- Advertised from 26th September 2024
- Expenses paid
Role
Aberlour are the largest solely Scottish children’s charity; we help to transform the lives of disadvantaged children, young people and families across Scotland, and we are looking to recruit new Trustees who will join us in our efforts to ensure children have the opportunities and support they deserve.
Aberlour has a rich history of delivering vital services to vulnerable children, young people and their families. Since our inception as an orphanage in Speyside in 1875 and the formal establishment of Aberlour Child Care Trust in 1976, we have developed a significant reputation for delivering the following services: residential care and fostering, recovery, early years, disability, early intervention and youth work. We offer support at the earliest opportunity – giving children the best possible start in life is at the heart of everything we do.
Due to Trustees coming to the end of their term, we are seeking up to five new Trustees with a range of skills to join the Board during 2025 to help us to deliver our ambitious strategic priorities and goals to transform the lives of disadvantaged children across Scotland. Applicants should have the values, experience and passion to lead one of Scotland’s leading charities at a time when our support is needed more than ever.
We are looking for the following skills:
- Chartered accountant with strong financial skills, in particular charity accounting, that would allow you to chair or join our Finance Committee.
- Understanding of children’s services or social care. Also experience of scrutiny or quality improvement that would allow you to chair or join our Improvement, Audit & Risk Committee.
- Experience of social investment.
- Policy development, especially in relation to engaging with children and families who are overcoming trauma.
- Learning and development.
- Lived experiences that can bring empathy with children and young people.
- Understanding of the demands and complexities of board-level governance and experience of operating at a senior level in Corporate, Public or Third sector environments would be an advantage.
In welcoming applications from all parts of Scotland’s communities, we recognise that diversity in the voices around our table will better reflect the communities we serve. If you believe you could add real value to our board table but don’t meet some or all the criteria we have laid out, we would still love to hear from you, but please highlight for us the value you would bring in your application.
You will be required to attend 4 Board meetings, relevant committee meetings and a Board Development Day each year.
Charity trustees are expected to direct the affairs of the charity through efficient, effective and accountable governance, ensuring that the organisation is professionally run and acts in accordance with its stated aims and objectives. These are unpaid roles, but reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.
Application notes
For more information on the roles, Aberlour and how to apply, please visit aspenpeople.co.uk/aberlour
If you have a query or would like an informal discussion, please contact Catriona Mackie or Lauryn Pringle at Aspen People on 0141 212 7555.
Closing date for applications: Friday 25th October 2024
Join us in making a lasting impact on children’s lives through the power of play!
We are seeking a Chairperson and Trustees to join our Board of Directors
We are seeking committed individuals interested in taking on the exciting role and opportunity as Chairperson of Play Midlothian.
We are also looking for new trustees to join us! (No previous board experience is necessary as full support and training will be provided).
Play Midlothian is a leading charity dedicated to improving and enriching the lives of children and young people through the power of play. We believe that play is a fundamental right and an essential part of a child’s development. Our services are designed to offer inclusive, safe, and stimulating environments where children can grow, learn, and have fun.
We work to support children to thrive through play. It is important for their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances.
We:
- Provide enriching opportunities for children to play in support of their health, wellbeing and development
- Build family, community and professional capacity to support play
- Advocate for play and inform and influence decision-making
Time commitment
As a minimum, you need to be able to commit to:
- Frequently attend (on Teams) board meetings, of which there are approximately six per year on a weekday evening, for two hours;
- Attending infrequent development or strategic planning sessions (usually no more than once per year);
- Steer short-life working groups ;
- Occasionally work closely with member(s) of the staff team on a specific issue.
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Counselling Lead (Maternity Cover)
- Part time
- £30,800 pro-rata
- Hybrid: Edinburgh
- Closing 7th October 2024
About the organisation
Pregnancy Counselling and Care (Scotland) is a small Edinburgh-based charity that supports families and individuals during pregnancy and early parenthood, or at times of loss, by providing practical and emotional support.
