The One World Shop was established over 40 years ago and has played a lead role in the Fair Trade movement in Scotland, including helping Edinburgh and Glasgow become Fairtrade cities. As well as running a thriving city centre shop, we have an online shop and we support schools, faith groups and local businesses to learn about and sell fair trade products. We currently employ 7 paid staff and over 20 volunteers. Our aim is to reduce poverty in deprived areas of the world through trading fairly and we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and promoting low-carbon living.

We are seeking to appoint several new voluntary Management Committee members; we are particularly looking at people with skills and experience in any of the following:

- Human Resources

- Property, leases, surveying

- Retail sales and management

- Business management

- Finance, funding, ethical investment

Board meetings are held every two months by Zoom

Chair of the Board of Trustees

We are excited to have the opportunity to recruit a committed, experienced Chair with outstanding strategic planning ability, to lead our charity as we enter the next stage of our evolution and prior to the launch of our new strategy in April 2025.

As Chair of MCR Pathways, you will play a crucial role in shaping the strategic direction of the charity, ensuring the highest standards of charity governance and effective oversight of our operations. Drawing on your substantial non-executive experience, ideally as Chair, you will ensure a cohesive and well-functioning board where diverse views are encouraged to improve consensus decision-making.

You will work closely with board colleagues through quarterly board meetings, and working groups and provide support and constructive challenge to the Chief Executive, Sharon McIntyre and her senior team. With a track record of identifying and mitigating risk, you will protect and promote the charity’s excellent reputation, and represent us at external events and with key stakeholders.

Trustees

We are also looking for three committed individuals to join our Board of Trustees. This is an incredible opportunity to make a difference with MCR,build on your existing skills and potentially discover new ones. We are currently recruiting for Trustees to join our board from December 2024, with a particular interest in candidates with experience in the following areas:

Charitable / Voluntary sector

Charity Finance

Marketing/Communications

Fundraising

We are focused on identifying new trustees who:

Believe strongly that care experienced young people should have the same opportunities to learn and develop as their peers. And are passionate about making this happen.

Are committed to making a meaningful contribution to fulfilling the Board’s strategic, financial and legal responsibilities.

This is an incredible opportunity to make a difference with MCR, build on your existing skills and potentially discover new ones. The most important attributes trustees joining us should have include: a willingness to ask questions, sharing our values of Respect, Person-Centred practice, Integrity and Communication and a guaranteed time commitment to the role. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you.

You will work closely with board colleagues through quarterly board meetings, and working groups and provide support and constructive challenge to the Chief Executive, Sharon McIntyre and her senior team. With a track record of identifying and mitigating risk, you will protect and promote the charity’s excellent reputation, and represent us at external events and with key stakeholders.

Our Commitment

In return, we offer a comprehensive induction programme including charity trustee training, CPD as a trustee and the opportunity to be part of a forward thinking, committed and impactful team working to help care experienced young people transform their lives. These positions are a voluntary role in a national third sector organisation that has important stature in Scotland with a growing reach in England.

ABOUT EAST LOTHIAN COMMUNITY RAIL PARTNERSHIP

Community Rail Partnerships (CRP) were first established in England in the 1990s as a formal mechanism to reinvigorate local and rural railways. CRP status provides a framework for community involvement in strategic planning, development and operation of a specific railway line.

Since 2014, the East Lothian Community Rail Partnership has been pulling together a wide range of local organisations with an interest in communities and sustainable transport, to fix the link between railway stations, town centres and the surrounding areas, and realise an integrated transport network accessible to all. We work with four train operators (ScotRail, LNER, TransPennine Express, and Cross Country), Transport Scotland, East Lothian Council, the Regional Transport Partnership (SEStran), local businesses and community groups towards the following aims:

• Supporting the local economy by promoting rail use and rail facilities
• Actively promoting the use of rail and other public and low carbon-emitting transport
• Supporting safety, security and access initiatives relating to railway use
• Working with ‘station adopters’ (individuals and groups) to provide a more pleasant environment within the station areas.

