A fantastic opportunity to come and join the Children First team in Midlothian

Children First’s ambition is for every child in Scotland to be safe, loved and well with their family. As a charity we offer emotional, practical, and financial support to help families to put children first and campaign to uphold the rights of every child.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of our team in Midlothian who are funded to support families experiencing challenges relating to parental substance use, poverty, poor mental health and trauma amongst other factors. In addition, we support Kinship carers and the children and young people in their care. You will join a team offering both whole family and individual supports, where systemic and relational approaches underpin the work we do. We offer peer led groups and connections through community supports also.

This position will predominantly focus on supporting children, young people and their parents where poor mental health is experienced. You will provide both individual and whole family based supports promoting positive mental health and wellbeing. You will also be expected to support group based supports for young people with poor mental health.

If you have experience of working within child protection processes, are committed to restorative approaches, meaningfully involving children and families, and have a professional qualification in a relevant area such as Social Work, Teaching or equivalent in Childcare/Social Care or related area, accredited counselling qualification, or other relevant qualification at SCQF level 9 or higher then we want to hear from you.

Children First are determined that the full incorporation of the UNCRC means that children will have their rights respected in all areas of their lives and will have a real say in the way they are supported. If you share this determination, we would love to hear from you.

What kind of people are we looking for?

• have experience of keeping children safe in their own families
• are fiercely passionate about children’s rights
• thinks it’s a privilege to work with and on behalf of children and families and,
• are kind and will bring their whole selves to the job: heart and mind
• What kind of team member will you be?

Knowing our ambition for children, you will be someone who is:

• resilient, skilled and knowledgeable who wants to transform children’s lives
• determined to support children to stay safely with their own family
• big hearted and courageous
• able to build strong relationships and to manage the tricky conversations
• is compassionate and understanding of trauma
• a cool head and clear minded at times of pressure
• inspiring colleagues and teams to be even better
• an amazing ambassador for children and Children First

Above all else, the most important thing to us is that you are someone who will do the right thing for children and their families at every turn.

Base

You will be based in our office in Hardengreen, Dalkeith but expected to work across Midlothian

Salary, Conditions, Pension

We will offer you a competitive salary, generous annual leave entitlement (40 days inclusive of 9 public holidays). ​We have additional benefits such as a cash back health plan, cycle to work scheme, and option to join a ​Credit Union.

Would you like to make a difference?

Children First is Scotland’s National Children’s Charity.

Our vision is that all children in Scotland grow up safe and well in strong, resilient families and communities and we work tirelessly to make sure that happens. By getting alongside children and their families to offer practical, emotional and financial help we uphold the rights of children to be raised in their own families. The children we support have to overcome many challenges; poverty, isolation, trauma, violence and abuse but we know that with the right support they can recover and live safe and happy lives. We are proud of the way we do things at Children First, we put respect, compassion and relationships at the heart of everything we do and we believe that with the best people delivering the best quality support, amazing transformation can take place.

Our Board of Trustees is committed to this vision and values, and Trustees bring their wide range of skills, knowledge, expertise, objectivity, insight and strategic thought to the table. They involve themselves in our work and steer our organisation forward, working closely with the Chief Executive and executive leadership team of the Charity.

We are currently looking for a new Board Trustee with a legal background who will take on the role of Law Agent as required by Children First’s Royal Charter. This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity for an enthusiastic and dynamic individual. You will have the opportunity to use and develop your legal skills and experience to support children and families across Scotland.

The Position

You will join the Board of around 10 other trustees and will be expected to attend and participate up to 5 Board meetings a year as well as an annual Strategy Day. You will also be expected to sit on one subcommittee of the Board and attend meetings of that subcommittee 3 to 4 times a year. The Law Agent will be appointed for an initial term of 3 years, and is eligible to seek nomination to serve a further 3 year term.

Board Trustees are asked to contribute actively to the Board by providing strategic guidance, setting objectives and goals, evaluating performance and providing challenge and support. You will also be an ambassador for the Charity and are expected to respect, promote and protect the culture and values of the Charity.

All Trustees are expected to have a good understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of the position of a Trustee on a Board.

As Law Agent you will ensure that the Charity complies with it’s governing document and wider legal responsibilities and you will use your legal experience and knowledge to help inform decision making and to support strategic planning at Board meetings. You will be able to apply legal principles to managing risk and ensuring that the policies and processes of the Charity are in line with best legal practice. You will have the ability to identify when the Charity should seek external legal advice.

The formal appointment to the Board will become effective from the date of the Charity’s AGM in September 2025. There will, however, be opportunity to attend Board meetings as an observer before then. New Trustees will participate in an induction process and will be supported in spending time getting to know the organisation.

