Home-Start Edinburgh, Home Link Family Support, NHS Lothian’s Parent and Infant Relationship Service (PAIRS), Citizens Advice , Circle, Stepping Stones North Edinburgh, and City of Edinburgh Council’s Early Years Education are delighted to recruit staff for a new transformational partnership approach that will test bespoke holistic whole family supports throughout the early years. The project, ‘The Family Hub’, will ensure that appropriate, universal, and enhanced support is available at the earliest stage possible for all families with a child not yet in an ELC or school setting. This will be achieved by developing a cohesive pathway and menu of supports alongside families.

The project aims to:

• Improve family wellbeing
• Reduce inequalities in family wellbeing
• Long-term reduction in families requiring crisis intervention
• Long-term reduction in the number of children living away from their families
• Increase the number of families taking up wider support.

Home-Start Edinburgh is recruiting a Senior Co-ordinator, Evaluation & Impact, to support this project as well as the activities of Home-Start Edinburgh. The right person will be someone with a background working alongside families, and an understanding of how to gather evidence to illustrate the impact our service makes. With skills in quality assuring services and data, and supporting improvement activities, you will help drive forward support to families in Edinburgh.

Who are we looking for and why work at Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS)?

At CHS we recruit, train and support empathetic and committed volunteers across Scotland.

Our 2,200 volunteer Panel Members take part in children’s hearings in their local areas, making decisions with and for infants, children and young people. We also work closely with a network of nine regional teams who support Panel Members in their local communities. This role provides a great opportunity to help children, their families, and the panel community by using feedback to enhance practice.

We are looking for someone with a proven track record in handling feedback and complaints. You must be passionate about resolving issues and making sure deadlines are met, using what we learn from feedback and complaints to improve outcomes for children. You’ll be the main point of contact, either by e-mail, web form or telephone. You’ll have great interpersonal skills, be an excellent communicator and be able to multi-task and prioritise effectively.

You will need to capture the detail of the complaint accurately, establish what outcomes are required and work with our panel community and other partners to establish the facts so that you can respond to the complaint appropriately within the timelines required.

Ideally you will a good understanding of public sector complaints and the requirements of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s Model Complaints Handling Procedure.

Supporting the Complaints Management Officer you will be involved with several exciting projects we are working on, including the continued development of our child friendly feedback and complaints approach, an improved feedback loop and supporting the continued development of relationships with our key partners. CHS has also introduced a new Tribunal Support Model for managing our internal volunteer organisational structure and you’ll be expected to support those changes through the lens of your feedback and complaints role.

You’ll also need a good eye for detail, be comfortable using complaints management systems and be familiar with Office 365 products, including Teams. You’ll be able to produce reports in relation to complaints and have the confidence and skills to engage with our partners and senior leaders. You need excellent analytical skills and the ability to accurately capture data to inform improvements.

Please be aware that occasional travel may be required as a requirement of this role, as well as very occasionally having to work outside CHS’s normal working hours.

Feedback & Complaints at CHS

We are keen to enhance our feedback channels and our primary aim is to resolve most of our complaints at the frontline, without the need for formal investigation. As Feedback and Complaints Officer, you will play a key role in improving processes relating to feedback and complaints management. As well as handling complaints in line with SPSO guidelines we also have a pastoral responsibility for our panel community so it’s important to understand what that means and get the balance just right.

You will have the opportunity to get involved in other projects which will enhance our insight and awareness of the experience of children and young people in hearings as well as from other partners. There will also be opportunity for career development for the right candidate.

Complaints sits within the Practice and Standards Team at CHS and that provides the perfect route for us to take the learning from complaints and feedback and translate that in to practice improvements within children’s hearings, as well as making sure we involve children in improving practice and policy.

Life at CHS

As an organisation that works within the children’s hearings system, we are passionate about making a positive contribution to improving outcomes for Scotland’s infants, children and young people. Our values are at the very heart of what we do every day. By working with us, you’ll be joining a diverse community of colleagues and volunteers.