ABOUT THE VACANCY

Harry Barker has been chairing East Lothian CRP since its inception in 2014 and is now preparing to pass on the reins of a well-established and respected organisation. In addition the time is right to expand the Board and also appoint a vice chair. Examples of projects completed to date include:

• restored the murals at Prestonpans Station (best community project 2023)
• improved signage to stations
• provided information boards for display in stations promoting local attractions and historical information
• supported many local events in the North Berwick and Dunbar areas
• producing a line guide and leaflets to encourage tourism
• working with bus operators to improve integration between bus and rail

Projects have always been dependent on external funding which to date has not proved problematical, and, as such, the incoming Chair will have the flexibility to pursue their own agenda. The CRP is financially sound and new ways of operating are being explored by The Community Rail Network and the new Chair will be well placed to provide input to these.

East Lothian CRP has no paid staff, and projects are led by volunteers under direction from the Board, and therefore the amount of work involved can vary but can be expected to be around 10 hours per month for the Chair.

DUTIES OF THE CHAIR

Responsibilities include:

• Ensuring that the CRP is run in accordance with the constitution
• Guiding and encouraging projects that will be undertaken from time to time
• Ensuring that the Action Plan is kept up to date
• Chairing four meetings per year, including the AGM (normally held in November)
• Producing an annual report for the AGM
• Ensuring that the activities of the CRP are within the guidelines produced by the Train Operating Companies in all respects particularly including safely

BENEFITS

You will receive a ‘staff’ rail pass from ScotRail permitting free rail travel throughout Scotland when travelling on ScotRail trains.

Reasonable expenses will be paid if required to travel on other rail services and/or stay overnight.

REQUIREMENTS

The successful applicant will be expected to support public transport in general, with a keen interest in integration between modes such as buses, active travel and rail.

A willingness of Board members to attend committees and conferences is essential (expenses will be covered) and these will give valuable access to professional railway staff and management on the front line, where your views can be heard. These include:

• the local ‘Rail Forum’ involving MSPs, Councillors and Train Operating Companies - twice a year, usually virtually
• in-person or virtual annual conferences of the four local Train Operating Companies (ScotRail, Cross Country Trains, TransPennine Express, and LNER) which may be held anywhere in the UK
• An annual event in Scotland sponsored by Modern Railways magazine which is attended by many high profile railway managers and senior representation from Transport Scotland
• Virtual attendance (via Zoom) at the national Community Rail Network meetings
• In-person Community Rail Networks Awards ceremony, if the CRP is short listed for an Award – this year’s was in Swansea over three days
• Six Community Area Partnership ‘On the Move’ groups consider local transport in East Lothian – CRP representation on one or more of these groups is important for a full appreciation of issues surrounding each station. Each On the Move Group meets every two months

A knowledge of railways and their workings is desirable but not essential.

Living in East Lothian and using the county’s rail services from time to time would be advantageous.

You will be expected to liaise with the station adoption groups from time to time. They have a separate relationship with ScotRail.

You will be expected to be pro-active in instructing the website to be kept up to date via the CRP’s appointed webmaster, and in responding to public enquiries which come via the website. You will not be required to answer complaints from the travelling public but direct these to ScotRail for attention.

From time to time it may be necessary to communicate with the local Press (East Lothian Courier and occasionally Edinburgh Evening News).

Edinburgh Women’s Aid strives for a society free from domestic abuse by providing practical and emotional support and information to women and children. The charity also raises awareness of domestic abuse and its prevalence across society.

The Board of Directors is responsible for the effective governance and strategic direction of Edinburgh Women’s Aid. We are looking for new board members with diverse skills and backgrounds that complement the existing board skill set. Candidates who have experience in law or human resources are of particular interest, however previous board experience is not essential. We are equally keen to hear from candidates who are seeking their first board position and we would particularly welcome applicants from underrepresented communities on boards and/or who have used any women’s aid or other specialist women’s domestic abuse services in the past.