This is an exciting opportunity to join the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) as our Policy and Public Affairs Officer, playing a key role in shaping and delivering our policy and campaigning work.

SYP has a proud history of championing youth-led campaigns that drive meaningful policy change. From securing Votes at 16 and Equal Marriage to advocating for the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law, we have consistently worked to improve the lives of young people across Scotland.

As we develop our new manifesto, this role will be instrumental in ensuring that young people’s voices are heard by decision-makers at all levels. The Policy and Public Affairs Officer will support young people to influence policy, engage with politicians, and drive forward the changes they want to see in society.

If you are passionate about amplifying young people’s voices and have the skills to support impactful policy work and public affairs engagement, we would love to hear from you.

MYPAS is a charity that provides free and confidential services for children and young people aged 10-21 years old across Midlothian and East Lothian, currently focusing on the key areas of mental health, substance use harm reduction and LGBT+ support. Demand for these services is high and increasing.

We are currently looking for enthusiastic individuals with Business experience to join our Board to support the governance and strategic leadership of the charity.

We are particularly interested in people who have experience of running a Business or Organisation, with knowledge and experience in the following areas:

• Business Management & Strategy
• HR, including recruitment & staff management
• Experience of employment law, employment policies
• Financial management, reporting and analysis
• Budgeting and budgetary control
• Planning and project management
• Leadership and change management

If your experience looks a little different, but you think you can bring value to our Board, we’d like to learn more about you.

Previous experience of being a Board member is not essential as training and mentoring will be available to the successful candidate(s) to develop their skills if necessary.

As a voluntary position, it will not be paid but travel and other expenses for attendance at meetings are reimbursed in line with our policy.

Join Barnardo's: Make a Difference to Young Lives

Barnardo's is a compassionate service provider supporting young people who have experienced trauma. Our Highland Clover service, developed in partnership with Highland Council, offers tailored care for young people with complex trauma and additional support needs. We aim to provide a safe, nurturing environment where young people can heal, grow, and thrive.

Clover stands for Care, Love, and Respect—the values that underpin everything we do and guide our approach to supporting young people and each other. We are seeking an empathetic, skilled individual to join our team and help us deliver on The Promise—ensuring every child's right to a safe, happy, and fulfilling childhood.

About the Role:

The Highland Clover service currently provides two support packages one of which is a 24-hour residential care service and the other provides bespoke individual care and wellbeing support. These innovative services are designed specifically for our young people for whom conventional support packages have not been appropriate. We are excited to be pioneering this new care model.

What We're Looking For:

• A passion for improving young people's lives
• Empathy and experience in trauma-informed care
• Ability to champion and advocate for young people
• Creative, proactive, and willing to bring new ideas to support their journey

Why Barnardo's?

• Impactful Work: Be part of a team that is transforming the way care is delivered and making a positive impact on young people's lives.
• Inclusive Environment: We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experiences.
• Supportive Team: Work alongside a dedicated, passionate team where your contributions are valued.
• Residential Care Involvement: This role involves working in a residential care setting, providing round-the-clock support to young people.

For more details, please refer to the attached role profile and additional supporting information. In your application, please highlight your relevant skills and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

Benefits

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing after 5 years service
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's

At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. Please read about our basis and values following the link below. You will be asked questions relating to them as part of the recruitment process for this role.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is reflected in our values and our practice, and we have invested in this area of our work to ensure that we can deliver on our commitments to be an inclusive employer. EDI is a key enabler of our purpose as a charity and we want to ensure that the diversity of our teams is reflective of the communities we serve and that we continue to learn and develop our work with a focus on inclusion. We particularly encourage applications from candidates from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic Communities, candidates who are LGBT+ and Disabled candidates.

Our basis and values

Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our mission is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland and we currently have over 3000 Care Experienced members.

At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced children and young people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual relationship-based independent advocacy and a broad range of imaginative participatory opportunity for Care Experienced young people across Scotland; we work alongside corporate parents and communities of all sorts to broaden understanding; we work with policy makers, leaders and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy and practice on the basis of all that can be learnt from the voices of those with experience of care - working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.

The People & Culture Officer will support the People & Culture Manager to provide high quality HR administration. The post holder will have a lead role in the areas of recruitment, payroll collation, supporting employee wellbeing, and coordinating employee relations support. They will also coordinate health and safety and workforce development, implementing exciting organisational learning and development opportunities.

If this sounds like the role for you, we would love to hear from you. For an informal conversation about this opportunity please contact Shahnila Bano, our People & Culture Manager at sbano@whocaresscotland.org

We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of care who meet the criteria for the post.

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 Young Persons’ Service provides visiting housing support and supported accommodation to people between 16 and 25 years old who live in Edinburgh.

We support young people, who have been in care, experienced homelessness, trauma or any disadvantage to overcome the challenges they may face whilst helping them to achieve their own individual goals and shape their lives for a more positive future.

This can involve finding a suitable home, learning the skills to manage it as well as possible, working through life challenges, trying new things, and learning to see the best in themselves and fulfil their unique potential. We also have supported flats which vary in the level of support offered to suit the needs of the people who live there.

