This is an exciting opportunity to be part of our Family Wellbeing Service in North Ayrshire. Children 1st alongside children, families, and partners provide early help which is easily accessible and non-stigmatising. The team and model of support play a pivotal role in supporting children and families impacted by adversity, ensuring high quality relationships with children and families remain front and centre.

Children 1st along with partners share a determination to act upon the recommendations from The Independent Care Review and deliver The Promise to children and young people. We are also determined that the full incorporation of the UNCRC means that children will have their rights respected in all areas of their lives and will have a real say in the way they are supported. If you share this determination, we would love to hear from you.

Our project builds on the voices of the recovery community, our extensive experience in supporting children and families impacted by substance use in North Ayrshire and enables us to increase our reach to more families who need us. We will do this through providing community-based whole family support that families can access easily in a non-stigmatised way, and at an early stage. This aligns closely with the Promise’s priority areas to provide a good childhood and to provide whole family support to those who need it, when the time is right.

We are looking for a Team Leader to join our leadership team within North Ayrshire. In this position you will play a crucial role in the on-going learning and development of the service and contribute to how we continue to best meet the needs of families across the area. Building relationships and the ability to communicate effectively internally as well as with external partners and agencies is at the heart of everything you will do.

You should have experience of working in a leadership capacity; of offering reflective support and/or supervision to a team of staff/students/volunteers and able to confidently respond to and manage risk.

Families are facing increasing challenges which makes this is a demanding role requiring tenacity, commitment and flexibility. No two days are the same!

If you have a passion for working alongside families, have experience of keeping children safe, are committed to restorative approaches, and have a professional qualification in a relevant area such as Social Work, Teaching or equivalent in Child Care/Social Care or related area, accredited counselling qualification, or other relevant qualification at SCQF level 9 or higher, then we want to hear from you.

Base

You will be based in our North Ayrshire Family Wellbeing Service, Bourtreehill, Irvine.

Wellbeing

Your wellbeing is important to us, we will support you to work in a way that gets the job done but maintains a healthy work life balance. We will provide connection with the rest of the organisation including regular support from the local Service Manager and Assistant Director.

Salary, Conditions, Pension & Benefits

We will offer you a competitive salary, generous annual leave entitlement (40 days inclusive of 7 days public holidays), flexible working opportunities and a contributory pension scheme and a place where you will be supported and valued and work with excellent and kind colleagues.

Additionally, Children 1st offers further staff benefits including a cash-back healthcare plan, membership of a Credit Union and access to a cycle to work scheme.

The vacancy

The impact of vision loss is huge. Too often, it leads to people lacking or losing confidence and independence. People with vision loss are at higher risk of unemployment, isolation, mental health problems, and financial challenges. It can have an enormous emotional toll. But with the right support, people with vision loss can gain the skills to remain independent and active in their communities – to thrive. That’s why we’re here.

For 230 years, Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans have been supporting people impacted by vision loss. We believe we play an important role in continually shifting the conversation around sight loss, and contributing to achieving a fair, equitable society. Over the years, we’ve seen a positive shift in expectations, with individuals and communities increasingly empowered to live lives the way they choose, free of discrimination.

And we’ve had to transform too, so that our services reflect the times we live in and meet the changing needs of the people we support. We’re now looking at how we continue to evolve, considering how we contribute now and what we could do differently in the future.

Our Activity Centre’s provide innovative and person-centred services and support to veterans struggling with sight loss. This job exists in order to provide tailored support to veterans carrying out woodworking projects. You will work alongside the veterans to identify abilities, share ideas and plan projects within the activity Centre. You will ensure that the support provided is person-centred, tailored to their needs and is the right support for them. You will support the leadership team to coordinate and manage the activities provided within and from the Activity Centre which will support the overall wellbeing of the veterans and their families. You will work closely with colleagues across the organisation and external stakeholders to ensure that veterans can access the relevant support.

About us

We're one of Scotland's oldest charities - for more than two centuries, we've been supporting and empowering people with sight loss to live fulfilling lives. We're proud of all we've achieved in the past - but we have our sights set firmly on the future.

We're determined that no-one should face sight loss alone. We're committed to improving, diversifying and growing our services to make sure we can reach many more people with sight loss - when and where they need us.

Barnardo's is working in partnership with North Ayrshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) and North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership to deliver a service to children and families affected by alcohol and/or drugs. We aim to deliver a service that is rooted in the Whole Family approach and underpinned by Rights Respect and Recovery, Getting Our Priorities Right and Getting it Right for Every child (GIRFEC).

The project is an early intervention approach designed to work collaboratively with families, as most families already have the resilience strength and capabilities they need to recover. The Project Worker will support and nurture these to ensure both children and adults can overcome any difficulties that get in the way.

The successful candidate will be part of the innovative development and delivery of this exciting initiative and therefore is required to demonstrate a level of experience, skills, and knowledge as highlighted below to carry out key aspects of the role. We particularly welcome applications from candidates with lived experience.

The post holder will work in partnership with the North Ayrshire Service Access Team and North Ayrshire Drug & Alcohol Recovery Service (NADARS).

We are particularly interested in hearing from people with personal lived experience of drugs and or alcohol, either their own or a family members.