Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) is seeking to appoint an experienced Policy and Public Affairs Officer who is educated to degree level, ideally with a relevant postgraduate qualification, with a keen interest in reducing harms from alcohol.

The Role

The Policy and Public Affairs Officer will help guide SHAAP advocacy activities through identifying and analysing relevant policy, providing advice and developing evidence-based positions, carrying out research, monitoring media and policy activity, dealing with the media, responding to consultations, organising events and providing administrative support.

SHAAP is a partnership of the Medical Royal Colleges and the Faculty of Public Health in Scotland and is based at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE).

Using the best available evidence, SHAAP provides the authoritative clinical voice on how policy makers and clinicians can reduce alcohol-related harms in Scotland. We work in close collaboration with key organisations in the alcohol field in Scotland, the rest of the UK and worldwide.

The Person

The Policy and Public Affairs Officer will be an excellent communicator with internal and external stakeholders at all levels of seniority, with the ability to self-manage and prioritise in a dynamic context and within a small team. They must have the ability to advise on and communicate SHAAP policy positions, with experience of researching and drafting briefings, and/or policy papers and/or consultation responses. They must also be able to represent SHAAP at internal and external meetings, seminars and conferences.

Please refer to the Job Description for the role and person full details.

Remuneration Package

The salary for this role will be £34,711 per annum plus benefits. Additional benefits include:

• Pension: with employer contributions of 9%.
• Holidays: 23 days annual leave (with incremental increase over five years to 28 days) and 11 days public holiday/College close downs.
• Life assurance scheme.
• Long-term income protection scheme for those unable to work due to illness.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Discounted rates for use of the venue for personal events.

*Based at the College in Queen Street, Edinburgh, with flexibility for a form of hybrid working to be agreed.

The Royal College of General Practitioners is the largest membership organisation solely for GPs in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1952, it has over 55,000 members, including 5000 in Scotland, who are committed to improving patient care, developing their own skills and promoting general practice as a discipline. General practice is the largest branch of the medical profession. It provides some 1 million consultations for patients in the UK every working day and deals with 86% of the health problems experienced by the UK population.

We are currently recruiting a Policy and Public Relations Officer to support our communications, policy and public affairs activity in Scotland, and we are looking for someone who has demonstrable experience in a communications, policy or public affairs role.

You will work closely with the Policy & Public Affairs Manager to ensure that the priorities of RCGP and issues impacting general practice are recognised by policy makers, the press and the public. You will support RCGP work to influencing decision making at the highest level which will have a direct impact on general practice and its patients by drafting RCGP policy consultation responses, representing RCGP policy at high-level external stakeholder meetings and providing comprehensive briefings to our GP representatives ahead of these meetings.

You will also help to deliver our internal and external communications across Scotland, ensuring that our key messages reach the intended audiences to maximise impact. This will require you to develop and maintain links with media contacts across Scotland, draft key internal communications to our members and produce proactive and reactive media statements. You will take a lead role in maintaining our social media presence.

Our small, friendly team plays a key role in supporting general practice in Scotland. You’ll be helping communicate to stakeholders the views of the RCGP, and to do that effectively, knowledge and experience of the health agenda, patient issues and political context of Scotland would be highly advantageous.

You’ll have degree level education or have requisite experience, be an excellent team player and be able to work across a varied organisation and take a corporate viewpoint.

The successful candidate will share our corporate values. In return, the College offers excellent terms and conditions and great working environment. This role will be hybrid with two days a week in our office in Edinburgh city centre. We offer flexible working hours Monday to Friday.

Scottish Book Trust is a national charity that believes books, reading and writing have the power to change lives. A love of reading inspires creativity, improves employment opportunities, mental health and wellbeing and is one of the most effective ways to help break the poverty cycle. We work towards a Scotland where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive through literacy.

We are looking for an enthusiastic administrator with excellent communications and organisational skills to join the Early Years team at Scottish Book Trust.

What we offer

• Full time, fixed-term role

• Competitive salary

• Flexible hybrid working between home and our Edinburgh City Centre Office, with great access by train, bus, and tram

• Generous holiday entitlement

• Company Sick Pay

• Pension with additional 5% employer contributions

• Death in service benefit

• Free access to employee assistance programme

Among many other programmes, Scottish Book Trust delivers Bookbug, Scotland’s national early years book gifting programme, which provides a free, high quality, book bag for every baby, toddler, three-year-old and primary 1 child in the country and is funded by Scottish Government.

The Early Years Operations Administrator provides reliable and efficient administration to support the smooth running of the Early Years programme, with a particular focus on operational aspects.

scottishbooktrust.com/bookbug

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Access to Industry’s Young Peoples Service. You will work in a trauma informed way supporting young people aged 16-21, with complex health and social care issues, to progress towards education, training or employment. You will be part of a small team working one-to-one with young people as well as developing and delivering structured group work.

Key Responsibility areas will include:

Service Delivery:This role will focus on the intensive case management of young people from the City of Edinburgh who have mental health issues which may be a result of adverse childhood experiences. Their challenges to progress may be compounded by emerging issues with substances; offending behaviour; family support; and/or accommodation. You will work in outreach, to engage with Edinburgh’s young people including i.e., schools, Through-Care After-Care, young person’s substance misuse practitioners and HMP YOI Polmont (linking with AI’s Passport CashBack project).

Caseworker support:You will work one to one with young people, assessing their needs, devise action plans and work holistically. Support will be flexible, from employability to welfare advice.

You will work to progress clients into training programmes, employment, and education.

Over time you will develop small-group work programmes that meet the needs of young people you support.

Targets: The project has annual targets and outcomes that you will work towards achieving and achieving evidence of for funders. This is monitored monthly through team meetings and within support and supervision.

Partnership: Pivotal to your role, you will be working with other services and agencies to build positive networks for young people and referral sources into the service.

Administration: You will administer all aspects of the project from referrals, training, progression routes and employer engagement.

AI Team: You will play a part in the wider team of AI through attendance at internal meetings and participation in shared services across the teams.

Quality Assurance & Management Systems: You will maintain excellent records and will maintain case management through use of the Management Information Systems, Helix.

Health & Safety and Property Management: You will ensure a healthy and safe environment, and the protection and best use of property and equipment, by implementing and observing AI policies and procedures. You will ensure that all work opportunities are carried out in accordance with Health and Safety legislation and good practice.

Communications: You will be an effective communicator as you will be working with external agencies, specialist providers and employers and attending meetings on AI’s behalf. You will contribute to internal reporting procedures both written and verbally. You will market the project externally. You will ensure client and organisation confidentiality at all times.

Other Requirements:The post holder will be expected to manage their own caseload and work with minimum supervision partly in an outreach capacity.