Our Vision:Nobody is left alone to struggle with pregnancy, loss or early parenthood
Our Mission:To support families and individuals during pregnancy and early parenthood, or at times of loss, by providing practical and emotional support
Our Objectives:
This is done through the delivery of two services:
- Our Counselling Service - providing professional counselling to anyone who is struggling as a result of pregnancy, childbirth, baby loss, miscarriage, termination, stillbirth or infertility
- Our Baby Bank – that supplies baby equipment, clothes and toys to families experiencing poverty
Our Values:
- Respect/ Compassion
- Inclusiveness/Diversity
- Collaboration/Connected
- Dependability/Flexibility
About The Role
The Counselling Lead is a part time role (21 hours/week), based in a hybrid fashion from home and the Baby Bank in the Gyle Shopping Centre, as well as the current counselling rooms in the Gyle and Dialogue and Space in the east of the city.
The Counselling Lead will manage the counselling service, and line manage the counselling team of 10 counsellors including both qualified practitioners and trainees. The Counselling Lead will manage the waiting list, allocating them to counsellors appropriate to each client’s needs. They will also contribute to the furtherance of our strategic priorities in respect of the counselling service:
- To increase capacity of our Baby Bank and our Counselling Service
- To improve awareness of all our services and their impact on individuals and families
- To improve the quality of the services we provide
There is a possibility of extension beyond May 2025, on a job share basis with the current post holder returning from maternity leave.
Job Description
- Provide leadership and line management to our counselling team made up of sessional senior counsellors, volunteer and trainee counsellors
- Manage the waitlist, contact referrals coming in and liaise with counselling team to allocate initial assessments and first appointments
- Hold day to day responsibility for child and adult protection concerns within the service with support from Operations Manager
- Support counsellors in their work with client via line management supervision and regular check ins
- Provide in-person support for placement counsellors at both counselling venues when required
- Recruit senior counsellors when required, and placement counsellors on an ongoing annual cycle
- Provide comprehensive training and induction for all new counsellors
- Review counselling policies and procedures, ensuring child and adult protection procedures are followed and service remain in line with COSCA standards
- Oversee the use of Bacpac (client management software) by all counsellors
- Collate statistics from Bacpac and other client feedback routes to report against KPIs
- Liaise with other referral organisations and other agencies to build up partnerships
- Promote the counselling service through awareness campaigns and creation of resources for referrers and key audiences
- Ensure counselling premises are suitable for the needs of the service and maintain relationships with in-person space providers
- Contribute to the operational and strategic development of the counselling service
- Work as a team with all the staff, contributing to team meetings and discussions
- Provide regular reports to Board, liaise with fundraiser and Board members as required
- Liaise with Operations Manager and Baby Bank Development Workers to respond to the needs of the charity
- Oversee PVG applications for the service
Person Specification
Required:
- Fully qualified counsellor with a minimum of 200 hours of client work
- Full membership to COSCA or BACP or other recognised governing body
- Willingness to work to COSCA Statement of Ethics and Code of Practice
- Current PVG membership or willingness to join the PVG scheme
- Experience in
- Handling child and adult protection concerns and disclosures
- Providing online and in person counselling
- Excellent verbal and written communications skills
- A proactive and positive approach to problem-solving
- Ability to work effectively, both independently and as part of a team
- Flexibility regarding specific hours worked, and attitude to activities undertaken
- A passion to support others experiencing difficulties in their lives
Preferred:
- Experience of line management supervision, preferably in a counselling context
- Clinical supervisor qualification
- Counselling experience and / or knowledge of pregnancy and early parenting-related issues
Do you want to join an organisation that has been named recently as a Top 100 company to work with by The Sunday Times?
If you do and would like to have an informal chat before applying then please call Rhonda Wilson, Head of Admissions and Programmes, on 07715 238337.
