Shared Care Scotland is recruiting a new Head of Policy and Communications following the promotion of the current postholder. This is a unique opportunity for an experienced and enthusiastic communicator to join the team at a pivotal time with short breaks and respite care policy high on the political agenda.

Shared Care Scotland is an innovative national charity, based in Dunfermline, working to support Scotland’s unpaid carers to access short breaks and respite. We aim to be an influential, leading voice advocating for carers’ rights and helping shape the future of short breaks provision in Scotland; a trusted partner that can be relied on for consistent high-quality information and guidance; and an organisation that connects good practice, ideas, and people to support learning and improvement.

The Head of Policy & Communications role will help us achieve this ambition by ensuring we have effective links between our policy, communications and evidence-related activities to optimise our impact, strengthen our reputation and increase our visibility. The successful candidate will lead on the development and implementation of our influencing and communication activities across all workstreams of the organisation and oversee policy-related work of the organisation. This will involve building relationships and engaging with government, policymakers, sector leads and influencers and developing joint working with strategic partners.

For the right candidate this offers huge potential to develop and deliver innovative and creative ideas and be part of a team that can have real impact of the lives of unpaid carers.

In return we offer a supportive, collaborative team environment with excellent terms and conditions. Staff benefits include a pension scheme with 15.5% employer contribution, employee health plan, flexible working and opportunities for professional development.

Do you want to join an organisation that has been named recently as a Top 100 company to work with by The Sunday Times?

Do you want to work in the beautiful town of Fort William - a relocation allowance of £8,000 is available.

If you would like to have an informal chat before applying please call Rhonda Wilson, Head of Admissions and Programmes in the Highlands, on 07715238337.

About Aberlour Sycamore Fort William

Aberlour provides a number of 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 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.

You should have experience of working in and leading practice, preferably in a children’s house and with families. You must be visible to the team and children which will include working some evenings and weekends.

Ideally you will have knowledge about developmental trauma, how this impacts children’s early life experiences.

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.

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.

Looking for an opportunity to work for a flexible and family friendly organisation doing amazing work to support Scotland’s voluntary sector?

SCVO is seeking a Head of Information and Support Services to lead the charge in building skills, confidence and capability across the sector. In this role you’ll manage our information, events and training services, focused around our core areas of expertise on governance, management, funding, digital and growing climate confidence.

We’re looking for a strategic thinker with strong leadership and people management skills who is driven to make a difference. If you have a deep understanding of the voluntary sector and extensive experience in managing information or capacity building services, we want to hear from you.

Join SCVO in supporting Scotland’s thriving voluntary sector and be part of a team committed to building a fairer, more inclusive society.

We offer a hybrid working environment, flexible hours, and an inclusive culture that values diversity and innovation. We encourage you to apply if you believe you meet most of the criteria in the person specification. We share our interview questions in advance. If you want to have a chat about the job or our flexible working approach, get in touch with us at recruitment@scvo.scot

SCVO is the membership organisation for the voluntary sector in Scotland and our mission is to champion the role of voluntary sector organisations in building a flourishing society and support them to do work that has a positive impact.