Are you looking for a role to develop your background in partnership working, identifying and developing funding opportunities and working with others to help them reach their potential?

CISWO is a national charity whose mission is to improve the lives of individuals and communities facing disadvantage due to the impact of the coal mining industry.

We are looking for a Development Manager with a range of skills and experience to support other mining charities develop a sustainable future. You will have a background in partnership working and developing funding opportunities, as well as a good understanding of charity governance.

This is a great opportunity for someone with experience in community development with a good knowledge of the charity sector.

Key Responsibilities:

• To provide support for mining charities across the Scotland Region with regards to development opportunities, sustainability, funding and governance issues.
• To support mining charities to develop business plans and budgeting.
• To contribute to the development of CISWO’s support offer for other mining charities, seeking new methods of supporting local trustees.
• To promote CISWO’s support offer, undertaking site visits to miners’ welfare charities and meeting with local charity officers.
• To support mining charities to identify funding opportunities and develop funding proposals.
• To develop local partnership working with other voluntary sector organisations, tiers of local government and local communities.
• To ensure that CISWO’s interests and responsibilities in partner charities are retained and fulfilled.
• To represent the organisation with external parties, including, welfare charities, councils and local authorities as required
• To promote the organisation’s work with welfare charities through a range of marketing activities.
• To provide training for local charity trustees and officers, encouraging and building good governance.
• Support the recruitment of local trustees for local mining charities.
• To produce high quality reports with regards to funding, activity monitoring and evaluation.
• To undertake monitoring and reporting regarding the work undertaken with welfare charities
• To participate in personal development opportunities and develop such opportunities for team members to facilitate a learning and development culture in the region
• To work within a flexible framework in order to meet the demands of the service which may include outside the usual 9-5 hours and considerable travel.
• To undertake any other duties as requested and reasonable to the post.

Skills/Qualifications/Experience:

Essential:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Experience of community development and / or business development.
• Experience of building positive relationships with a range of stakeholders including at a community level.
• Experience of identifying and applying for funding on a national, regional, or local level.
• Understanding of business planning and budgets.
• Proven experience of working in the charity sector with a good understanding of governance requirements and the challenges facing the sector.
• Proven experience in building confidence and a positive reputation with stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral with the ability to influence and engage with a wide range of partners.
• Excellent IT skills using a range IT packages including databases.
• Evidence of ongoing personal development and participation in learning opportunities.
• Ability to be self-motivated, with good personal organisational and time management skills.
• Good judgement and logical decision-making ability
• Ability to resolve problems in a proactive, practical and positive manner
• Ability to take initiative with a practical, ‘hands on’ approach to work
• A valid driving licence and access to a vehicle.
• Flexibility to travel across a wide geographic area with occasional overnight stays

Desirable:

• Experience of designing and delivering training
• Knowledge and understanding of the issues facing former mineworkers and mining communities

This job description is not exhaustive but reflects the major tasks to be carried out by the jobholder and identifies the level of responsibility at which the jobholder will be required to work. This job description may be subject to review and/or amendment at any time to reflect the requirements of the job.

Circular Communities Scotland is a network membership organisation, dedicated to supporting the establishment of a thriving circular economy in Scotland. We support and represent repair, reuse and recycling charities and social enterprises across the country. Our members prevent valuable products and materials from entering landfill, create local jobs, economic opportunities, and help promote and create social and environmental justice in their communities.

This is a new role for the organisation and the Circular Economy Policy Officer will be responsible for:

1. Developing and overseeing Circular Communities Scotland’s core circular economy policy positions.
2. Promoting our reuse manifesto in the run up to the Scottish Elections in May 2026 including running a hustings style event.
3. Running a post-election campaign targeting Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs), our membership and wider stakeholder organisations.
4. Working with Scottish Government to see key policy asks enacted.
5. Working with our membership to involve them in our policy work.

What we are looking for

We are looking for a strong candidate who has a minimum of two years’ experience in a policy formation or campaigning role at a national level. The candidate will be able to quickly get up to speed with our circular economy policy positions and indeed develop these positions further. An ability to network and build relationships with civil servants and elected representatives is also important.

We require a dynamic and proactive individual who will be capable of planning, launching and sustaining a policy campaign to support our Reuse Manifesto. We are expecting candidates to have strong communication and interpersonal skills along with a proven track record in managing multiple delivery workstreams.

For more information about this role please refer to the Circular Economy Policy Officer Job Description. Please note, candidates must have an existing right to work in the UK.