The Candidate

We are looking for a committed and enthusiastic qualified lawyer to join our Board. Whilst it would be beneficial, you do not need to have specifically worked in the area of child or family law but a keen interest and passion in protecting children’s rights is essential, as well as a commitment to the values of Children First. An understanding of good governance is also required.

You must be able to demonstrate sound, independent judgement and have an ability to be open minded and work collectively. You must have an ability to challenge constructively where required and be able to critically assess and analyse complex issues. Good listening and communication skills are essential.

Children First is committed to being an inclusive and diverse organisation that is representative of the families and communities it supports. The Board supports this commitment and seeks to enhance its diversity from the perspective of ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender and disability. We believe that the more diverse and inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

We welcome and encourage applications from all interested parties who believe they can help make a difference.

The position is voluntary, however reasonable travel expenses are reimbursed.

Special conditions:

• The post is funded until 13th September 2025 – continuation is dependent on funding and maternity leave
• The post may involve evening working – to be negotiated depending on client needs
• You must be able to travel across East Lothian.

Role

Midlothian Young Peoples Advice Service (MYPAS) promotes the health and wellbeing of young people across Midlothian and East Lothian and currently focuses on working in the areas of mental health, substance use and LGBT+ support. MYPAS is a community-based organisation with charitable status and based in Dalkeith, Midlothian.

We are looking for a dynamic and flexible Art Therapist to provide Art Therapy to young people aged 12-18 in East Lothian in both individual and groupwork settings.

The postholder will also develop and promote further therapeutic work both within and outwith MYPAS.

Qualified to Diploma level (or equivalent) in an art therapeutic discipline, a member of BAAT and have experience of working with young people, you will also be committed to delivering a service according to best practice and within community settings.

The postholder will work within a multi-disciplinary service and work effectively with other agencies in partnership settings. Contributing to the wider MYPAS service, the postholder will ensure that young people are worked with using a holistic approach through effectively linking the work of the Therapies team with other areas of MYPAS’ work as well as that of partner organisations.

The post may involve evening working – to be negotiated depending on client needs

Responsible to: Therapeutic Services Manager (East Lothian)

Wellbeing Scotland operates an access-to-records service that offers survivors of childhood abuse emotional and practical support to access, catalogue, and process historic files, enabling them to participate in Scotland’s Redress Scheme.

Due to the growth in work, we are now recruiting additional Access to Records Support Workers to work with a caseload to access records, providing short-term, initial emotional support to ensure the process of access to records is started within two days of receiving a referral.

This will involve working with clients in a trauma-informed way to identify where records may be held and to seek an update from the record holder within twenty-eight days.

It will also involve ensuring ongoing risk assessment and ongoing evaluation with clients and to review client records if requested to do so by the client.

Support will be given to clients to go through their records and to support clients in cataloguing the records and ensuring a chronological arrangement.

Requirements

Essential Skills - The Access to Records Support Worker must have relevant qualifications or experience working with people (e.g., counselling, psychology, social work, education, law, health, youth work). Strong administration skills and the ability to manage and organised a busy caseload.

Desirable Skills - The post holder would benefit from a good understanding of Scotland’s Redress Scheme and historic care system. Knowledge of process related to subject access requests, GDPR and data protection are also desirable.

Workers should possess well developed administration skills, knowledge of IT systems, be highly organised, a strong communicator and able to work autonomously whilst contributing with in a team environment.

Reporting to: Access to Records Team Leader

Are you passionate about helping people to live a better life? Do you want to work for a charity where your health and wellbeing matter just as much as the people you support? Do you want to be part of a trauma-informed team where you will be supported to develop creative and flexible ways of working?

You don’t need to have previous experience or qualifications in this field. If you share our values, this could be the role for you!

At LinkLiving, our values and people are at the heart of everything we do including how we recruit our staff. It is important for us to find people who share our values, which are:

• Empathy (listen to and understand an individual’s needs and circumstances)
• Respect (treat others the way they wish to be treated)
• Integrity (be honest and have strong moral principles)
• Caring (show kindness and concern for others)

LinkLiving is a Scottish health and wellbeing charity that supports people to manage or overcome the effects of negative life experiences (including trauma, mental health challenges, poverty and inequality) so that they can build on their strengths and aspirations in order to live their best possible lives. We support people through a range of models including:

• Personal development and employability programmes
• Self-help coaching
• Supported accommodation
• Care at home
• Housing support
• Befriending
• Social cafes

The Service

Our Edinburgh Mental Health Services is made up of five teams of support workers who provide visiting tenancy support across Edinburgh to people experiencing mental ill health. The service also has a Core and Cluster accommodation service which provides more intensive support to people who have spent time in long-term hospital care. Our support enables the people we work with to live as independently as possible in their own home and improve their mental and physical health.

The Job

We have an exciting opportunity for ambitious and motivated Support Workers to join our team and improve the lives of people supported by our Edinburgh Mental Health Services.