At CHS we are proud to celebrate difference. We all have different skills, experience and backgrounds and we strive to have a friendly and inclusive culture where you can be yourself.

We offer an excellent benefits package, from health and wellness to finances and family. including: generous annual leave, flexible working and other leave policies, fantastic pension, Employee Assistance Programme, development opportunities and wider employee wellbeing initiatives.

Diversity and Inclusion

CHS is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We actively encourage applicants from all protected characteristics and commit to providing any reasonable adjustments required during application and assessment process, and upon joining CHS.

Are you looking progress your social care career?

We are currently recruiting for a Senior Support Worker to join our Musselburgh Housing Support Services team.

The Senior Support Worker (SSW) will support the management team in developing and maintaining the organisation’s standards relating to autism specific and person centred practices. Liaising with the organisation’s practice support team, the SSW will assist in the preparation of support and communication plans, ensuring consistent practices throughout support networks.

Benefits of working with us include:

• Competitive Salary

• Sleepover rate paid at £12.00 per hour

• 31 days Annual Leave Entitlement, including bank holidays

• Your birthday off every year, to treat yourself!

• Ongoing Learning & Development throughout your Support Work role

• Opportunity to undertake a relevant SVQ qualification

• Career Progression Opportunities

• Employee Assistance Programme

• Auto-enrolment pension scheme

• Cycle to Work scheme

• Medicash Healthcare Plan

• Eligibility to become a Blue Light Card Member for online & high street discounts

The Senior Support Worker will assist in the supervision and direction of the staff team and in maintaining the high standards of support in line with the organisation’s quality standards and mission statement. Knowledge of current legislation and regulations relating to the social care sector and the requirements of the Care Inspectorate is essential for this role. The post holder will also be expected to commit to on-call duties.

Given the nature of this role, successful applicants must register with the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme and Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) or equivalent regulatory body.

This is a truly rewarding role, with the opportunity for you to develop your skills and knowledge and fulfil your career aspirations.

The successful post-holder will be expected to operate in line with our values which are: Justice, Equity, Trust, Collaboration and Compassion.

Overview

OPFS was founded in 1944 and since then we have been at the forefront of shaping policy and services that support the 144,000 single parent families in Scotland. OPFS HQ is in central Edinburgh, there are local services in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Edinburgh and Dundee with National digital and helpline services.

This post is office based to ensure collaboration with stakeholders and a consistent presence in the organisation.

The post holder is responsible for the administrative functions of OPFS as a Registered Charity, HQ functions and wider support to staff across the organisation. They will manage a small administration team and will work closely with other Corporate Services managers to ensure the efficiency and cohesiveness of all central functions. They will be required to operate in line with OPFS values which are Justice, Equity, Trust, Collaboration and Compassion.

