We have a new and innovative post which will work on our Initial Ministerial Education (IME) programme with the opportunity to shape courses, conferences and policy. You will be responsible for ensuring that our academic courses for our trainee ministers and deacons are meeting the Church of Scotland needs and reflective of the demands of modern ministry. As you will be working closely with our Lead Academic Partner you will bring your own experience of theological study alongside a track record of delivering a training and/or education training programme.

Bringing strong interpersonal skills including influence and negotiation combined with your knowledge of the workings of the Church of Scotland and its training and formation will allow you to lead and advise on our new IME programme.

The postholder is required to be a committed Christian with a live Church connection which is a Genuine Occupational Requirement in terms of the Equality Act 2010.

Are you passionate about Human Rights?

Do you want to help improve the realisation of Human Rights for everyone in Scotland?

Do you have the skills, values, experience and expertise to help make that happen?

Are you interested in strengthening Scotland’s National Human Rights Institution?

If so, you could be just what we are looking for!

The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is Scotland’s human rights watchdog.

We are an independent, expert body that works with and for the people of Scotland; we monitor, listen, and speak up for all our rights and respond when things go wrong. We are a public body created by statute, with a mandate to protect and promote the human rights of all people in Scotland.

The Commission is established as a National Human Rights Institution. As such we are part of a global network of bodies accredited by the United Nations to monitor state compliance with international and national human rights law and treaties. We are independent of government. It is the job of National Human Rights Institutions to use the rule of law to promote and protect the human rights of all of the people who live in any given country and assess the actions of the state on that basis. This is how the Scottish Human Rights Commission approaches its work.

Recruitment

We have a number of opportunities for people who share our values and passion for human rights to join our growing team. We are a small organisation with big ambition to use our mandate to further the realisation of people’s human rights in Scotland, and these key strategic posts, working together with colleagues across the Commission, will be integral to our success over the coming years.

The Commission is recruiting for four positions.

This follows an expansion of our mandate with the enactment of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024; investment in the development of a People and Culture Programme that will enable us to conclude the implementation of our Independent Governance Review from 2023; and to fill a vacancy following the upcoming departure of a member of the team.

In April the Commission embarked on its new 4-year Strategic Plan for 2024-28, focused on standing up for those in need of protection and holding those responsible for human rights to account. This requires us to build a Commission team infrastructure that is equipped to deliver this, and the current opportunities will support us to enhance our engagement with the Scottish Parliament, the media, and the application of the law through strategic litigation and monitoring of human rights across Scotland.

The Commission is committed to being agile, engaged, accessible, open to collaboration and above all visibly committed to the realisation of rights in Scotland, as an authoritative and challenging partner in pursuit of that goal.

These posts are a critical to enhancing the skills and capacity of our existing team in order to achieve the Commission’s goals.

This is a critical post for the Commission, and will be in central in strengthening the impact of the Commission in informing the human rights legal and policy framework and for the progressive realisation of rights in the everyday lives of people in Scotland

Reporting to the Executive Director, this is a key leadership role with responsibility for ensuring organisational effectiveness of the legal and policy function and as an integral part of the Senior Leadership Team as the Commission delivers its People and Culture plan in 2025. The postholder will effectively lead and manage the Legal and Policy Team to deliver its core work programmes of advice to Parliament, international treaty monitoring, spotlight monitoring, and strategic litigation opportunities via the Commission’s powers to uphold human rights. The role will be responsible for quality assurance of legal and policy outputs in addition to ensuring delivery of key commitments in the Commissions Strategic Plan.

Why apply for this role?

Children’s Hearings tribunal panel members play a vital role in Scotland’s society. They listen and make legal decisions with and for infants, children and young people. They ensure that the young person is at the heart of every decision taken – because every decision, no matter how big or small, has an impact.

Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) is undergoing an exciting period of reform designed to make a step change in improving the outcomes for infants, children and young people who need us most. This role offers you the opportunity to work alongside our tribunal members, and those who attend hearings to realise our aim to be a “forward looking and evolving children’s hearings system, working as a community to ensure infants, children and young people are cared for, protected and their views are heard, respected and valued”.

If you are an inspiring leader with great people skills join us as we continue to embed our new regional new support model across Scotland, changing the way we deliver high quality hearings. By providing an enhanced and consistent support structure to better enable our volunteer tribunal panel members to support children and young people throughout Scotland we will provide a strong foundation to support and enabling our panel community to deliver our duties from the Care & Justice Bill and the recommendations agreed in the ‘Hearings for Children’ report.

This role will lead the Highland, Moray and Eilean Siar region, one of 9 regional CHS Area Support Teams across Scotland and will work alongside and support our volunteer community through change and transition now and in the future.

Your role

The role holder will be expected to be an exemplar for the values of CHS including listening to and valuing the voice of children and young people, the contribution of volunteers, and ensuring a respected, quality based, and sustainable tribunal system is delivered on behalf of the National Convenor.

Reporting to the Director of Tribunal Delivery, the Regional Tribunal Delivery Manager is a Senior Manager post responsible for one of 9 regions across Scotland. You will lead and manage a team of staff and volunteers to deliver the National Conveners statutory duties for the provision of Children’s Hearings across a dedicated region in Scotland to a consistent high quality standard.

You will be joining CHS at a pivotal point. Alongside the team of Regional Tribunal Delivery Managers, your Partnership and Wellbeing Coordinators and Area Support volunteers you will play a pivotal role in ensuring our volunteer communities are effectively supported to continue to embed our regional tribunal support model; implementation of the Children’s Care & Justice Act and future Hearings for Children reforms.

The core purpose of this role will be to provide, management and support to the regional team members (including volunteers) to deliver the National Conveners statutory duties around the provision of Children’s Hearings across a dedicated region in Scotland. The role holder will be key to managing the relationship(s) between Tribunal Members who are volunteers and the organisation more broadly.

The role holder will share collective responsibility for delivering organisational objectives, through active engagement and collaboration with colleagues at all levels in the organisation;

About you

You will be an effective leader, demonstrating your ability to lead and motivate high performing teams including volunteers. You will have experience of guiding and supporting others through continuous improvement projects; having the willingness and ability to enable changes to take place in the most productive way.

You will be an excellent communicator, building links and networks across teams (internally and externally), effectively initiating dialogue across the organisation recognising that we have a shared responsibility to provide the best experience for our colleagues and wider stakeholders.

Energetic and enthusiastic, you will be a brilliant collaborator with demonstrable experience of project/process management and improvement with a track record of using data / MI to manage team improvements.

You will be digitally literate, comfortable with using digital systems and supporting others to do so. ideally have experience of or good knowledge of the sector.

Life at CHS

At Children’s Hearings Scotland, our highly trained Panel Members make decisions for Scotland’s unique Children’s Hearings System that upholds and promotes the rights of infants, children and young people. Our 2,500 volunteer Panel Members take part in children’s hearings in their local areas, making decisions with and for infants, children and young people. Our organisation also supports a network of Area Support Teams throughout Scotland who support Panel Members in their local communities.

As an organisation that works within the Children’s Hearings System, we are passionate about making a positive contribution to improving outcomes for Scotland’s infants, children and young people.

You can read more about our core values on our websiteas well as view an introductory video to our organisation. We also offer a generous benefits package from hybrid working to flexi hours and a fantastic pension scheme – check out our full benefits summary.

Diversity and Inclusion

CHS is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We actively encourage applicants from all protected characteristics and are committed to providing any reasonable adjustments required during the application and assessment process, and upon joining us.