This is an exciting opportunity for three experienced Project Workers to join our large, creative and vibrant team. Our Service delivers a number of diverse supports alongside children and families. Our activities include Family Group Decision Making, support for children and families to recover from trauma and harm and whole family wellbeing support.

Our ambition is for every child in Scotland to be safe, loved and well, together with their family. Children 1st is committed to protecting children by preventing harm through abuse and neglect. We will promote their wellbeing by respecting, protecting, and fulfilling children’s human rights.

We have a long history of working with children and families and partners in the Scottish Borders. Children 1st along with our 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.

We are currently looking for three new colleagues to support Parenting and family wellbeing support, Family Group Decision Making and the delivery of the CEDAR programme.

• The Family Wellbeing Project Worker role will be working alongside children, young people and parents/carers. We adopt a relational and restorative approach which helps families to strengthen relationships and reduce emotional distress. Placing the voice of children, young people and their families at the centre of the support, this role will provide collaborative family support; focusing on highlighting the resilience of families and responding to their individual needs.
• The FGDM coordinator role will work with families in a whole family system approach, they are independent and work with families to find their own strength and solutions to their problems and keep children, young people, safe and nurtured within their families. The successful candidate will be required to work in close partnership with Social Work colleagues, guiding and supporting restorative approaches to working with families. You do not require previous experience in the delivery of Family Group Decision Making but you must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the principles and values of the approach. You must also show a commitment to complete accredited training, which will be provided.
• The CEDAR Co-ordinator role will develop and manage a community group work programme (CEDAR Project) for children and young people and their mothers with experience of domestic abuse alongside support from our highly experienced Domestic Abuse Recovery team

The successful candidates will play a pivotal role in the delivery of our service, ensuring high quality relationships with children and families and working alongside our partners to evidence impact.

What kind of people are we looking for?

• have experience of keeping children safe in their own families
• are fiercely passionate about children’s rights
• thinks it’s a privilege to work with and on behalf of children and families and,
• are kind and will bring their whole selves to the job: heart and mind

What kind of team member will you be?

Knowing our ambition for children, you will be someone who is:

• resilient, skilled and knowledgeable who wants to transform children’s lives
• determined to support children to stay safely with their own family
• big hearted and courageous
• able to build strong relationships and to manage the tricky conversations
• is compassionate and have an understanding of trauma
• a cool head and clear minded at times of pressure
• inspiring colleagues and teams to be even better
• an amazing ambassador for children and Children 1st

Above all else, the most important thing to us is that you are someone who will do the right thing for children and their families at every turn.

If you have a professional qualification in a relevant area such as Social Work, Health, Teaching, Child Care/Social Care, accredited counselling/therapeutic qualification, IDAA training/qualification or other relevant qualification at SCQF level 9 or higher then we want to hear from you.

Base

Your base will be shared between our office in Selkirk as well as venues within the local community. You will work on an outreach basis to connect with children and families in communities across Scottish Borders.

Salary, Conditions, Pension

We will offer you a competitive salary, generous annual leave entitlement (40 days inclusive of 7 public holidays), flexible working opportunities and a contributory pension scheme. We also have a cash healthcare plan, cycle to work scheme and access to a credit union.

Further Information

These are all full-time posts of 35 hours per week. The CEDAR post is fixed term with an end date of 31st March 2025 with a strong indication that funding will continue beyond this. The other two posts are permanent.

Please indicate on your CV/Cover letter if there is a particular role you are interested in or whether there are multiple roles you would like to be considered for.

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:

1. To increase capacity of our Baby Bank and our Counselling Service
2. To improve awareness of all our services and their impact on individuals and families
3. 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

PFS was founded in 1944 and since then we have been at the forefront of shaping policy and services that support the 144,000 single parent families in Scotland. OPFS HQ is in central Edinburgh, there are local services in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Edinburgh and Dundee with National digital and helpline services.

The Regional Coordinator role will contribute to the organisation’s vision of a Scotland in which single parents and their children are valued and treated equally and fairly by coordinating components which contribute to the North Lanarkshire service. The role holder will, working alongside colleagues in OPFS Management Teams, be responsible for strategic direction and delivery of services tailored for single parent families in North Lanarkshire.

All roles at OPFS contribute to our mission of working with and for single parent families, providing support that enables them to achieve their potential and helping to create lasting solutions to poverty and barriers facing single parents and their children. Our core values of Justice, Equity, Trust, Collaboration and Compassion are at the heart of everything we do and underpin all aspects of our work.