Key Tasks

• Administration: Managing the administration staff and functions of the OPFS central operations ensuring effective and efficient administration for OPFS HQ including adequate reception functions for visitors, deliveries and staff. Liaising with service administrators and managers to ensure consistency and best practice across the organisation. Maintain document storage in line with OPFS data retention policy and procedures, utilising SharePoint effectively for electronic storage, arranging confidential destruction and archiving as appropriate. Working with IT and Digital Services to ensure effective use of SharePoint across all OPFS administration functions. Regularly reviewing systems and processes, revising as required, to ensure efficiency and accuracy. Planning and coordinating activities and support required across OPFS for new developments.
• Salesforce: Work closely with IT and Digital Services to support new developments for administration and HR functions across OPFS. Ensure all OPFS salesforce records are secure, accurate, up to date, and regularly monitored with reports being supplied for
• board and senior management meetings. Work with the Digital and IT Services Lead to identify areas for improvement and support the ongoing development of the system.
• Recruitment: Manage all centralised recruitment for OPFS staff in consultation with the appropriate service manager including collation of all relevant information on the role, advertising appropriately, including OPFS website, presenting applications for shortlisting, responding to candidates and organising interviews. Produce documents as required by the interview panel, set up of interview space, including and IT equipment required, for interviews in Edinburgh. Checking right to work information, ID and registrations for selected candidates. Co-ordinating induction programmes for new staff as appropriate to their role.
• Human Resources: Create and maintain accurate and secure records for all staff employed by OPFS ensuring that a complete and current record is kept for all staff and recorded in Salesforce. Issuing staff letters for appointment, details of terms and conditions and any changes thereafter. Undertake staff meetings including all exit interviews highlighting any issues to the Director of HR and Corporate Services. Work with managers handling employee relations matters including investigations, disciplinary or grievance issues, providing appropriate and timely support and maintaining appropriate records. Liaise with external HR Support staff.
• PVGs and Disclosures: Advising new applicants and existing employees on PVG and Disclosure applications for OPFS, ensuring that the correct processes and procedures are followed, with respective managers informed of the outcomes. Acting as counter signatory for OPFS for applications. Ensuring security and confidentiality of all relevant information.
• Training Administration: maintaining the OPFS training calendar and records, arranging training courses as requested, attendees and premises.
• Board, Directorate, meeting and event functions: Ensuring provision for meetings including invitations, room booking, creating reports where required for information including HR and Health and Safety functions, collating and circulating papers, room and technical preparation, minute taking as required. Coordinate meetings and events as required including refreshments and technical support.
• GDPR: Ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act (2018) acting as Data Protection Officer for OPFS, liaising with ICO as required, updating the policy and procedures to reflect change and provide information to management staff and data controllers.
• Properties: Liaise with HQ landlord ensuring the smooth operation of the office in terms of repairs and maintenance. Manage all office moves across OPFS liaising with the local administrator and manager as appropriate. Responsibility for arranging any reorganisation of office space, including any necessary wiring, IT requirements, heating, lighting, redecoration and required flooring, and any furniture needs.
• Procurement: Ensuring best value for all OPFS resources and services by actively benchmarking and negotiating with suppliers, reviewing contracts regularly, and identifying areas of potential savings.
• Health and Safety: Ensuring OPFS is compliant with all aspects of Health and Safety legislation by ongoing monitoring, safety checks, arranging repairs or replacements and escalating issues if required. Liaising with OPFS services to gather and collate information, share updates, and advise if required. Provide quarterly Health and Safety reports for the Board and Directorate, including absence statistics. First Aid and Fire Warden support for HQ.

The job description is a broad picture of the post at the time of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties. It is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time.

Personal Specifications

Essential

• Relevant qualification to HNC level or equivalent relevant experience.
• Significant experience of leading in a busy office.
• Excellent IT skills, good working knowledge of Microsoft systems, Salesforce and meeting technology.
• Experience of HR administration and recruitment.
• Ability to prioritise workloads.
• Ability to take responsibility to proactively resolve issues and provide support in challenging situations.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Commitment to continuous professional development.
• Proven ability to plan for and deliver short term and longer-term events and projects.
• Ability to build relationships at all levels across the organisation and with external stakeholders.

Desirable

• Chartered member of CIPD, or working towards
• Experience of working in the Third Sector
• Understanding of single parent challenges

Terms & Conditions

• Confirmation of Appointment: This is a permanent appointment. Confirmation of appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a 3-month probationary period ending when a probationary review has been completed.
• Salary: OPFS Scale Points 25 – 29, £37,879 - £46,297
• Hours of work: 35 per week worked flexibly to meet the demands of the job
• Holidays: Annual leave entitlement is 25 days and 12 Public holidays.
• Pension: You will be auto enrolled in our pension scheme with a 3% contribution from you and 7% from OPFS.
• Training and support and supervision: You will receive induction training and frequent support in the first three months. Thereafter you will receive monthly individual support and supervision and annual appraisals. Regular team meetings will be held, and staff have access to internal and external training.
• Equal Opportunities and Family Friendly Employment: OPFS aims to be an equal opportunity and family friendly employer. OPFS has Investors In People status