In this role, you will be supported to work using a person centred and trauma informed approach and develop effective relationships with people affected by a range of mental health problems, supporting them to cope in difficult times and working towards recovery and a good life. You will provide emotional, practical and social support to enable people to live as independently as possible and make informed choices in all aspects of their lives.

This role involves the administration of medication to some of the individuals we support. Full training will be provided for this.

For a comprehensive list of the essential and desirable criteria required for this post, please refer to the Job Specification in the Job information Pack below.

What’s in it for you?

The benefits of being a LinkLiving employee (subject to the policies and benefit terms and conditions) include:

• Competitive salary, reviewed annually, and opportunity for annual performance related salary increases and discretionary non-consolidated pay awards, subject to terms of the scheme
• 35 days’ holiday per year (inclusive of public holidays) pro rata plus additional 3 days pro rata after 3 years’ service
• opportunity to buy and sell holiday
• enhanced company sick and family friendly pay
• access to paid SVQ qualifications and a wide range of learning and development opportunities
• funded Disclosure Scotland and Scottish Social Services Council memberships
• defined contribution pension scheme with generous employer contributions plus salary exchange and additional voluntary contribution options
• access to an Electric vehicle leasing scheme, subject to the terms of the scheme
• life assurance scheme providing death in service benefits to named beneficiaries
• healthcare cash plan for employees (and dependents) to support health and wellbeing plus discounts on shopping, restaurants, and other services
• employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate household dependants to support health, mental and financial well-being
• annual flu vaccination
• access to a savings and borrowing scheme
• cycle to work scheme
• monthly bus pass scheme
• season/travel ticket loan and much more!

For a full list of benefits available to employees, please see the following link - linkliving.org.uk/work-with-us

Successful applicants will be required to apply for registration with SSSC within 3 months of their start date and be registered within 6 months.

This post is subject to Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme registration. Link will meet the cost of any new PVG scheme membership or scheme record update.

Who we are

Alzheimer Scotland is Scotland’s national dementia charity. Our aim is to make sure nobody faces dementia alone. We provide support and information to people with dementia, their carers and families, we campaign for the rights of people with dementia and fund vital dementia research.

What you’ll do

You will be responsible for supporting people living with dementia to achieve good outcomes using a range of therapeutic interventions, resources and activities as appropriate. Working as part of the Registered and Commissioned Services team you will have responsibility for ensuring that services are of the highest quality and meet Alzheimer Scotland’s vision for unique therapeutic, highly person-centred support.

You will work with the wider team and Day Services Manager to ensure safe practice and delivery of high-quality, person-centred, therapeutic Registered and Commissioned Services, ensuring practice complies with Alzheimer Scotland’s policies. You will contribute to evidencing, reviewing and continually improving the quality of the services and will participate in internal audit and Care Inspectorate inspections.

You may operate within a building-based Day Care. At times, this will involve working without supervision in the absence of the Day Services Manager.

You will work with the wider team to evidence that services meet Alzheimer Scotland’s Quality Guarantees, Scotland’s Health and Social Care standards and other quality frameworks including those of the Care Inspectorate where relevant. This includes ensuring that the activities and support offered meet the identified personal outcomes of those attending the services.

What you’ll have

The successful candidate will have a good understanding and/or experience of working with or supporting people living with dementia and their families. This will include an understanding of the benefit of high quality, evidence based therapeutic activity, ongoing evaluation, quality assurance and continuous improvement.

Knowledge and understanding of the Health and Social Care Standards and SSSC codes of practice and the Care Inspectorate and their role in registered services.

Understanding and knowledge of dementia, mild cognitive impairment and Brain Health and experience of working with or supporting people living with dementia and their families.

The successful candidate will have a recognised professional qualification in health, social work or related field, to SCQF Level 6 (SVQ 2)

The successful candidate for this post will be required to provide proof of right to work in the UK and will also be subject to a PVG check through Disclosure Scotland.

Everyday people with chest, heart and stroke conditions are leaving hospital scared and alone. You can be part of our mission to make sure that there is no life half lived in Scotland.

By joining Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS) as a Sunday Assistant Manager you can be the difference between people just surviving and really living.

You will be part of Scotland’s leading charity providing support to people with chest, heart and stroke conditions to live life to the full again. Our Hospital to Home services forms a nationwide network of local support groups, nurses, volunteers and one-to-one support teams helping families adjust to life with a heart or lung condition or after a stroke.

We are looking for an enthusiastic Sunday Assistant Manager for our Melrose store. You’d be responsible for leading a team to engage with the community to deliver the set Key Performance Indicators. You will have the autonomy to be innovative in achieving your targets.

CHSS also supports flexible recruitment through Working Families, and we are “Happy to Talk Flexible Working”.

