation to ensure data and information security is embedded in all of its processes, platforms and networks.
  • Be a key component of the Technology and Data Oversight function to ensure that in-depth consideration is given to proposed changes across our Digital and Data platforms before go-live.
  • Work closely with the Digital and Data and Information Governance Teams to ensure that information security principles are embedded in their processes.
  • Provide guidance, support and oversight to CHS to secure consistent levels of capability across the organisation in order to maintain ISO 27001 accreditation

Our governance team

Our governance team is headed up by the corporate governance manager and comprises of executive assistant/governance officer, office and administration coordinator, information governance and data protection officer and information governance records officer. The role of the team is to support our National Team consisting of just under 100 colleagues. The team plays a key strategic role contributing to CHS’s vision to drive transformation and deliver operational excellence.

Life at CHS

As an organisation that works within the children’s hearings system, we are passionate about making a positive contribution to improving outcomes for Scotland’s infants, children and young people. Our values are at the very heart of what we do every day. By working with us, you’ll be joining a diverse community of colleagues and volunteers.

At CHS we are proud to celebrate difference. We all have different skills, experience and backgrounds and we strive to have a friendly and inclusive culture where you can be yourself.

We offer an excellent benefits package, from health and wellness to finances and family. including: generous annual leave, flexible working and other leave policies, fantastic pension, Employee Assistance Programme, development opportunities and wider employee wellbeing initiatives.

You can read more about our core values HERE as well as view an introductory video to our organisation. We also offer a generous benefits package from hybrid working, flexi hours and a fantastic pension scheme - you check out our full benefits summary HERE.

Diversity and Inclusion

CHS is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We actively encourage applicants from all protected characteristics and are committed to providing any reasonable adjustments required during application and assessment process, and upon joining us.

Shortlist

Regional Wellbeing Co-ordinator

  • Part time
  • £38,142 – £41,889 pro-rata
  • Hybrid: with visits to Thistle House in Edinburgh when required
  • Closing 27th April 2025

Why apply for this role?

Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) is undergoing an exciting period of reform, designed to make a step change in improving the outcomes for infants, children and young people who need us most. Children’s Hearings Tribunal Members play a vital role in Scotland’s society. They listen and make legal decisions for infants, children and young people. They ensure that the young person is at the heart of every decision taken – because every decision, no matter how big or small, has an impact.

You will be joining CHS at a pivotal point, as we continue to implement our new regional tribunal support model that was launched last year. Alongside the Regional Tribunal Delivery Manager, Partnership Coordinator and fellow Wellbeing Coordinator you will play a significant operational role in supporting our Panel Community through change by shaping and implementing wellbeing approaches within the new model, ensuring our volunteer communities are effectively supported.

Working under the guidance of the National Wellbeing Manager, and reporting to the Regional Tribunal Delivery Manager, the successful candidate will join the other Wellbeing Coordinators to deliver consistent approaches to wellbeing support and volunteer management in all the areas in their region.

This role will be a job share working alongside our current Regional Wellbeing Coordinator for Lanarkshire and Dumfries & Galloway. You will be part of the operational delivery team for each of 9 new CHS Area Support Team regions across Scotland and will work alongside and support our volunteer community through the change and transition now and in the future. It will help us to provide an enhanced and consistent support structure to better enable our volunteer Tribunal Members to support children and young people throughout Scotland. It will provide a strong foundation to support and enable our panel community to deliver our duties from the Care & Justice Bill and the recommendations agreed in the ‘Hearings for Children’ report.

Your role

Reporting to the Regional Tribunal Delivery Manager, the Regional Wellbeing Co-ordinator is responsible for the promotion of wellbeing support needs of Tribunal Members within one of 9 regions across Scotland. You will support the Regional Tribunal Delivery Manager, the Regional Partnership Co-ordinator and your fellow Wellbeing Coordinator to deliver the National Convener’s statutory duties for the provision of Children’s Hearings across a dedicated region in Scotland to a consistent high-quality standard.

The core purpose of this role will be the identification of wellbeing support needs on a regional level and signposting Tribunal Members to relevant support. This may involve contact pre/post hearings which are identified to have distressing subject matter and putting the relevant support mechanisms in place to promote the wellbeing of Tribunal Members. The role holder will be key to managing the relationship(s) between Tribunal Members who are volunteers and the organisation more broadly.

The role holder will be expected to be an exemplar for the values of CHS including listening to and valuing the voice of children and young people, the contribution of volunteers, and ensuring a respected, quality based, and sustainable tribunal system is delivered on behalf of the National Convenor.

About you

You will have excellent people skills and can build positive relationships with people who come from a variety of backgrounds and beliefs.

You will share collective responsibility for delivering organisational objectives, through active engagement and collaboration with colleagues at all levels in the organisation.

You will be energetic and enthusiastic, a brilliant collaborator with demonstrable experience of effective wellbeing support within an organisational setting; able to evidence insight (professional, direct or personal) into the implications of Trauma on behaviour.

You will have direct experience of supporting people (volunteers or employees) through complex or challenging situations. You will have experience of guiding and supporting others through continuous improvement projects; having the willingness and ability to enable changes to take place in the most productive way.

You will be an excellent communicator, building links and networks across teams (internally and externally), effectively initiating dialogue across the organisation recognising that we have a shared responsibility to provide the best experience for our volunteer colleagues and wider stakeholders.

Life at CHS

At Children’s Hearings Scotland, our highly trained Tribunal Members make decisions for Scotland’s unique Children’s Hearings System that upholds and promotes the rights of infants, children and young people. Our 2,500 volunteer Tribunal Members take part in children’s hearings in their local areas, making decisions with and for infants, children and young people. Our organisation also supports a network of Area Support Teams throughout Scotland who support Tribunal Members in their local communities.

As an organisation that works within the Children’s Hearings System, we are passionate about making a positive contribution to improving outcomes for Scotland’s infants, children and young people.

You can read more about our core values on our website as well as view an introductory video to our organisation. We also offer a generous benefits package from hybrid working to flexi hours and a fantastic pension scheme – check out our full benefits summary.

Diversity and Inclusion

CHS is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We actively encourage applicants from all protected characteristics and are committed to providing any reasonable adjustments required during the application and assessment process, and upon joining us.

Shortlist
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