About Aberlour Sycamore Children’s Houses…

Aberlour Sycamore Services’ vision is to provide warm, loving homes for children where everyone learns, laughs, grows into their future and is treasured always. Sycamore services are widely recognised in Scotland for providing a range of quality therapeutic residential houses for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the country. The Service is a national resource and as such receives referrals from throughout Scotland.

What we are looking for....

We are looking for people to join our relief pool who are passionate about supporting children and young people. The children and young people who live in our houses have experienced significant trauma in their young lives and our aim is to create loving, nurturing family homes where they feel safe and cared for.

Our relief workers play a crucial role in supporting our teams. This work is offered on a casual, hourly paid basis to provide cover during staff absence and/or particularly busy periods.

Members of our relief pool have a varied range of backgrounds and often work in different areas of the workforce. Although experience in child-care is ideal, we would also like to hear from people who may have skills from their work experience in different sectors which would be transferrable and provide a good basis from which to learn and develop their skills, utilising the range of training we provide.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees click here.

What we offer...

You will receive a planned and supported induction consisting of a varied training programme, including Child Protection. You will be working alongside a highly motivated and skilled team. Find out more about our Employee Benefits and our commitment to Equality and Diversity on our website.

Aberlour is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of all our service users and uses a thorough and rigorous recruitment and selection process including PVG Scheme checks to ensure this commitment is not compromised.

Job Purpose: We’re looking for a compassionate and dedicated Children and Young People’s Support Worker to join our team at Edinburgh Women’s Aid. In this role, you will provide essential support to children and young people who are experiencing, or have experienced, domestic abuse.

This role is subject to satisfactory Adult and Child PVG scheme membership.

Contact has been providing information and support services in Scotland since 1999. We work with parents and partners to raise awareness of the challenges families face and campaign for better services and support.

The role will involve delivering drop-in sessions at the Children’s Hospital in Glasgow, responding to enquiries, providing and researching information for families with disabled children.

You will work alongside the Scotland team and key partner organisations to provide information and support that assist parent carers to make the decisions for their families. You will be interested in developing and monitoring services and increasing your knowledge to support parent carers.

Main duties

• To work with and provide information support for families with disabled children, who attend The Royal Children’s Hospital Glasgow.
• To support parents to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to make decisions that are right for their families.
• To build strong relationships with hospital partners, funders, volunteers and voluntary sector partners.
• Focus on developing and enhancing our work with hospital, aiming to reach more families early in their journey with their child’s disability.

Do you want to help create a safer, brighter future for children across Scotland?

Children First, Scotland’s national children’s charity, is looking for a Support Line Coordinator to join our national service. By joining us, you will help protect children, support families and make sure no one has to face difficult moments alone.

About the role

Based in Edinburgh with some flexible hybrid working this role sits at the heart of our national support line. You will provide compassionate, skilled support to families, carers and professionals who may be facing some of the most challenging times in their lives.

You will respond to busy and varied contacts through phone, webchat and email, offering timely advice, emotional support and practical guidance. Every interaction is an opportunity to keep a child safe, strengthen a family and make sure children’s voices are heard.

You will record your work clearly and meaningfully so that it reflects families’ experiences and helps us learn, improve and grow our services.

This is a fast-paced role, but at its core it is about connection, empathy and good judgement.

What you will do

• Provide high quality support to families, carers and professionals across Scotland
• Listen carefully to understand what matters most to children and families
• Offer clear advice that helps keep children safe and supports recovery
• Respond to a high volume of contacts with care and professionalism
• Maintain accurate, child-centred records that inform service development
• Work as part of a team to improve how we support families across Scotland

Why this role matters

Families are facing increasing pressure, including poverty, online harm and emotional distress. Our support line is often the first-place people turn.

Your work will help ensure that:

• children are safer
• families feel listened to and supported
• people get the right help at the right time

What we are looking for

• A relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 9 such as social work, health, education or community education
• Experience supporting children, young people or families facing challenges
• Experience of supervising or supporting others, including staff or volunteers
• Strong listening skills and the ability to respond with empathy and clarity
• The ability to manage risk and make sound decisions under pressure
• Confidence working in a fast-paced environment

What you can expect from us

• A supportive, inclusive team where your wellbeing matters
• A strong focus on learning, reflection and development
• 40 days annual leave (pro rata)
• Contributory pension scheme
• Generous family leave
• Flexible working options

Our values

You will be part of a team that lives its values every day:

With love, we put children first with compassion and kindness

With purpose, we work together to transform children’s lives

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

This is an excellent opportunity for you to join Scottish Book Trust as an Early Years Trainer (TCP Project).

Scottish Book Trust is a national charity that believes books, reading and writing have the power to change lives. A love of reading inspires creativity, improves employment opportunities, mental health and wellbeing and is one of the most effective ways to help break the poverty cycle. We work towards a Scotland where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive through literacy.

