About Us

Borders Independent Advocacy Service (BIAS) has established itself as one of Scotland’s leading providers of independent advocacy, delivering exceptional services since 1995. At the heart of our work are the rights of advocacy partners and the power of their voices to bring about positive change.

We provide individual, issue-based independent advocacy for people across the Scottish Borders. We work alongside corporate parents and communities to broaden understanding, and with policymakers, leaders and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy and practice based on the lived experience of advocacy partners in Scottish Borders.

About the Role

BIAS is seeking passionate, values-driven individuals to join our Board of Trustees and help shape the future of our organisation. If you have experience in finance, HR, law, or advocacy, and a passion for supporting others, we would love to hear from you. We are looking to strengthen our Board to help guide the charity forward.

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a dedicated and experienced team.
• Make a real impact in your community.
• Flexible meeting options (in person and online).
• Help us continue our important work and make a difference.

What does the role involve?

Board Members support the strategic direction, governance, and sustainability of Borders Independent Advocacy Service. Responsibilities include:

• Attending quarterly Board meetings (held both online and in person).
• Attending occasional additional meetings, particularly during key development periods.
• Meetings usually lasting less than 2 hours
• Reviewing Board papers in advance, which are circulated by email (hard copies available on request)
• Supporting good governance and effective decision-making.
• Acting as an ambassador for BIAS.
• Contributing skills, expertise, and insight.
• Supporting the organisation to achieve its strategic objectives.

This is a voluntary role, offering the opportunity to make a genuine difference in the lives of advocacy partners across the Scottish Borders and contribute to the organisation’s continued growth.

What we offer

• The opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives.
• A supportive, inclusive and values-led Board.
• Induction, training, and ongoing development.
• Opportunities to contribute strategically to a growing organisation.
• Experience of charity governance and strategic leadership.

The Manager of the North Harris Trust will be responsible for the management of all staff at the Trust. They will be required to successfully initiate and manage a portfolio of projects throughout the estate to ensure that the Trust is generating increased income to facilitate growth. They will have overall responsibility for maintaining and improving the North Harris Estate. They will be required to work with Directors and partner organisations to meet the aims and objectives of the Trust.

About East Lothian Foodbank

East Lothian Foodbank provides food and emergency daily essentials to local people who are experiencing hardship in East Lothian. Alongside the provision of emergency food parcels, we offer a money advice service and practical support to help address the challenges individuals and families who use our service face. In addition to this, we work alongside partners and our local community, to influence policy towards ending poverty in East Lothian.

As an independent Scottish charity, we are fortunate to also be part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by Trussell, working together to ensure no one in the UK needs a food bank to survive.

About this role

This is a new post, which will play a key role in developing and embedding our signposting pathways – and an opportunity to play a pivotal role in improving outcomes for the people using our service.

The Community Signposting Worker will provide person-centred, trauma-informed support to individuals and families experiencing financial hardship (taking a "What Matters to You" approach) and empowering people as active agents in their own journey while also contributing to the development of new ways of working, improved outcomes, and stronger partnership integration.

The postholder will improve how we record and use signposting data through our E-referral system (DCS), and train and build the confidence of volunteers to take on a sustained signposting role when the funding ends. A key part of this role is bringing volunteers on the journey building their confidence and capability in signposting.

This is a time-limited, developmental role, designed to support both service delivery and system change.

About the East Lothian Foodbank

East Lothian Foodbank provides food and emergency daily essentials to local people who are experiencing hardship in East Lothian. Alongside the provision of emergency food parcels and essentials, we offer a money advice service and practical support to individuals and families who use our service. In addition to this, we work with partners and local community to influence policy towards ending poverty in East Lothian.

As an independent Scottish charity, we are fortunate to also be part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by Trussell, working together to ensure no one in the UK needs a food bank to survive.

About this role

This is a varied and hands-on role based in our warehouse for a proactive individual, looking to support local communities. You will help lead a team of volunteers to ensure that our warehouse runs efficiently by - coordinating effective stock control, arranging timely transportation of stock deliveries, and meeting legislative standards (Health & Safety, Environmental Health, Food Hygiene etc).

This is a supervisor role in which you will support and guide team members in the day-to-day running of our foodbank. This will include our new Food Club Coordinator and our Van Driver.

WE’RE RECRUITING

Join our community food initiative as our new Service Delivery Coordinator

To better meet the needs of our community, we’re introducing a second part-time coordinator to work alongside our established team member. This collaborative role features a three-day schedule (working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday), creating a vital two-day overlap with our existing coordinator (who works Tuesday to Thursday) providing sustained support for local people experiencing financial hardship and food insecurity.

About the role

Our service delivery coordinators are responsible for the management and delivery of our emergency food provision and the day-to-day operation of our advice service. This is a key role assisting clients in crisis, working with them to understand their individual situations and offering tailored support to help them move forward.

