Passionate about engaging with young people? Experienced in creating a safe environment and allowing young people to talk about what is important to them? This opportunity is for you!

Join the Why Not? Trust team as a Community and Engagement Team Member – Thinking Space. Due to further development, we are now offering a second full-time appointment.

Thinking Space is a unique initiative funded by The Henry Smith Foundation, designed to support care-experienced young people across Scotland. Underpinned by Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) principles, Thinking Space uses mapping techniques to help young people explore their past, understand how previous experiences and relationships influence their present circumstances, and consider the potential impact on their future.

This confidential and safe environment enables participants to develop positive coping strategies and build resilience. Following your induction and initial training, you will work directly with care-experienced young people in specific locations, offering them the opportunity to reflect on how past relationships may have shaped their sense of self, decision-making, and ability to form new connections. You will also support them in exploring learned coping mechanisms and adopting healthier alternatives.

As part of The Why Not? Team, you will have access to ongoing support and professional development opportunities to enhance your practice and impact. This role will be line managed by the Why Not Trust, Operational Lead. A UK driving license is required for this role. A secondment will be explored if requested.

Everyone's behaviour will be led by the principles of The Why Not Trust.

Why Not Principles

These principles are what underpin all we do; they show our values and shape our behaviours. They make it clear to all what they should expect from us and what we expect from them.

#1 Show respect - everyone is worthy of being treated with a high level of respect. Stigma and discrimination are not welcome, and we will strive to eliminate both.

#2 Be Kind – We cannot control other people’s behaviour, but we can control our own. We will treat people with kindness and use curiosity and listening to understand other perspectives.

#3 Be human – we are all human and no matter how well intended we are, we will all make mistakes, we will own these and learn from them. We will help each other learn by being honest with each other.

#4 Promote the positives – we will focus on strengths and support learning in every way we can. We will celebrate success and recognise achievements. We will recognise everyone is doing their best.

#5 Be ambitious – we will strive for success in all we do, recognise the change we want to make and go for it!

#6 Recruit allies – we will work with others to achieve our aims and support others to achieve theirs.

#7 Champion individual growth – we will support the development of individuals, promote opportunities, and develop leadership qualities.

#8 Keep it real – we will do our best to recognise when we or others are feeling challenged and offer support where we can. We will pull together; no-one is too important to help do what needs done. We will strive to avoid jargon and use inclusive language.

#9 Be storytellers – we will share our learning and tell our generic stories or share themes, where it supports learning. We will not share individual ‘case studies’ or require people to tell their story.

#10 Listen to learn – we will listen to people to learn, not to respond. We will allow others processing time and go at their pace.

Online Info Sessions to find out more about us and the role:

Tuesday, 23rd December at 4pm-4:45pm – weblink

Monday, 5th January at 4pm-4:45pm – weblink

Join our Board of Management and Let Learning Flourish

City of Glasgow College is seeking to fill two non-executive vacancies on our Board. We are delighted to invite applications from people with a belief in the value of college education and a commitment to widening access, lifelong learning and the student experience.

The Board of Management particularly welcome members with experience in the following areas:

• People, Human Resources and Organisational Development

• ICT and Digital

• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

Who Are We?

We are Scotland’s largest professional and technological education and skills college – and the third largest in the UK. The College traces its roots back to 1850 and our core purpose is to “Let Learning Flourish”. Our commitment to excellence, innovation and inspiration is recognised in Scotland, across the UK and throughout the world.

Our multi-award-winning, state-of-the-art, twin-site campus in the heart of Glasgow offers outstanding resources and opportunities for students to gain essential skills and nationally and internationally recognised qualifications – from entry-level to degree-level study, as well as chartered professional qualifications. We've prepared over 100,000 graduates for the world of work.

Our Board

Our Board, as the College’s governing body, is responsible for setting our strategic direction, ensuring its effective management and delivering high-quality learning and outcomes. Board members serve on a voluntary basis, with reasonable expenses reimbursed, and spend approximately 10 working days throughout the year to fulfil the core duties and responsibilities of their roles. Meetings are hybrid, take place in the late afternoon/early evening and last approximately two hours.

Make A Difference and Let Learning Flourish

Whether you have served on a Board before or this is the first time you have considered it, this is a fantastic opportunity to contribute your skills and experience and share your ideas to shape the future of the College. Together as a Board, you will play a pivotal role in guiding our strategies and upholding good governance – ensuring we remain an inspirational place of learning, an excellent place to work, and an innovative and valued partner with industry.

We Value Diversity

The College is committed to ensuring it represents the diversity of the city and region the College serves. We, therefore, encourage applications from groups currently under-represented on the boards of Scotland’s public bodies, including women, disabled people, those of different cultural and social backgrounds and people under the age of 50.

About Us:

Murray’s Initiative (formally known as Glasgow Council on Alcohol) is an independent Scottish charity that works to reduce alcohol and drug-related harm at both individual and community levels. Established in 1965, Murray’s Initiative adopts a long-term, trauma-informed and asset-based approach to changing the culture around substance use. Its services are built on a person-centred, harm-reduction model, supporting people whether their goal is to reduce consumption or achieve abstinence.

Murray’s Initiative offers free, confidential counselling services for people concerned about their own or someone else's drinking. Murray’s Initiative delivers a range of interventions including groupwork and employability support as well as a number of holistic and inclusive services, such as a women’s service for survivors of gender-based violence, young persons peer education service, LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing support and tailored wellbeing programmes.

