Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our strategic vision is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland.

At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual lifelong relationship-based independent advocacy and a broad range of imaginative participatory and engagement opportunities for Care Experienced people across Scotland. We work alongside Corporate Parents and communities to broaden understanding and create change. We work with policy makers, leaders, and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy, and practice, working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.

We are seeking a passionate and strategic leader to join our team as the Business Development Director. You will play a vital role in driving forwards Who Cares? Scotland’s vision by leading the development of strategic partnerships and securing key funding opportunities. As manager for the Fundraising and Partnerships Team, you will oversee grants, trusts, community fundraising, public tenders, and the setting of income targets. By forging strong relationships with corporate and external stakeholders, as well as overseeing our strategic affiliation with the John Lewis Partnership, your role will expand our public education, income generation, and business development aims. To interweave the organisation’s development of public education training programmes with our core fundraising mission, you will also manage our Creating Communities that Care team, who play a vital role in developing our external training offerings.

As an individual with a background of 5+ years in senior management, preferably in the non-profit sector, you have demonstrable experience in business development, fundraising, and grant writing. You possess a proven track record of successfully securing high-value grants and partnerships from diverse funding sources, leading on the development of strategic plans, and reaching key performance targets with accountability to diverse stakeholders. As a seasoned manager and mentor, you can also collaborate across organisations, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement amongst your colleagues, our volunteers, and our partner organisations. The right candidate for this post will not only bear responsibility for leading core funding strategy, but also serve as a spokesperson for the organisation, representing its mission, values, and impact to external stakeholders. You are, therefore, committed to child rights and human rights, the successful implementation of The Promise, and the belief that young people can make transformative change happen in their lives if given the opportunity.

We have office locations in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley, Bellshill, Kilmarnock, and Dundee. There is an expectation that the post holder will also have a regular presence within the National Office in Glasgow, but home working is offered as part of our commitment to flexible working. Given the remit of the role, some evening and weekend work will be necessary, to attend fundraising and member events, as well as Board Meetings.

The successful candidate will be joining Who Cares? Scotland 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. 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.

Benefits:

A generous annual leave entitlement of 29 days PLUS bank holidays

Up to 5 more days leave for continuous service plus the option to buy and sell leave.

Gain professional qualifications with excellent training, and development opportunities.

Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages.

A pension with a up to a 7% employer contribution rate. Plus, if you pay in to the pension you will receive life assurance cover.

Staff discount portal with your favourite brands.

Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 discounts from national retailers.

Vulnerable children in the UK need your help

Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you'll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK.

Last year, we helped more than 670,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive.

Why Action for Children?

Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives.

A bit about the role

“Supporting mental health and wellbeing is a big part of what we do. We help young people talk about how they're feeling, and make sure they don't feel alone.”

Are you passionate about supporting young people's mental health and emotional well-being? We are seeking a dedicated Young Persons Practitioner's to join our team in Glasgow. As part of the Glasgow Secondary Schools Counselling and Blues Service, you'll play a crucial role in delivering high-quality, school-based professional counseling and group work services to secondary school children aged 12-18 years.

The Blues Programme is an internationally acclaimed wellbeing programme for young people. Over six weeks, it teaches emotional resilience, and reduces low mood and anxious thoughts. Crucially, it gets teenagers talking.

As a Young Person's Practitioner, you'll be involved in delivering one-hour group sessions at school each week, plus set home tasks. As a result, students learn how to challenge negative thoughts, and talk about different coping strategies.

Regular group work builds rapport and confidence. The home tasks are a chance to practice the new skills. It's simple, and it works.

As part of a supportive team, you'll work alongside trained Action for Children Blues specialists who are committed to making a positive impact in what is a truly rewarding role.

How you'll help to create brighter futures

Some key responsibilities as a Young Persons Practitioner are;

• Providing a high-quality service to children, young people and their families, based on an assessment of need and is outcomes driven.
• Delivering complex and specialist interventions with children, young people or families on a 1:1 basis, group or community setting.
• Attending and participating at relevant multi agency meetings, providing a lead role ensuring reflective and analytical practice review.
• Taking responsibility for day to day resource planning to ensure high quality services are delivered.
• Establishing and developing effective relationships and channels of communication with children, young people, families, colleagues, community organisations, partner agencies and other external agencies

Let's talk about you

• We are very much open to experience rather than specific qualifications.
• Experience working within a multi-agency social care, schools, youth work or health environment and applying safeguarding procedures.
• Ability to keep the child and or young people as the focus and ensure their feelings and wishes are represented in meetings and record keeping.
• Ability to communicate effectively and engagingly and to maintain independent professional relationships and boundaries.
• Working knowledge of an outcome based approach to planning, delivering and reviewing services.

