Introduction to MYDG

Muirhouse Youth Development Group was established in 1997 and has been working with young people from Muirhouse and the surrounding areas ever since. Over the past 30 years, we have built strong, trusted relationships with young people, their families, the local community, and with the high school in which we are based. We deliver a full week of activities for young people, including evening youth clubs and in-school support. MYDG works with young people aged 8–18, and we support their development through opportunities such as our Young Volunteers Programme.

Purpose of the Job

Our Youth Development Workers play a direct role in engaging and supporting young people: delivering issue-based sessions, creating safe and inclusive spaces, and ensuring that young people’s voices are heard and prioritised in decision-making—both within the organisation and in the wider community.

We are looking for someone with a good understanding of the experiences and challenges young people face in the local area, and with experience in delivering impactful group work programmes.

Role Requirements

This role requires the postholder to deliver high-quality, safe, fun, and empowering youth work activities and support services. You will be part of a small, collaborative team working to achieve key outcomes for young people, as required by our funders. The postholder should have the confidence and ability to develop, deliver, and promote a relevant and engaging youth work programme for young people of varying ages.

Key responsibilities include

• Designing and delivering youth work sessions across a range of topics
• Recording, monitoring, and evaluating your work effectively
• Building and maintaining positive relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, and partner organisations
• Upholding and promoting the values of MYDG

Contributing to our online presence through social media and digital platforms

Young Women’s Work – Occupational Requirement

We are currently seeking to recruit a female Youth Development Worker to support our young women’s work, both within mixed settings and targeted group sessions.

This post is open to female applicants only, as the role involves working closely with young women on gender-specific issues. This requirement is considered to be an Occupational Requirement, as permitted under Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010.

At Rock Trust, our people are our greatest asset. As the organisation grows, we are introducing a People and Organisational Development role to ensure our staff have continued access to excellent HR support, including recruitment, on-boarding, induction, Learning and development and talent management. Working with the People and Business Support Manager and colleagues across the organisation, you will deliver all aspects of people support, management and development.

This is a role that would be ideal for an aspiring HR Manager looking to develop their HR career working with an experienced CIPD qualified People Manager, and in an organisation that, although growing, is small enough to offer experience across the full range of HR practice. Some previous HR experience is essential.

In addition to the responsibilities in the Job Description, the successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following key competencies:

• Working as part of a small team.
• Confidentiality.
• Reliability.
• Professionalism.
• Proactivity.

Who We Are

We are Scotland’s leading youth homelessness charity. We believe that no young person should ever face homelessness. That’s why we deliver bold, youth-specific solutions, built around young people’s experiences and what evidence tells us works.

We support young people to avoid and move on from homelessness, helping them build the confidence, skills and stability they need to thrive in adulthood. We also influence policy and practice to create a Scotland where no young person is left behind.

We don’t follow the system, we change it, continually championing the voices and experiences of all young people.

Context

Rock Trust delivers the Upstream prevention project in schools and the post holder will work with the Upstream Team, pilot schools and education departments to create a toolkit for the implementation of Upstream. This will involve working with current pilot schools to document the changes required in school systems, the challenges and how to overcome them and an assessment of the resources required to deliver Upstream. The Ask & Act Education Manager will use this learning to create a toolkit and implementation plan to be used for national implementation.

This role is responsible for:

• Coordinating work with multiple local authority Education departments, senior leaders and cross-sector partners (Housing, Social Work, Health, third sector)
• Designing and documenting processes, guidance and training materials that enable schools to embed early identification of housing risk
• Capturing learning, gathering data and producing a national implementation framework
• Ensuring all activity aligns with statutory duties, local contexts and Rock Trust’s prevention approach

The Ask & Act Education Manager will need to be methodical, have strong report writing skills and interpersonal skills to co-ordinate the information gathering and documenting. They will be responsible for delivering the toolkit to a high standard, making a lasting contribution to Scotland’s homelessness prevention system.

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.

This unique role offers the opportunity to listen to and work directly with children and young people with experience of care, in an individual relationship-based advocacy role, and within participation and group activity across our South East region.

The post-holder will be a key member of the Advocacy and Participation team, supporting young people from across to ensure their rights are upheld and their voices are heard. In this role you will have the opportunity to provide independent advocacy, children’s rights, and participation opportunities for children and young people who are looked after, Care Experienced, or subject to formal processes and structures. The role will see you actively participating in child’s plan meetings, children’s hearings, and other formal processes, as well as assisting children and young people to prepare for them. In partnership with professionals, carers, and organisations, you will help to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people by keeping detailed records of the work you undertake, writing liaison reports, and monitoring statistics.

As a vital part of the work of Who Cares? Scotland, your role will include facilitating group opportunities for and with children and young people. This includes providing engagement and participation opportunities throughout the Who Cares? Scotland local and national network, as well as meeting with care experienced children and young people to introduce the service in agreement with the local authority. Raising awareness of Who Cares? Scotland and its services with children, young people, professionals, and carers you will also be responsible for facilitating training amongst care corporate parents.

The right candidate for this post will be able to form positive relationships with children and young people and have good interpersonal skills. You will feel confident communicating with individuals and groups, both in writing and verbally, and be able to adapt to a wide range of contexts. Secure in making effective plans, as well as evidencing your work, you can prioritise and meet deadlines. You take enjoyment from working collaboratively with partners, believing in equal opportunities and inclusive working. Committed to children’s rights, you are someone who knows that all young people can make transformative change happen in their lives if given the opportunity. You can demonstrate knowledge of the current structure, developments, policy, and practice in relation to children and young people experiencing care in Scotland. You are also flexible, given the remit of the role, as some evening and weekend work will be necessary, along with a full driving licence and access to transport.

While we would welcome the knowledge gathered through relevant qualifications, we are just as interested in relevant work experience. We welcome and encourage applications from those with experience of care.

The successful candidate will be joining Who Cares? Scotland and working within the South East team at an exciting time, when the voices of those who are in or have experienced care are growing in power, individually and collectively – bringing with them insight, challenge, hope and change.

If this sounds like the role for you, we would love to hear from you. To arrange an informal conversation about this opportunity, please contact Ray MacLean, Manager of Advocacy and Participation, at rmaclean@whocaresscotland.org.