What we offer

• Full-time role working flexibly around school term times

• Competitive salary

• Flexible hybrid working between home and our Edinburgh City Centre Office, with great access by train, bus, and tram

• Generous holiday entitlement

• Company Sick Pay

• Pension with 5% employer contributions

• Death in service benefit

• Free access to employee assistance programme

The Early Years (EY) team delivers Bookbug, an evidence-informed programme which aims to promote parent-child bonding and attachment, support children’s language and communication skills, and help their social, emotional and cognitive development through reading, singing and rhyming. Key elements include universal book gifting at four stages, free story, song and rhyme Bookbug Sessions, Bookbug for the Home and community engagement, the Bookbug app, and professional learning opportunities and learning resources for people working with children in their early years.

The Early Years Trainer post will deliver a set program of Early Years training and ongoing support activities for Bookbug practitioners from a broad range of sectors and partner agencies. These include libraries, early education, the NHS and third sector organisations. The training is designed to support professionals to engage families with the benefits of sharing stories, songs and rhymes to promote speech, language and literacy in early years children.

The post holder will also work on discrete projects which support professionals and volunteers with ongoing Bookbug training and development. They will work closely with the Community Engagement Team on specific project work linked to the delivery of the Tackling Child Poverty (TCP) Project.

Other information

The role delivers training during school term time. Due to the variation in school term dates across Local Authorities the advertised dates can be flexible. Statutory holiday will be taken during the school holidays.

Evening and weekend work will be required. For training delivery in more rural and remote locations, overnight stays will be required. Overnight stays will be agreed in advance and will depend on the successful applicant’s home location.

Due to the travel requirement and geographical nature of Scotland’s more remote areas, the applicant must have a full, clean UK driving licence and access to a vehicle insured for business use.

Please note that the training Scottish Book Trust delivers is for adults who work with children and families and does not involve direct work with children.

Appointment will be conditional on securing a Level 1 from Disclosure Scotland.

Family Links is a pioneering service led by a partnership of third sector organisations - the Care and Learning Alliance, Homestart East Highland and Thriving Families - and supported by the Highland Whole Family Wellbeing Programme.

Working alongside schools and other statutory and third sector providers, the Family Links team delivers holistic support to families in targeted communities across Highland. The current role is in the Inverness High School Associated Schools Group area and the worker will be employed by Thriving Families.

Purpose of role

Family Links workers are a bridge between home, school and community, supporting families to overcome challenges to wellbeing and enabling children and young people to flourish in school and beyond.

It is recognised that there is a range of potentially beneficial outcomes for children and young people from building closer partnerships between schools, communities and families and supporting all family members to address both practical and emotional issues.

Family Links Workers work alongside families in the Inverness High School catchment area which have been identified by the schools (both primary and secondary) as being most in need. Priority families identified for Family Links are those experiencing school attendance and engagement issues. Families experiencing school attendance and engagement issues can also self-refer to Family Links.

Support provided to families is agreed alongside families, is delivered flexibly and is responsive to the needs of families and individual family members. It will be available to families for as long as they need it.

Early / preventative support in the form of peer support groups (facilitated by the Family Links team) is also available for families with children or young people with identified neurodevelopmental needs and kinship families in the area.

Partners in Advocacy has established itself as one of Scotland's leading providers of independent advocacy, delivering exceptional advocacy services since 1998.

We are thrilled to present a wonderful opportunity within our children’s hearings service. As an independent advocacy worker, you will have the privilege of providing one-to-one independent advocacy to children and young people from the ages of 5 to 18 who live in the South Lanarkshire council and surrounding areas, and who are attending a children’s hearing.

Through this role, you will ensure that their voices and wishes are heard, enabling them to make informed choices, protect their rights and have a meaningful impact on decisions that affect their lives.

We strongly encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply. If you believe your skills, experience, and expertise align with the criteria outlined in the person specification, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Please complete the application form, ensuring that you provide examples of how your knowledge and experience fulfil each aspect of the person specification.

Partners in Advocacy takes pride in being a Disability Confident Employer, fully committed to creating an inclusive and accessible work environment.

Partners in Advocacy has established itself as one of Scotland's leading providers of independent advocacy, delivering exceptional advocacy services since 1998.

We are thrilled to present a wonderful opportunity within our Children’s Hearings Service. As an independent advocacy worker, you will have the privilege of providing one-to-one independent advocacy to children and young people from the ages of 5 to 18, who live in the Inverclyde council and surrounding areas, and who are attending a children’s hearing.

Through this role, you will ensure that their voices and wishes are heard, enabling them to make informed choices, protect their rights and have a meaningful impact on decisions that affect their lives.

We strongly encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply. If you believe your skills, experience, and expertise align with the criteria outlined in the person specification, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Please complete the application form, ensuring that you provide examples of how your knowledge and experience fulfil each aspect of the person specification.

Partners in Advocacy takes pride in being a Disability Confident Employer, fully committed to creating an inclusive and accessible work environment.

Circle is a registered charity working at the heart of communities across central Scotland. We work with families facing multiple disadvantages because of structural inequality, poverty, drug and alcohol use, imprisonment, physical or mental health, trauma, abuse and loss. We believe that every child, no matter their background or circumstances, should have the support they need to live a happy and healthy life.

