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.

We are looking for a permanent therapist and a freelancer to join our Therapy Centre Team. We are open to considering a range of accredited therapists - art, music, drama, filial, play. If you are an experienced therapist with skills in working with children individually and in groups, we’d like to hear from you.

Scottish Adoption and Fostering is an established voluntary sector provider of specialist adoption services. We have built our reputation on the delivery of high quality and innovative services based on best practice. This is an exciting time to join the Agency as we expand our work to include a mainstream fostering service.

The permanent role is for 18 hours a week and will involve some travel to work with children and families within a 60-mile radius of our Edinburgh Office. We want to take a flexible approach so if there are therapists who can commit to a set number of hours a week that are fewer than 18 hours we would love to hear from you.

The freelance role is primarily to work with families in Glasgow and the West of Scotland, again we are flexible and could vary the number of hours for the right candidate.

About Options Fife Continuing Care

At Aberlour we listen to understand what our young people want and need within our local area. Our Options Fife Continuing Care service in Glenrothes supports young people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live and thrive within the local community.

This service will be home to 4 young people aged 16 plus who will all have their own individual flat. Our rota has been drafted to suit the needs of the young people.

What we are looking for....

We are looking for a full time (37.5 hours, working 3 x 12.5 hour shifts per week) Young People’s Worker to join our team. You will play a fundamental role in our young people’s lives to ensure that they get the best possible experience whilst working towards goals in their care plan. Using a person-centred approach, you will provide enabling support ensuring the highest level of physical and emotional care, supporting our young people in their daily living and within the local community.

If you have an interest in working with young people, we would like to hear from you. Ideally, candidates will have social care experience, understanding of autism, complex needs and disability. You will hold, or be willing to work towards, a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 7 or above (for example: SVQ3 Care plus an HNC) together with relevant experience of working with children or young people. You must also be able to demonstrate awareness of the key elements of working with people affected by disability as well as an understanding of, and commitment to, young people’s rights.

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 please see our website for further information.

What we offer...

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for children with disabilities and/or additional support needs and their families across Scotland.

We are seeking an experienced HR Manager who is passionate about driving positive change at The Yard. You will bring the expertise and gravitas to influence and support senior leadership on HR and cultural initiatives.

About the role:

Some of your key responsibilities will include:

• Ensuring The Yard maintains the roles, skills and experience to deliver on its strategic priorities

• Measure employee engagement and agree action plans to develop and improve organisational culture

• Ensuring our recruitment policies and processes embody our values and enable us to recruit people with the skills and qualities to meet our goals

• Developing and managing our renumeration policy

About you:

This job is for you if you have:

• Proven experience of HR management

• Can lead by example, fostering a culture of trust and respect

• Excellent communication and relationship building skills

• Ability to develop HR strategies aligning with our strategic plan

If our ethos inspires you and you are eager to bring your knowledge and experience to a team that is deeply committed to our purpose, we would love to have you on board.

If you would like to discuss the role with our Director of Resources, please let us know and we can arrange a call.