The Job

We have an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and motivated Support Worker to join our team and improve the lives of people supported by our Edinburgh Young Persons’ Service.

In this role, you will be supported to work using a person centred and trauma informed approach and develop effective relationships with young people affected by a range of problems, supporting them to cope in difficult times and working towards 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.

In this role you will be responsible to manage your caseload independently and work flexibly around people's individual needs.

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 above.

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 - https://www.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.

Interested? If you have any questions about the role, please email jobs@linkhaltd.co.uk and we can arrange for someone from the service to call you for an informal chat.

To find out more about what LinkLiving do and to view the generous pay and benefits package, please visit our website at https://www.linkliving.org.uk

If you’re thinking about working in adult social care, download the Guide to adult social care jobs in Scotland for in-depth information on everything you need to know to get started. In addition, you can enrol on a free, online 6 week part-time tutor-supported ‘Introduction to a Career in Social Care’ course. The course introduces the area of social care and can be a stepping-stone to employment or further training.

We have an opportunity for a Strategic Planning Manager to join the Strategic Planning team on a full-time fixed term contract for 12 months. This is a dynamic role where you will co-ordinate the key components of the strategy management system.

It’s an exciting time to join the Fund as we implement our 2030 strategy ‘It Starts with Community’. Our ambitious 3-year Corporate Plan sets stretching goals to guide the organisation’s delivery of the strategy. The Strategic Planning team plays a key role in driving the Fund to achieve our overarching strategic ambitions. Through our strategy, we aim to build resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable. We’re committed to focusing our efforts where the need is greatest, particularly with people, places and communities who experience poverty, disadvantage, and discrimination. We’re eager to make a significant impact in the years ahead.

You will be part of a small, dispersed team working flexibly to meet the needs of our key stakeholders. The team oversees the Fund’s corporate planning, business planning and project/programme management processes to ensure we achieve our strategic ambitions.

You will bring expertise in strategic planning to facilitate the annual business planning process within senior leadership teams across the Fund, supporting directorates to deliver our strategic aspirations. We are looking for someone with a keen eye for detail who can also see the bigger picture. Through a continuous improvement approach you will regularly review our ways of working and be empowered to identify and implement innovative solutions. With your strategic thinking and analytical skills you will contribute to reports to senior leaders to provide assurance, raise issues and support effective decision making.

You will work collaboratively with our wider network of colleagues from across the organisation to deliver our key corporate processes, including the Finance team to ensure alignment between planning and budgeting.

You’ll play a key role in reporting against our strategic transformation and delivery programme, helping the Fund to assess whether we are on track to achieve our goals. You will have a strong background in project delivery, helping to develop and strengthen our internal project management capabilities by rolling out project management tools and templates, and providing coaching and guidance to project leads.

With strong organisational skills you will manage your workload and priorities throughout the year, ensuring that team priorities are met and aligning your efforts with the overall goals of the team. Your strong communication skills and passion will help raise the profile of the team and our work with colleagues across the Fund. There will be some travel expectations, with quarterly face-to-face team meetings within one of our offices.

Background and Job Description

Mikeysline is a Highland-based mental health awareness and suicide prevention charity established in 2015. We provide support through our evening text-based services and on a 1:1 basis at our Hives (face to face, telephone and online) and in secondary schools in Highland and Moray. We also offer a range of other services, including Hive on the Road.

Hive on the Road, our mobile Hive, was launched in February 2024. To date, our fully converted Ford Transit Van has travelled to locations throughout the Highlands and Moray, as well as taking trips to Orkney. We are delighted to be developing this project further in 2025, with a particular emphasis on building connections in the North West of the Highland area (including the Western Isles).

One of the aims of the Hive on the Road project is to provide accessible mental health support across the Highlands, Islands and Moray, in areas not yet reached by other face-to-face services. The main body of the Hive on the Road vehicle has been transformed into a welcoming and safe space to facilitate mental health support sessions as needed. As well as providing support, Hive on the Road is a vital tool for raising awareness of Mikeysline services in new communities, reducing stigma surrounding mental health and accessing support.

We are looking for a Development Manager to join our team, with a particular focus on developing and raising awareness of Mikeysline and Hive on the Road, across the North West Highlands. The successful candidate for this role will build enduring relationships with businesses, organisations and communities to develop our understanding of the mental health support needs in rural areas. In particular, we are keen to collaborate with, and learn from, local crofting communities and those in rural industries, including forestry, fisheries and agriculture.

The Development Manager will be responsible for identifying potential stakeholders/collaborators across the area and planning future visits/activities/events for the Hive on the Road project. The post-holder will also have a key role in recruiting volunteers to support our delivery across the North West Highlands. It is expected that the successful candidate for this role will spend part of the week travelling with the vehicle (subject to business need), with the support of volunteers.

Person Specification:

This is a key post within the Mikesyline management team and we are looking for an exceptional leader to support the development and ongoing expansion of our Hive on the Road project.

You will be a dynamic and experienced manager with a background of working in mental health services and/or have significant knowledge of mental health issues. You will have experience in service planning, delivery and evaluation, with a focus on achieving measurable outcomes.