We offer excellent staff benefits including a competitive salary, generous pension contribution, flexible working, an employee assistance programme and generous annual leave.

We are looking to recruit a values-driven Youth and Family Outreach Worker. Funded by Corra Foundation’s The Way Forward for Families Fund and working in partnership with East Lothian Council Children’s Services and Mid & East Lothian Drug and Alcohol Partnership, the purpose of this post is to provide support to children and young people affected by parental drug and/or alcohol use. Recognising children’s rights, as guided by the UNCRC (article 12) is vital to this role, and is influenced by Circle’s whole family support and the “Grow Your Own routes” model set out by Scottish Families Affected by Drugs (SFAD).

The Youth and Family Worker aims to ensure that young people affected by substance use are visible, have a voice and are empowered to effect change. The support aims to reduce harm, and the impact of substance use on young people and their family by offering strengths-based and co-produced one-to-one, peer, advocacy and group work in youth and community settings.

It is expected that the post holder will do some occasional evening work.

The postholder will be expected to operate in line with our values which are:

Justice, Equity, Trust, Collaboration and Compassion.

All roles at OPFS contribute to our mission of working with and for single parent families, providing support that enables them to achieve their potential and help create lasting solutions to the poverty and barriers facing many single parents and their children. Our core values of Justice, Equity, Trust, Collaboration and Compassion are at the heart of everything we do and underpin all aspects of our work.

A vacancy has arisen in our Falkirk Service due to our current Regional Co-ordinator retiring. The Regional Coordinator will contribute to OPFS’s vision of a Scotland where single parents and their children are valued, treated fairly, and have equal opportunities to thrive. Working as part of the wider management team and in collaboration with colleagues across the Senior Leadership Team, the postholder will provide leadership, coordination, and oversight of the Falkirk Service. They will be responsible for ensuring the effective delivery, development, and continuous improvement of high-quality support services that meet the needs of single parent families and contribute to positive outcomes for parents and children.

In addition to leading the Falkirk Service, the postholder will act as the OPFS Organisational Safeguarding officer in partnership with OPFS Designated Safeguarding Lead providing oversight of safeguarding practice across the organisation. This includes supporting staff and volunteers on safeguarding matters, promoting a strong safeguarding culture and delivering safeguarding training, quality assurance and continuous improvement activities.

Responsible for the leadership, operational management, and development of the OPFS Falkirk Support for Families Service.

Service Leadership and Delivery

• Leading and managing the Falkirk service to ensure single parents and their children receive high quality, accessible, trauma-informed and person-centred support that promotes wellbeing, reduces inequality, and upholds rights-based practice.
• Providing operational leadership to ensure service delivery aligns with OPFS priorities, local need, funding requirements and relevant national policy relating to child poverty, employability, mental health and family wellbeing.
• Holding responsibility for service performance, quality assurance, monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement, ensuring positive outcomes for single parent families.
• Working collaboratively with OPFS colleagues nationally to ensure service delivery remains cohesive, responsive, high quality and informed by lived experience.

Staff Management and Development

• Managing, supervising and supporting staff and volunteers, promoting a positive, inclusive, and reflective team culture focused on wellbeing, accountability and professional development.

Funding, Planning and Financial Management

• Leading on service planning, funding applications, reporting, partnership development and funded programme delivery in collaboration with the OPFS Business Development Team and external partners.
• Managing delegated budgets and overseeing service income and expenditure in liaison with the OPFS Finance Manager.

Partnership Working and Representation

• Building and maintaining effective partnerships with statutory, third sector, community and health organisations, while representing OPFS within local networks, strategic forums and multi-agency partnerships.
• Supporting service promotion, community engagement, and local awareness raising activity in collaboration with the OPFS Communications Team.

Governance, Safeguarding and Risk Management

• Ensuring effective safeguarding, confidentiality, data protection and risk management processes are embedded across all aspects of service delivery.
• Acting as the OPFS organisational Safeguarding Officer, providing advice, guidance, and support to staff and volunteers on safeguarding matters involving children and vulnerable adults, ensuring appropriate action is taken in line with legislation, policy, and best practice.
• Promoting a strong safeguarding culture across OPFS through the delivery and oversight of safeguarding training, quality assurance and continuous improvement activities, ensuring safeguarding responsibilities are embedded across all areas of service delivery.

Premises and Health & Safety

• Holding responsibility for the health, safety, security and day-to-day management of the Falkirk premises. Including maintenance, facilities management, contractor liaison, compliance, fire safety, risk assessments and business continuity procedures.
• Supporting the development of safe, welcoming and inclusive environments that recognise the diverse needs of single parent families accessing the service.

Organisational Contribution

• Contributing to regional and national OPFS developments and promoting the organisation’s values of Justice, Equity, Trust, Collaboration, and Compassion across all areas of work.
• Undertaking any other duties appropriate to the role as requested by the Directorate or Board.

This post is part funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.