About you

• Experience of working with people from disadvantaged, marginalised, or socially excluded backgrounds.
• Strong communication skills, empathy and compassion.
• Experience of or a keen interest in working or volunteering in the Third Sector.
• Flexible in approach; able to adapt to changing demands and prioritise effectively in a busy setting.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a small team of colleagues andvolunteers.

About us

The Lammermuir Larder is a small community food initiative based in Haddington, East Lothian. Established in 2021, our goal is to build a more resilient community through addressing the inequalities in our local area. Originally a constituted group, we became a Scottish Incorporated Charitable Organisation in May 2025.

Our emergency food provision together with our advice service are a lifeline for people in crisis, providing a holistic approach to support those in challenging situations. Our Community Shop is designed to help people stretch their food budgets whilst at the same time alleviating food waste. Our Let’s Cook initiative provides free cookery classes designed to show participants how to prepare nutritious, low-cost meals. By addressing the root causes of food insecurity and providing tailored support, we help individuals and families get back on their feet and move towards building a more sustainable future.

We couldn't do what we do without our team of dedicated volunteers. They bring a huge amount of life experience and skills to the Larder ensuring our clients are always treated with dignity and respect.

TACT is looking for one exceptional and experienced individual to become a member of the new Family Forward Ayrshire team.

The Role:

The Community Engagement Worker will make sure there is “no wrong door” into Family Forward Ayrshire for families who may be least likely to self-refer or engage with formal services.

The role will build and maintain trusted relationships with community organisations and local networks across all three Ayrshire areas, creating accessible and credible routes into the programme. The post will work particularly with communities experiencing poverty, exclusion or barriers to accessing services, ensuring that the programme reaches families who might otherwise remain unseen.

The Community Engagement Worker will act as a trusted local presence for the programme, working alongside community organisations, schools, minority ethnic communities, peer networks and voluntary groups. The role will support families to take their first steps into the programme, gather intelligence about what communities are experiencing, and ensure that the programme remains responsive to local needs.

The role is therefore central to achieving the programme's ambition to increase referral volume while ensuring that at least 60% of engagement is with identified priority groups.

Role Philosophy

The Community Engagement Worker will help ensure that Family Forward Ayrshire goes to the places and relationships where families already feel safe and trusted, rather than expecting families to find their way to the service.

The role is about building bridges between communities and the programme: developing trust, creating informal opportunities to engage, reducing barriers and ensuring that families who are least likely to self-refer are not left behind.

The Community Engagement Worker will be the programme's human face in the community, creating the trusted local routes through which families can take their first step towards sustained support.

Equality and Inclusion

We are committed to building a diverse workforce and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Applications from people with lived experience of poverty, caring responsibilities or barriers to employment are encouraged.

About TACT:

The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) is a charity based in North Ayrshire that provides programmes and projects that make a difference to people’s lives by encouraging, supporting and promoting community action.

TACT are a Living Wage and Living Hours employer.

TACT and CEIS Ayrshireare recruiting jointly as part of this programme, view the CEIS posts here.

TACT is looking for one exceptional and experienced individual to become a member of the new Family Forward Ayrshire team.

The Role:

The Early-Stage Employability Worker will provide a dedicated confidence, readiness and early employability strand for adults who are furthest from the labour market and who may not yet be ready to engage with mainstream employability provision.

The role recognises that for some adults, particularly those experiencing poverty, poor health, trauma, low confidence or disrupted life circumstances, a conventional employability offer can be too early or feel unattainable. The focus is therefore on building the foundations for future progression: confidence, routine, participation, relationships, practical experience and a sense of capability.

Working within each person's existing family plan, the Early-Stage Employability Worker will provide flexible, strengths-based support without imposing a compliance or progression requirement. The role will work closely with Family Navigators and the Progression Coordinator so that adults can move towards further employability support when they are genuinely ready, rather than being pushed prematurely into formal provision.

Role Philosophy:

The Early-Stage Employability Worker recognises that employment is sometimes the destination, not the starting point.

For adults who are furthest from the labour market, the first step may be leaving the house, joining a group, trying something new, taking on a small responsibility, volunteering for an hour or simply beginning to believe that change is possible.

The role is therefore about building the first rungs of the ladder. It creates safe opportunities for skills, confidence and participation while remaining connected to the individual's wider family plan. Progression is encouraged when it is meaningful and sustainable, but never pursued simply to meet a target.

The worker's role is to help adults move from “I'm not ready” to “I might be able to”, and ultimately to support them to take their next step when that step is genuinely theirs.

Equality and Inclusion

We are committed to building a diverse workforce and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Applications from people with lived experience of poverty, caring responsibilities or barriers to employment are encouraged.

About TACT:

The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) is a charity based in North Ayrshire that provides programmes and projects that make a difference to people’s lives by encouraging, supporting and promoting community action.

TACT are a Living Wage and Living Hours employer.

