Circle is a children and families charity working at the heart of communities across central Scotland. Our purpose is to improve the lives of children by strengthening families.

Circle’s approach builds on strengths, is solution focussed and uses a whole family approach to create a family environment that promotes healthy development in children.

Offering individual support across Edinburgh to birth parents who have a child who is permanently fostered, adopted or in kinship care.

The post is funded for 1 year.

We have an exciting opportunity for a committed and skilled practitioner to join our Harbour Team and be part of our Sparrow Service, a city-wide partnership with Stepping Stones North Edinburgh and the City of Edinburgh Council.

Funded by Scottish Government, and administered by Corra Foundation, Sparrow aims to improve support for birth parents, reduce the likelihood of repeat care proceedings and improve professional knowledge and understanding of the needs of birth parents.

The post holder will work alongside a worker from Stepping Stones North Edinburgh and provide one to one holistic support to birth parents in Edinburgh.

A qualification in social work, social care, health or education is required.

We offer excellent staff benefits including a competitive salary, generous pension contribution, flexible working, an employee assistance programme and generous annual leave.

We are committed to finding the right people for the jobs that we advertise.

Circle is a children and families charity working at the heart of communities across central Scotland. Our purpose is to improve the lives of children by strengthening families.

Circle’s approach builds on strengths, is solution focussed and uses a whole family approach to create a family environment that promotes healthy development in children.

We are looking for a full-time Fundraising Officer to join our Fundraising Team. The individual will play a key role in:

• Income maximisation with a focus on events, corporate and individual fundraising.

• Raising the profile of Circle with a focus on internal and external communications and social media content.

Key Responsibilities:

• Event Fundraising: Develop and lead on events (e.g., Circle’s annual DARED challenge, Edinburgh Marathon Festival, Kiltwalk) to maximise income. Opportunity to plan, develop & lead a bespoke fundraising event.

• Individual Fundraising: Lead Circle’s work in engaging with different communities, including supporters, community groups and businesses to encourage support for Circle’s work (e.g. Youth Philanthropy Initiative and CAF Donors).

• Corporate Fundraising: Research and development to conclusion of corporate partnerships (e.g. Charity of the Year) and develop corporate sponsorship packages for bespoke events.

• Communications: Raise awareness of Circle’s work through internal and external communications (e.g., social media).

We’re looking for candidates who have experience in community engagement and fundraising event managing, as well as, skilled in social media and content creation.

We offer excellent staff benefits including a competitive salary, generous pension contribution, flexible working, an employee assistance programme, and generous annual leave. We are committed to finding the right people for the jobs that we advertise.

Benefits:

• 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays, with up to 5 additional days for continuous service and option to buy or sell leave
• Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities
• Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages
• Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover
• Staff discount portal and Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 national retailers discounts.
• 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

Couthie House provides long-term residential care and support to children who are unable to live within their family home. The service offers a stable, secure, and nurturing environment with a strong focus on individual needs and developing life skills. These life skills empower each young person to make meaningful choices, develop, grow up, and become resilient.

The children and young people in our care face complex learning disabilities and exhibit challenging behaviour. We believe that behaviour is a form of communication and with dedication and insight, we actively strive to recognise the messages embedded in behaviour. Our approach is rooted in providing the necessary support to enable positive communication.

Our Team Leader Residential plays a pivotal role in ensuring the highest quality of care and support for children who are unable to live within their family homes. With a compassionate and dedicated approach, the Team Leader oversees the day-to-day operations of our residential care service, fostering a stable, secure, and nurturing environment.

You'll lead, encourage, inspire and motivate a team of up to 14 staff and will work closely with the Registered Manager. With a strong background in managing complex learning disabilities and challenging behaviours, this role exemplifies dedication, insight, and a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by the children in our care. Your leadership is instrumental in creating an environment where every child can thrive and reach their full potential, as well as, creating and maintaining the culture across the services that's needed to support our staff.

How you'll help to create brighter futures

Some key responsibilities for the Team Leader Residential role are;

Providing direct line management to a team of residential staff to deliver high standards of care.

Support staff team development through training opportunities, staff supervision, and multidisciplinary working.

Leading shifts and working with the Registered Manager to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and organisational policy and procedure.

Working to achieve positive outcomes for individual children and young people and contributing to the achievement of an outstanding, good or equivalent rating in external inspection including deputising in the absence of the Registered Manager.

Let's talk about you

• Must possess SVQ4 Leadership & Management or willing to work towards within 2 years of taking up post.
• Experience of managing staff, also providing visible and effective leadership and management by example.
• SSSC registered.
• Significant experience of working with children and young people with Learning Disabilities.
• Demonstrate informed decision making and judgement, utilising these skills to anticipate and identify problems and find solutions
• Good knowledge of Safeguarding, and keeping young people safe.

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.

Aberlour Options Lothian, Prestonpans

Aberlour Options Lothian offers a range of short break services to children and young people with complex needs. We offer a safe, homely environment for a child to come and stay for a short break that gives their families a rest from their caring role. During that break, children enjoy a range of fun activities and experiences with our staff. Our service is very much a ‘home from home’ for the children who stay with us. We are within easy commuting distance of Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian with access via the number 26, 111 and 124 bus routes.

The difference we make to families:

“It’s not easy to accept that sometimes you need help. We had reached rock bottom but Aberlour Options Lothian was that lifesaving buoyancy aid.

It wasn't easy accepting leaving my son there especially in the early days when it was new to everyone. It is a safe and welcoming place and a second home in many respects now. Somewhere he is safe, cared for and has loads of fun with the carers and other children.

It’s not just about respite; we have received help with managing behaviour, preparing for hospital visits and operations. Help and advice when there seemed to be no one else listening or who understands. It’s hard to look back to where we were but no we wouldn't be here today without their help and support.

To sum it up: Saved our lives. Peace of mind. Finally a rest.”

What we are looking for....

As part of a small team, you will ensure that the highest level of physical and emotional care is provided to the children and young people. Experience in this type of work is preferred however we will consider all applications. The requirement is to work mainly weekends with occasional week nights, depending on the needs of our young people. Weekends can include sleepovers and wakened night shifts.

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. At Aberlour we have strong values - Respect, Integrity, Innovation and Challenging - which influence our everyday work. If you choose to apply for this role please tell us about your values in your supporting statement.

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.