Murray’s Initiative is also a recognised provider of professional development, offering a comprehensive training portfolio including education aimed at increasing awareness of alcohol use and promoting healthier lifestyles, COSCA Counselling Skills and a Diploma in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Murray’s Initiative deliver services over 6 days per week and throughout Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire, helping people make meaningful, positive change in their lives.

The foundation of Murray’s Initiative is our supportive and inclusive culture for all who engage and work with us.

About the Role:

The Group Worker will support our peer-led Harm Reduction Service (U-Turn) benefiting young people 11 – 25 years old to design and deliver youth-led inputs on issue-based topics, with a focus to incorporate harm reduction approaches and address stigma/language around substance use.

The Group Worker will have responsibility for developing our weekly groups for our Peer Educators to take part in training around areas such as leadership, team building, issue-based topics and wellbeing. These groups will provide a safe, trauma-informed space where individuals will be able to feel confident to develop coping skills and resilience.

The service specifically targets some of the most vulnerable young people in areas where Murray’s Initiative currently delivers services, aiming to reduce the harm caused by alcohol and other drugs within their communities.

The Peer Educators will be supported to deliver peer-led inputs to other Young People on issued-based topics, with a focus to incorporate a harm reduction approach as well as a separate element of addressing stigma/language around drug and alcohol use.

The Group Worker will report to the Service Manager – Education & Development.

This post requires a Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme membership - successful applicants will be required to join the PVG Scheme.

Elpis Trust delivers a person centred housing support service to 19 young women who are experiencing homelessness or are care leavers aged between 16-25 years. The supported accommodation is based in the Core service and satellite flats in the Ruchill and Maryhill area of Glasgow. Elpis provides a high-quality support service which addresses young woman’ identified and assessed needs and reflects the aims of the service to work within relevant organisational and statutory policies, including health and safety, employment and equality laws. This includes adhering to Scottish Social Services Council codes of practice, National Care Standards and contractual requirements. Staffs work closely with the young women to write up support plans and deliver an individually tailored service, utilising Ladders to Success and GIRFEC, SHANARRI Outcomes.

Job Purpose:

To have specific working responsibility at present for 19 vulnerable young women, 9 living in the Core building and 10 in scatter flats (to include mother & baby flats) in the Ruchill and Maryhill areas of Glasgow.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide direct support to young women who have experienced homelessness and/or have a variety of complex emotional and mental health needs.
• Provide support to young women in all areas of service.
• Establish a supportive relationship with each young woman, enabling them to maximise their own resources in order to improve their quality of life, and to assist each young woman to be as independent as possible in all aspects of their daily life, in line with their support plans.
• On a daily basis assist and support young women to carry out identified housing support tasks to ensure that they maintain and sustain their accommodation and be flexible and responsive to meet the changing needs of the young women, as well as the housing support service itself.
• Problem solve unexpected and difficult issues that may arise during shift and deal with challenging behaviour when lone working, use own initiative in order to support the young women’s complex issues, and make decisions based on current assessments of risk, following set risk assessments protocols and procedures.
• Resolve complex young women issues, involving discussion with colleagues and relevant agencies through reviews and meetings, ensuring correct procedures are followed.
• Risk assess young woman’s needs and actions and consult with appropriate people such as line manager, social worker, case worker.
• Complete and update all relevant paperwork including housing support plans, risk assessments and case notes for each young woman, complying with National Care Standards, SSSC Codes of Practice, GIRFEC model of outcomes (SHANARRI) to ensure person centred service delivery and to meet service aims.
• Complete regular health and safety welfare checks of the young women, the building environment and equipment, reporting and dealing with any issues raised during these checks.
• Inform line management of any areas of concern or significant change when delivering young women support, to ensure that appropriate risk assessment is undertaken.
• Carry out all duties in compliance with Elpis Trust’s policies and procedures.
• Actively participate in 3 monthly support, supervision and observation.
• Work closely with and with direction from the Duty Manager, to plan and deliver young women’s identified support needs.
• Work co-operatively as part of a team including attending and contributing to team meetings and work in co-operation with other members of the support team, as well as colleagues from other agencies.
• Communicate in a knowledgeable, confident and professional manner with external agencies, including social workers, case work team, commissioning team, carers and relatives of young women. This may include email, telephone calls, letters or face to face meetings.
• Communicate with other team members in a respectful and supportive manner in order to promote positive team work and cohesion.
• Ensure the young women’s views and wishes are central to your work and encourage a high level of young women participation.
• To actively participate in identified training, on-going supervision and performance development.

Note: Duties will be reviewed and modified in line with the exigencies of the service.

Knowledge, education, qualifications, competences and experience:

Essential:

• Membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme.
• Able to meet registration requirements with Scottish Social Services Council, Health and Social Care at S.V.Q. level 3, or be willing to achieve qualifications within specified timescale.
• Have an awareness of relevant National Care Standards and their application to work practice.
• Understand and adhere to the Codes of Practice from Scottish Social Services Council.
• Willing to maintain and enhance own knowledge, practice and competency.
• Previous experience working in Social Care.
• Be registered with SSSC or apply for registration within three months of start date.

Desirable:

• Experience of working with vulnerable young women and an understanding of the issues and needs involved.