You will be a skilled communicator, with the confidence to liaise with people at all levels and the ability to collaborate and develop strong relationships with key partners. You will be creative, thrive on working both within a team and on your own specific areas of work, and have highly tuned time management and organisational skills.

You will be proactive in your approach to this role, with the confidence and experience needed to approach new potential stakeholders and build lasting, fruitful relationships. You will be able to make solution-focused decisions quickly, using your own initiative. You will need to be flexible. Travelling to Hive on the Road locations may include longer days and occasional overnight stays.

Training will provided by Mikeysline and there will be ongoing learning and development opportunities available, but we are looking for demonstrable confidence and skills in the above areas from the start.

Due to the nature of Mikeysline work, the postholder will work with awareness of the importance of safeguarding, confidentiality and data protection, ensuring adherence to best practice and following Mikeysline’s policies at all times. Good IT skills and a full, clean UK driving license are essential for this role.

To find out more about this role, please email rachelhughes@mikeysline.co.uk

Overview of Organisation:

Heavy Sound is a Community Interest Company, incorporated in 2015, based in East Lothian. We work with disconnected young people and adults, re-engaging them through strength-based activities of interest including music, biking, sports, creative arts, education, mentoring and 1:1 therapy. By building trusting relationships we help inspire positive opportunities for further learning, life skills development, and future training and employment.

Job role:

The role is to manage and deliver outreach youth work projects, activities, and events across East Lothian, working in partnership with existing youth clubs and other stakeholders.

Heavy Sound has a 40ft single decker bus, The Community Reach & Inclusion Bus (The Crib) which provides community outreach initiatives including music, creative arts, and bike activities. The role will involve bringing equipment, and on occasions our bus (The Crib), along to youth clubs and community events, and running various activities from it. Activities will mainly be music and bike-based consisting of DJ’ing, electronic music production and basic bike mechanics. If there is not suitable space for The Crib, activities take place in community halls etc.

The role can either be part-time to deliver the above, or potentially full-time if the applicant has an additional skillset in music, creative arts, biking, sports, outdoor pursuits, education, or mentoring.

An ability to drive the bus is not essential but would be highly desirable. Only a normal Category B driving license is required as the vehicle doesn’t carry passengers and is classed as a ‘mobile project vehicle’ by DVLA.

Flexible working is required as there will be evening and occasional weekend work.

Overview of Organisation:

Heavy Sound is a Community Interest Company, incorporated in 2015, based in East Lothian. We work with disconnected young people and adults, re-engaging them through strength-based activities of interest including music, biking, sports, creative arts, education, mentoring and 1:1 therapy. By building trusting relationships we help inspire positive opportunities for further learning, life skills development, and future training and employment.

16+ Programme:

Heavy Sound transforms the lives of vulnerable, disengaged and, in the main, care-experienced 11–15-year-olds across East Lothian. Based on their needs, we have developed a 16+ Programme to extend this support to provide:

• Life skills development
• Qualifications
• Support into further education, volunteering, training and employment

Participants are referred mainly through education and social work, and engage in a variety of activities including education, music, biking, sports and mentoring, leading to qualifications and awards, and life skills development.

Flexibility in hours is required as there is a weekly evening 16+ drop-in.

Heavy Sound is a Community Interest Company, incorporated in 2015, based in East Lothian. We work with disconnected young people and adults, re-engaging them through strength-based activities of interest including music, biking, sports, creative arts, education, mentoring and 1:1 therapy. By building trusting relationships we help inspire positive opportunities for further learning, life skills development, and future training and employment.

Job Role:

The successful candidate will be a music practitioner with experience of taking a trauma-informed, therapeutic approach. An additional skillset in creative arts, or sports/biking/outdoor pursuits/other activities would be highly desirable.

• You will be facilitating 1:1 and group sessions as well as developing and delivering music-based projects with young people, all of whom have experienced trauma. Your work will focus on providing opportunities for participants to enjoy music and be playful with their own musicality in a trauma-inclusive environment. Sessions and projects are adapted to suit the young people’s individual needs and interests. They may include listening to music, creating music videos, writing, recording, and producing the young people’s music, learning songs and playing together, or facilitating therapeutic group activities such as drumming workshops or beat making. You will work in a resource-oriented way to empower and encourage the young people to explore their musical interests and have fun with music. Our participants have diverse needs. You should be adaptable, patient, and able to create an inclusive space where every young person feels valued and inspired.
• We are looking for someone with an additional skillset in creative arts, sports/biking/outdoor pursuits/other activities to deliver 1:1 and group sessions as described above.

Successful candidates must possess a positive can-do attitude, a real talent for engaging young people, demonstrate self-motivation, and exhibit a strong ability to adapt to changing circumstances in order to thrive in our dynamic work environment.

Flexibility in working hours is essential, as the role includes a weekly evening drop-in, with occasional cover needed for absences in our evening outreach programme supporting youth clubs in East Lothian, and occasional weekend events work.

Full-time or part-time considered depending on skillset.