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.

Do you want to be a part of an award-winning team? We have vacancies for dynamic, enthusiastic, creative and organised individuals to join our team.

We are seeking an experienced art therapist who can offer therapy across community settings to children who are in their early years and of primary school age. The post will work across Midlothian so having access to a car for business use is essential. We can offer a flexible working pattern on weekdays. We need you to be able to effectively communicate with vulnerable children, their families and the professionals supporting them. You will receive regular line management and external clinical supervision.

About Aberlour Options Borders

At Aberlour Options Borders we provide a range of support services for young people up to the age of 18 years who have various disabilities. Our aim is to provide families with a short break from their caring role through the provision of high-quality child-centred services which provide a positive experience for the young people we work with.

We have a strong reputation for supporting young people with high levels of complex needs, supporting them to grow, learn and maximise their potential. We believe that every child has the right to flourish. Our Young People’s Workers play a fundamental role in ensuring that the young people they work with have the best possible experience in working towards their objectives in line with their care plan. Whilst not without its challenges and demands, this is a highly rewarding role, where the work we do has a demonstrable impact on each young person's progress. Using a person-centred approach you will provide enabling support ensuring the highest level of physical, personal and emotional care to support children in their daily living and within the local community.

What we are looking for....

We have an opening for a Young People’s Worker on a permanent basis. Usual hours would be around 23 per week during term time for 42 weeks of the year and 35 hours per week for 10 weeks of the year (school holidays). Working an average of 25.30 hours per week per year. Hours are worked between 3pm and 10pm on weekdays. Weekends open full time, hours worked between 12pm Friday and 5pm Sunday. Holiday weeks are full time and shifts can be around the clock. You will be part of a residential respite rota which will require you to work days, evenings, nights, weekends and public holidays. There will be a requirement to do sleepover shifts and these will be paid at £65 per sleepover.

Shift patterns vary. For 10 weeks of the year during school holidays, shifts are available around the clock. Standard shifts would be 8-4.15pm or 4-10pm. Sleepovers are also a part of this. For 42 weeks of the year, we work on a pattern of Wed-Sunday one week and Friday to Sunday the following week. Wednesday-Friday is afternoons and evenings. Standard weekend shifts are 8-4.15pm or 4-10pm. Sleepovers are also a part of this.

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.

A Day in the Life of a Young People’s Worker

Our day usually starts around 7.30am with the morning routine. We support our young people to get ready for their day ahead assisting with all aspects of personal hygiene. We then prepare breakfast and medications for each of our young people and organise the day’s activities. We plan mornings out, considering the health and safety requirements for each activity we undertake. After lunch we prepare an in-house activity. This also allows staff to complete daily paperwork such as weekend logs for our young people, updating care plans and review reports etc. In the evening we

cook a healthy dinner considering our knowledge of our young peoples’ likes and dislikes and particularly if they have restricted diets.

"Aberlour Options provide a safe, fun and homely environment for respite for our son. He loves going to stay and asks daily when his next visit is" Parent

"Aberlour treat me like part of the family" Young Person

If you have an interest in working with young people we would like to hear from you. Ideally, candidates will have social care experience, an understanding of autism, complex needs and mental health and have the relevant qualifications or will be willing to work towards these.

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. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers.

Do you want to be a part of an award-winning team? We have vacancies for dynamic, enthusiastic, creative and organised individuals to join our team.

This is a permanent position.

This role requires you to provide administration support to the CEO, therapy and family support teams. You should ideally have experience of office management, experience of working with excel, word, client information system/databases, social media and website posting. You must have great people skills and be able to communicate effectively with families and professionals over the phone offering reassurance as required.

We can offer a flexible working pattern, within core business hours, the post is required to be based at our office in Edinburgh.