Project Manager – From Struggle to Stability: Creating fair work for young mothers

Close the Gap is operating a hybrid working model, with the option to work from the Buchanan Street office or from desk space in Edinburgh.

Responsible to: Head of Policy and Development

The successful candidate will be required to undergo a Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) check. Employment will be subject to satisfactory PVG scheme membership or an update to an existing membership in line with legal and organisational requirements.

Close the Gap values diversity in our workforce, and recognise the benefits it brings to the organisation. We therefore particularly encourage applications from racially-minoritised people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in the organisation.

We’re strongly committed to enabling flexible working for staff, and will consider all options to enable applicants to work flexibly.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a partnership project to improve job quality for young mothers. Young mothers are among the most marginalised in the labour market, experiencing high levels of in-work poverty. Young mothers’ poverty drives child poverty, the gender pay gap, and gender inequality more broadly. The Close the Gap and Save the Children project will gather evidence on young mothers’ workplace experiences and employer attitudes to them as workers, and use this to influence employment practice and policymaking to deliver improved access to fair work. Working with a project advisory group and a lived experience group of young mothers, the project will also develop a campaign for young mothers to raise awareness of their employment rights, with the ultimate goal of reducing in-work poverty in Scotland.

About you

We’re looking for someone who has proven experience in project management, and of working with multiple partners to deliver complex projects with multiple stages and timelines. You’ll also have experience of commissioning and managing external research projects, and sound understanding of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. You’ll be a core part of our team, able to work both independently and collaboratively, and to build strong relationships with project stakeholders. The right person for this role will be committed to tackling poverty and women’s labour market inequality, and involving women with lived experience in the project.

Organisation profile

Close the Gap is Scotland’s policy advocacy organisation working on women’s labour market participation. We work strategically with policymakers, employers and unions to address the causes of the gender pay gap. We deliver advocacy to influence policy and legislative change; produce research, analysis and insight into women’s diverse experiences of the labour market; and influence employers to develop intersectional, gender-sensitive employment practice.