Good to know

Application Process: There are five sections to complete: Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity, Submission & Declaration.

Talent Pool: We know talent when we see it. But sometimes we find the right person but not for the right job. We'd love to keep your details for when the right job comes up. Let us know if you'd rather we didn't.

Contact: If, for any reason, you need support with your application, please contact Laura McCarthy at Laura.McCarthy2@actionforchildren.org.uk. We'll be happy to give you any support you require.

Diversity, equality, and inclusion

At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children.

Don't meet every single requirement?

If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within the Action for Children family.

Male staff are under-represented within our Children Service roles. We would like to encourage more male applicants for our Children Service roles.

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 3500 Care Experienced members.

At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual lifelong relationship-based independent advocacy and a broad range of imaginative participatory and engagement opportunities for Care Experienced people across Scotland. We work alongside Corporate Parents and communities to broaden understanding and create change. We work with policy makers, leaders, and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy, and practice, working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.

This unique role offers the chance to create and facilitate opportunities and activities for Care Experienced people, leading on participation to ensure Care Experienced people can share their views and experiences, and helping to bring about positive change.

The post holder will utilise and create opportunities for participation and belonging activities with Care Experienced people, whilst supporting a range of events and other local or national activities. Core belonging and participation activities will involve fun connection activities; issue-based and focus groups; and forums, and events, both one-off and longer term in duration. The role will involve working closely with organizational partners and other services to create new opportunities or develop existing ones.

Responsible for maximizing the networks through which Care Experienced young people can connect, develop, and grow as individuals, you will use a range of communications channels to promote belonging and participation activities to Care Experienced children and young people. By developing accessible and applicable youth work tools and activities, you will build upon your experience working with children and young people to create attractive offers locally that encourage Care Experienced people to join our membership.

In your capacity as a Development Officer, you will work closely with Who Cares? Scotland Volunteer Manager to ensure we are providing the best support available to volunteers serving our young people. Through collaboration with our Participation & Membership Manager, as well as our fundraising team, you will identify and attract local funding and fundraising opportunities to enhance our local offering to Care Experienced people. In doing so, you will develop and maintain good working relationships with relevant regional organisations (e.g. Local Authority, Third Sector, Public Sector Corporate Parents) and gain experience in awareness-raising and promotion. Providing reports in relation to participation, belonging, and the impact of your work, you will bolster the evidence base to support fundraising and awareness- raising opportunities, as well as to influence local policy initiatives, such as The Promise. As an ambassador for Who Cares? Scotland, you will be joining Who Cares? Scotland at an exciting time, when the voice of those who are in or have experienced care is growing rapidly across Scotland - bringing with it insight, challenge, hope and change.

The right candidate for this post will be able to form positive, empathetic, understanding and compassionate relationships with children and young people and have good interpersonal skills, as well as experience in designing tailored group work programmes. You feel confident communicating, with a solution focussed attitude. As well as evidencing your work, you can prioritise and meet deadlines. You hold knowledge of the current structure, developments, policy, and practice in relation to children and young people experiencing care in Scotland. You are 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.

If this role sounds like the opportunity for you, we would love to hear from you.

Do you share our passion and commitment to ensuring children’s rights are protected and that all children in Scotland grow up safe and well in strong, resilient families and communities? Do you want to help us transform the lives of children across Scotland?

If the answer to these questions is yes and you have the values, experience, and passion to become a trustee of one of Scotland’s leading charities, you could be the dynamic and experienced trustee we are looking for!

To help govern and lead us as we deliver on our strategic goals, we are looking to appoint three new trustees to deepen and extend the skills, knowledge and experience of our Board. Our volunteer trustees must share our values, believe in our purpose and be passionate about putting children first.

One of the newly appointed trustees will provide succession to the Honorary Treasurer position. The specific skills required for this role are accountancy, and specifically experience in any or all of financial reporting, management accounting delivery or oversight, auditing or general financial management. Fulfilling an existing role or a recent past role in any of these domains will be required, and any experience of non-executive roles using your financial specialism in the charity sector would be a bonus.

We are especially keen to attract trustees with experience in Digital technologies and specific knowledge of professional practice in health, social work , and justice with experience strategic service delivery for children in need of care and protection.

We are proud of the way we do things at Children 1st, we put relationships, rights, respect and compassion at the heart of everything we do and we believe that with the best people delivering the best quality support, amazing transformation can take place. With this in mind we are actively recruiting those who have been historically excluded from governance roles and want to broaden our representation, inclusion and diversity so that we truly represent all of Scotland’s children. If you think you don’t fit the traditional profile of a board member but believe in our purpose and want to make a contribution to our work, please do get in touch. We will offer support and flexibility to ensure any barriers to your involvement are removed.