About Aberlour Sycamore Children’s Houses
Aberlour Sycamore Services’ vision is to provide warm, loving homes for children where everyone learns, laughs, grows into their future and is treasured always. We have a strong ethos of values and a culture that enables us to Be Brave and to Keep the Promise of involving the children and young people as fully as possible in taking decisions that affect their lives.
Our home in Fort William is a Hybrid Model, we have a residential service for children and young people as well as a service that we call Sustain Plus, which supports whole families by providing both emotional and practical support. We work with families and parents to secure a nurturing environment for children up to 18 years old. We also help parents/caregivers develop their ability to care for their children, provide practical parenting skills, and engage with their community. Our service provides flexible support of varying intensity and aims to encourage the development of family routines, resilience, and improved parental confidence.
We are looking to appoint a House Manager who will join our strong and thriving Residential/Sustain Plus community in Aberlour.
What we are looking for
We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with a passion for supporting vulnerable children and whole families to achieve the best possible outcomes in their lives. The successful candidate will have the drive, determination and cultural values to be able to lead their team to empower the children and young people to make the changes which will ultimately transform their lives.
We want someone who believes that all children and families are deserving of love and someone who will support the team to ensure that our children and families are able to live fulfilling lives without having restriction imposed on them in their everyday lives.
The person we choose to join us must have experience of working in and leading practice in a children’s house and with families. They must be visible to the team and children to ensure that the vision and values are lived every day - This will include working evenings and weekends.
Our homes provide a rich environment that provides safety, relationships, growth and healing for the children and adults who live and work there. To achieve this the successful candidate must have knowledge about developmental trauma, how this will have impacted children’s early life experiences and understand how to lead a team to ensure that every response a child receives takes account of their trauma.
A comprehensive support package focussed on achieving excellence in practice is provided to all of our teams and the successful candidate will also receive clinical supervision, provided externally to support their professional practice development and well-being.
If you share our vision of Being Brave for every child, young person and families, and Keeping the Promise, and you have the skills and passion required to meet the challenges of this role we look forward to hearing from you.
Ideally, candidates will have experience of leading a team within a residential childcare environment involving a residential shift rota and also experience in supporting whole families. You will be required to have or be willing to work towards the qualifications for being a manager in a residential childcare facility: a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 9 or above plus a management qualification at SCQF level 8 or above.
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.
Are you an experienced finance professional looking to make a significant impact in the third sector? Avenue, a leading charity in the North East of Scotland, is seeking an exceptional Finance Manager to join our senior leadership team. This pivotal role will ensure our financial health and sustainability, driving our mission to support families, children, and individuals through life’s challenges.
About Us:
For over 70 years, Avenue has provided a range of services across Grampian, designed to help families and individuals overcome obstacles and improve their relationships and wellbeing. With values rooted in effectiveness, integrity, respect, credibility, innovation, and independence, we are committed to making a real difference in our community.
The Role:
As Finance Manager, you will lead all aspects of our financial operations, from strategic planning and budgeting to cash management and financial reporting. You'll work closely with the CEO and the Board of Trustees, providing insightful analysis and advice to support strategic decision-making. Your responsibilities will also include:
- Developing and implementing financial policies and controls
- Leading the annual audit process and preparing statutory accounts
- Supporting funding bids with excellent financial analysis and planning
- Supporting managers in budget management and financial literacy
- Ensuring compliance with financial, charity, and company legislation
What We’re Looking For:
- Fully qualified (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) or part qualified with commensurate experience
- Proven success in a senior financial management role
- Strong knowledge of relevant legislation and financial regulations
- Excellent communication, organisational, and problem-solving skills
- Proficiency in finance software (preferably Xero) and advanced Excel skills
- Experience in strategic financial planning and risk management
Why Join Avenue?
This is an exciting opportunity to bring your expertise to a vibrant and impactful organisation. You'll work in a supportive and collaborative environment, with opportunities for professional development and to influence the financial direction of our charity.
The person specification gives a broad indication of expectations. Please get in touch if you
feel you would have a lot to offer even if it isn’t an exact match with our requirements.
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