LAYC is recruiting a Project Worker to support the delivery of accredited learning and youth awards, with the network of community-based youth and children’s Member Groups within Edinburgh and the Lothians.

The post will be based at LAYC and will have a Lothian wide remit.

The post will be fixed for an initial period of 2 years at 18 hours per week on a salary scale of £28,046 - £32,010 pro rata, plus access to a 7% employers contribution pension.

As the #1 Modern University in Scotland (World University Rankings 2025), Edinburgh Napier University strives to deliver the best teaching, to the widest range of students who can benefit from it, in ways that are appropriate to the needs of students and employers. Philanthropic support from our donors provides critical support to some students and adds great value to increase the excellence of teaching and research, in ways not possible through core-funding alone.

Our Development and Alumni Relations Office works with a wide range of alumni and partners. The team’s aims are to raise philanthropic funds for scholarships, research and capital programmes and to strengthen the University's life-long relationships with alumni and friends worldwide.

As such, we are currently recruiting a Senior Development Manager (Fundraising/Major Donations) to take responsibility for raising funds to meet targets for student support and the portfolio of key projects.

The Role:

As Senior Development Manager, you will have the opportunity to use your proven experience of major gift fundraising to build and maintain key relationships with funders and raise philanthropic revenues to achieve income targets.

Your experience in a similar fundraising, venture philanthropy or business development role will put you in an excellent position to use your skills in networking, influencing, proposal writing, negotiation and securing agreements, to manage and build a portfolio of prospects, and engage new donors who are financially and emotionally invested in the value of education and research at Edinburgh Napier.

In that regard, you will have the chance to play a major role in delivering funded opportunities for current and future students whilst raising the profile and support for exciting, innovative projects and interdisciplinary research programmes. As an applied university, you will quickly see the impact of your work to help transform the lives of individuals, communities and our environment both here in Scotland as well as around the world.

We anticipate that you are the type of person that will use your resilience, strength of character, outgoing personality and dependability to build relationships and grow sustainable funding. This role will give you remit to use these skills and qualities to build meaningful associations with individuals; trusts and foundations; lottery and other statutory funding bodies as well as internal stakeholders such as academic staff, project champions and University executive leadership.

Should you have a background in Higher Education fundraising, Third Sector/Charity fundraising then this role will provide you with the opportunity to develop your skills and experience, while managing an energetic team who have established a track record of funding growth over the past five years, getting visible results and having a major impact on the fantastic opportunities available at our institution.

What we will need from you:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant discipline
• Significant fundraising experience, which should include: -
  • scoping fundraising project development, including budgeting
  • growing and managing a portfolio of prospects including individuals, trusts, foundations or statutory bodies
  • case for support/ proposal writing
  • preparing solicitation plans
  • face-to-face major gift asks
• Excellent networking and negotiation skills
• Excellent organisation, planning and time management skills

For a full role description, please click here.

Benefits we offer:

We offer 41 days annual leave (includes bank holidays), a generous pension scheme (17.6%), flexible working and professional development opportunities. Further information regarding our benefits can be viewed here.

About the Worker Support Centre

The Worker Support Centre (WSC) is a Scotland based charity that promotes decent work and prevents exploitation. We support marginalised and isolated workers in labour sectors where there is a high risk of abuse and exploitation. We work in partnership with workers to build power to secure and advance workplace rights. We prevent human trafficking for forced labour by acting to reduce the risks of worker exploitation. WSC values include: respect for human rights, representation, transparency, equality and innovation.

WSC support includes advice, mediation, advocacy and assisted reporting to enforcement agencies. Our worker engagement informs policy change activity to address harms faced by those in high-risk work. In 2023 and 2024 WSC activities were targeted at workers in seasonal agriculture on the UK Seasonal Worker visa (SWV). During this time, we provided advice, support, and information to 1031 people in relation to the SWV. WSC is now embarking on a new project to engage workers in health and social care to advance care workers’ rights through worker education and power sessions. To learn more about work, visit workersupportcentre.org.uk

About the role

This role is focussed on advancing care workers’ rights by supporting WSC’s peer engagement work including actively conducting outreach to workers and facilitating worker education and power sessions. In this role you will support WSC meet two of its four core objectives to work together with workers to claim spaces for power and representation in decision making; and to build the field of knowledge about workers and their experiences to influence policy. This role also includes handling a small caseload, providing health and social care workers with information, support and impartial advice with any issues that may arise during outreach or sessions. This role will work closely together with our Peer Engagement team and Outreach Caseworker.

WSC strives to achieve representation of individuals with lived experience of the issues on which we work at all levels of our organisation and actively promotes applications from individuals with experience of the issues on which we work. For this role we would especially welcome applications from individuals with experience of working in the health and social care sector.

NB A Basic Disclosure Check is required for this role.