Role Summary

The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust (RBET) seeks a highly skilled Project Manager to lead the Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne project, delivering significant conservation and adaptation works at Ellisland Museum and Farm. The post is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to players of the National Lottery and South of Scotland Enterprise.

Introduction

The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust (RBET) safeguards the 1788 farm designed and built by the poet Robert Burns on the banks of the Nith near Dumfries. The A listed steading is the best preserved of all the poet’s homes, the only one he built, and the place where he wrote a quarter of his musical output, including the international anthem to friendship, Auld Lang Syne. The farmstead sits in 140 acres comprising woodland and fields which were first enclosed by Burns himself. RBET is a membership Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation with a volunteer board of Trustees formed in 2020, although the site itself has been held in trust since 1928. It is located six miles north of Dumfries off the A76. It is an accredited museum, with seasonal opening, holding events and group visits off-season, depending on capacity. A small team of volunteers maintain the grounds and riverside walks for free public enjoyment all year.

The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust’s charitable purpose is as follows:

To hold the lands and farm of Ellisland, and such other funds and assets as may from time to time be comprised in the Trust Property, in trust for the following purposes:

(a) the advancement of education

(b) the advancement of the arts, heritage and culture

(c) the promotion of the life and works of Robert Burns

(d) to maintain a museum and collections for the benefit of the public

The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust Mission Statement is as follows:

“Ellisland is the place to fall in love with Burns. We will increase awareness of Ellisland as central to the artistic development of Robert Burns in poetry and romantic song. We will enhance understanding of the site as the best place to see the natural world through the poet’s eyes. We will create a world class visitor experience and a vibrant centre for creative learning to ensure the unique collection, buildings and landscape are accessible to a diverse range of modern audiences.”

Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne

In September 2024, our trust secured the offer of a development stage grant of up to £489,206 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne. In November 2024 we were awarded up to £313,000 from South of Scotland Enterprise towards the project. We expect to receive Permission to Start by January 2025. The development stage of the project is costed at £945,000 while the full cost after delivery and re-opening is £7.4m, which includes start up activity costs.

Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne intends to bring the spirit of Burns – love, kindness and equality – into the 21st century and widen access to Ellisland with a vibrant programme of events, activities and artist residencies. We will restore the 1788 cottage, creating an immersive visitor experience, and develop a gallery/museum to display the collection, which is at risk in the deteriorating buildings. Our barn will be sensitively adapted as a Centre for Song, so future generations are inspired by Burns’s “sweet poetic ground.” We will increase visitor numbers and develop new income streams to protect the built heritage, collection and outdoor spaces, including woods, paths and fields created by Burns. This will increase economic prosperity in South Scotland and enhance wellbeing with skills training, jobs and volunteering opportunities.

A full brief can be downloaded below.

Scottish Historic Buildings Trust is excited to be recruiting for the role of Marketing & Communications Manager. The successful candidate will be responsible and accountable for the development and delivery of individual marketing and communication plans to promote every aspect of Trust activity to raise the profile of the Trust and develop key audiences. The role holder identifies new opportunities to engage with audiences and markets through promotional materials and creative campaigns including marketing across digital platforms, direct marketing, website development and public relations.

About Scottish Historic Buildings Trust

Scottish Historic Buildings Trust is a Charity and Building Preservation Trust with over 40 years’ experience saving derelict and redundant buildings throughout the whole of Scotland. Everyone has driven or walked past a forlorn and unloved historic building at some time. You may have wondered why it isn’t being used or why doesn’t someone do something with it? The answer is often complex and the solutions equally so. It takes a special group of people to identify a way forward and restore these buildings to the benefit of the community. SHBT is a dynamic and innovative charity that does just that and our Marketing & Communications Manager is key to our success.

Diversity

Scottish Historic Buildings Trust values the contribution of all our staff, whatever their background. Our recruitment decisions are based on fair, open processes, with appointment on merit. We welcome applications from everyone.

Further information

For an informal chat about the job, please contact Fiona Lawrence, Operations Manager, by email on fiona@shbt.org.uk

Join our team as the Trusts and Foundations Coordinator, where you'll play a key role in helping to deliver National Galleries of Scotland’s ambition to grow funds raised from grant sources. This is a wonderful opportunity to build on your fundraising skills, while working in a highly supportive Development Team passionate about art.

You will have excellent research and organisational skills, strong written and verbal communication, and be proficient in analysing financial information for persuasive grant submissions.

You’ll be responsible for maintaining the list of prospects, monitoring opportunities and recording approaches and outcomes. You’ll also write proposals and steward relationships with Trusts and Foundations through regular communication, report writing, arranging visits and generally ensuring we meet the conditions of any funding received.

This post is part of a pilot strategy to grow NGS income. This post is initially on a 22-month fixed term contract, with the possibility of extension depending on the income levels achieved during the pilot. This offers an excellent opportunity for a results-driven individual to demonstrate their impact and contribute to shaping the success of this initiative.

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.

About the Role

This is a truly exciting opportunity to play a central role within the Commission as it deploys it legal powers, focusing on developing and ensuring delivery of SHRC’s new legal powers and duties under the recently enacted United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (the “Act”).

We are looking for someone to join our legal and policy team who has experience of strategic litigation to uphold human rights, gained in a variety of settings. With a background in law and policy, in addition to a working knowledge of human rights, and particularly the rights of the child in a domestic context, your skills will be utilised to lead on interventions, develop proposals for potential areas of own name litigation under the UNCRC Act 2024, monitor human rights court judgements for the Commission, and manage live cases. You will also be responsible for liaising and developing a network with a variety of stakeholders, including people who are experiencing human rights violations, civil society advocacy organisations, the Courts, Law Centres, and the Law Society.

You will uphold the SHRC’s values and be confident representing the Commission with external audiences.