In line with our commitment to safeguarding, this role is subject to a Basic Disclosure check. CHSS is committed to equality of opportunity and to providing a service which is free from unfair and unlawful discrimination. We therefore aim to ensure that no applicant, volunteer or member of staff is unfairly treated on the grounds of offending background.

Three Sixty are a successful independent mental health charity established in 1987 to support people affected by mental illness, including their families, within their community.

Based in Ayr, we are an innovative and expanding mental health and mental well-being charity, transforming lives across South Ayrshire working with people aged 16 and above.

We have a vision for a society where people have hope, choice, and aspirations. Where mental health is not a barrier to a fulfilling and active life and mental well-being is at the core of building a solid foundation.

We are actively working towards our vision through the provision of a range of services that are strengths based and person centred. Encouraging individuals to access a range of supports to establish what they feel works for them in promoting their mental well-being.

Conversation and connection is at the core of our support, building capacity and positive relationships through focused 1:2:1 supports, group supports and more holistic and therapeutic supports. We are a creative, developing and ambitious team. We need Directors to join our board to help us drive forward our ambitions for the organisation.

Who are we looking for?

Voluntary Directors are required to help us steer the charity through an exciting time of change and development as well as help oversee the strategy, direction and aims of the organisation on behalf of its members.

We are seeking people who are passionate about our cause, who believe in mental health recovery and who want to use their skills and experience to help us make a difference to people’s lives.

Who we are

Alzheimer Scotland is Scotland’s national dementia charity. Our aim is to make sure nobody faces dementia alone. We provide support and information to people with dementia, their carers and families, we campaign for the rights of people with dementia and fund vital dementia research.

What you’ll do

At present, there are an estimated 8,464 citizens living with dementia in Edinburgh. Around 300 of these people are under the age of 65 years old.

Would you like to make a difference to the lives of younger people living with dementia in Edinburgh?

Supporting individuals to achieve good outcomes, to keep connected to their communities, engage in their interests and hobbies and access peer support, using your own car to help people get around (mileage and expenses are paid).

Working as part of the Registered and Commissioned Services/Community Connections team you will have responsibility for ensuring that services are of the highest quality and meet Alzheimer Scotland’s vision for unique therapeutic, highly person-centred support.

You will work with the wider team and Day Services Manager to ensure safe practice and delivery of high-quality, person-centred, therapeutic Registered and Commissioned Services/Community Connections, ensuring practice complies with Alzheimer Scotland’s policies. You will contribute to evidencing, reviewing and continually improving the quality of the services and will participate in internal audit and Care Inspectorate inspections.

You may operate within a building-based Day Care or as part of a Community Connection team delivering Community Groups and Outreach services across an allocated area. At times, this will involve working without supervision in the absence of the Day Services Manager.

You will work with the wider team to evidence that services meet Alzheimer Scotland’s Quality Guarantees, Scotland’s Health and Social Care standards and other quality frameworks including those of the Care Inspectorate where relevant. This includes ensuring that the activities and support offered meet the identified personal outcomes of those attending the services.

What you’ll have

The successful candidate will have a good understanding and/or experience of working with or supporting people living with dementia and their families. This will include an understanding of the benefit of high quality, evidence based therapeutic activity, ongoing evaluation, quality assurance and continuous improvement.

Knowledge and understanding of the Health and Social Care Standards and SSSC codes of practice and the Care Inspectorate and their role in registered services.

Understanding and knowledge of dementia, mild cognitive impairment and Brain Health and experience of working with or supporting people living with dementia and their families.

The successful candidate will have a recognised professional qualification in health, social work or related field, to SCQF Level 6 (SVQ 2)

This post requires a full driving licence and access to a car.

The Role:

LifeCare is a forward-thinking growing charity with a proud 85-year history of supporting people 50+ across Edinburgh. We employ over 80 staff and are supported by a range of volunteers.

Our Day Services operate Monday to Friday from two locations in Edinburgh (Stockbridge and Portobello). These services offer high quality day support including pick up and drop off service, alongside days filled with activities, companionship, high quality lunches and lots of smiles. In addition, this service provides much needed support and respite to their unpaid carer.

The service is wonderful and gives mums life some purpose and she loves it!

We are looking for exceptional individuals to join our dedicated teams. You will make a big difference to people’s lives delivering a range of activities alongside providing care including personal care where required. Most importantly, you will ensure people feel special and cared for. If you are caring, compassionate and want to work for a charity that also cares about you, come join our growing team.

As well as a competitive annual salary, our valued team also benefits from:

• 30 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
• Employer pension contribution, including salary exchange schemes
• Accident insurance
• Access to paid training and development opportunities including SVQ’s
• A supportive team culture.

Previous experience working in social care would be an advantage, but this is not essential. Your enthusiasm, caring nature and willingness to learn are just as important.