TACT and CEIS Ayrshireare recruiting jointly as part of this programme, view the CEIS posts here.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our team of paid and volunteer staff to further develop our Debt Advice service across Clackmannanshire Citizens Advice Bureau. We have been delivering a valuable, high level service to the community of Clackmannanshire for over 50 years. We have accreditation in Type iii advice by Scottish National Standards for advice providers (SNSIAP) in the areas of Housing, Debt and Benefits.

Clackmannanshire Citizens Advice Bureau, based in Alloa, is an independent and innovative advice organisation providing holistic advice to the residents of Clackmannanshire across 6 locations in the county. We average 26-30 paid staff and 21 volunteers who provide a wide range of services across our 20 projects.

We offer additional working benefits such as 5% employers pension contribution, free membership of an employer health plan, free ebike loans, annual performance related salary increases,flexible working scheme including some home working and flexible starts finish times and the ability to buy and sell annual leave.

We are looking for a highly motivated and conscientious individual who wants to be part of a nationally accredited information and advice service.

The Debt Adviser will provide specialist debt advice up to Scottish National Standards Type iii, to clients referred through general services and partner agencies.

This will include complex debt case management, maintaining consistent working practice and quality assurance of debt cases ensuring that policy and practice meets all legal & regulatory requirements including the Financial Conduct Authority.

Enthusiasm, strong social awareness, good communication skills and an excellent team player are prerequisites for this demanding position. Significant experience in advice work, good organisational skills and an eye for details are essential. Consideration will be given to highly experienced exceptional individuals with experience as Generalist Advisers who can undertake Debt Advice training.

This post specifically exists to ensure the delivery of a high quality Debt Service within Clackmannanshire Citizens Advice Bureau. It will involve providing support to staff and volunteers who also deliver the service. This post supports the learning and development of a high quality service by ensuring provision of formal/informal training to staff/volunteers in conjunction with our General Services Supervisor.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our team of paid and volunteer staff to further develop our Energy Advice service. Clackmannanshire Citizens Advice Bureau, based in Alloa, is an independent and innovative advice organisation providing holistic advice to the residents of Clackmannanshire across 7 locations in the county. We currently have 25 paid staff and 14 volunteers who provide a wide range of services, across our projects.

We have been delivering a valuable, high-level service to the community of Clackmannanshire for over 50 years. We have accreditation in Type III advice by Scottish National Standards for advice providers (SNSIAP) in the areas of Housing, Energy, Debt and Benefits.

All bureaux are members of Citizens Advice Scotland (the Scottish Association of CABx), and as such must meet specific conditions of membership related to standards of service and other matters. Each operates as an independent charity. This bureau is a limited company as well as a registered charity, governed by a board of directors/trustees.

About the Role

This role of Safe & Warm Energy Adviser has been funded since 2022 and is now extended until March 31st 2028 with the possibility of a further extension and provides an excellent opportunity based at our premises in Glebe Hall, Burgh Mews, Alloa.

We are looking for a highly motivated organised person with the drive and enthusiasm to build on the Bureau’s successful track record of supporting vulnerable people facing financial hardship. The Safe & Warm Adviser will help people experiencing problems with utility services make informed decisions, control their budgets and avoid fuel poverty.

In addition, there is a requirement to provide and maintain accurate records, provide statistical data and provide reports, as required, whilst managing their own workload. An understanding of the needs of our funders and their requirements is necessary.

Applicants should ideally be a suitably experienced worker able to publicise the project and to encourage self-referrals from other agencies. There is a requirement to have a knowledge of the process of project delivery with excellent interpersonal skills as partnership working in the voluntary and statutory sectors are required.

Applicants should also demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills, enthusiasm, strong social awareness and an excellent team player, be well organised and be proficient in using a range of IT tools to carry out their work, including case recording systems, Microsoft Office.

This post specifically exists to ensure the delivery of an ongoing Energy Advice Service within Clackmannanshire Citizens Advice Bureau. It will involve providing support to staff and volunteers who also deliver the service. This post supports the ongoing learning and development of a high-quality service by ensuring provision of training to staff/volunteers in conjunction with our General Services Supervisor.

Consideration maybe given to individuals who do not meet the full requirements of the post, but who could be trained in a reasonable period this will be offered at below the entry level salary initially.

Committed, results-driven and supportive to the needs of others, the successful applicant will be able to work both on their own initiative as well as part of a team and must be willing to follow and develop agreed procedures.

This is a unique opportunity to give citizens access to free, impartial and confidential advice helping them to make informed decisions, whenever they need it and however they choose to access it.

Employee Benefits

We offer additional working benefits, such as annual performance related salary increases, 5% employer’s pension contribution plan, free membership of an employer health plan, free use of company e-bikes and a retail perks scheme. Holiday entitlement for full year is 39 days pro rata leave including public holidays, with the ability to buy and sell annual leave. Flexible working scheme including some flexible start and finish times.