As Engaging Communities and Volunteer Officer for Scotland you will join us at an exciting time as we expand our work to more effectively reach out to, engage and support more people to live well with all types of diabetes, to prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes and ultimately to achieve our vision of a world where diabetes can do no harm.

We’re working to build and grow a powerful movement of people helping to achieve a world where diabetes does no harm. The Engaging Communities and Volunteering Officer will be part of a team, working alongside the diabetes community, which empowers people, communities and organisations to raise awareness, influence change and support people affected by diabetes to live well and access better care.

Role Responsibility

• Engaging and building sustainable links across diverse communities to tackle the inequality that can exist in diabetes care and support.
• Deliver our ambitions across community engagement and volunteering in line with Scotland team plans.
• Collaborate with the diabetes community, and develop relationships with new partners, co-creating opportunities to work together and grow the movement of people working to create a world where diabetes does no harm
• Continuously improve our impact through test and learn approaches to community engagement and volunteering
• Support the capacity building of people and volunteers drawing on their strengths and skills, empowering them to act, support others and influence change capturing their insight and experience to inform our thinking and work.
• Inspire and motivate people and organisations to get involved in our work through volunteering, fundraising and campaigning

The Ideal Candidate

You will be a dynamic and inspiring individual experienced in all aspects of project management. You will be skilled in developing and delivering programmes which support people in challenging circumstances, working with people and communities to improve life outcomes. You will be experienced in recruiting and motivating volunteers. You will understand the needs of diverse groups and be passionate about ensuring that support is developed collaboratively with people with lived experience enabling them to live well and access better care. You will have excellent communication and engagement skills which enable you to grow and nurture relationships with a complex set of stakeholders, including people with lived experience, volunteers and community organisations.

We have a friendly and inclusive working environment here at Diabetes UK and are proud of our hybrid approach which allows great flexibility in the way that we work. This means that you can balance your working time between home and the office, subject to the needs of your role.

Who we are

The Fostering Network is the UK’s leading fostering charity and membership organisation, dedicated to empowering, enriching and supporting the relationships at the heart of the fostering community.

Who we are looking for

We are seeking a passionate and organised individual with experience of participation work with young people to run our Young Person’s Advisory Board in Scotland and deliver an exciting programme of events.

You will play a vital role in ensuring the organisation listens to the voices of those that our work impacts. In this role you will help make a difference and improve the lives of fostering families and children and young people in foster care in Scotland.

What you’ll be doing

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with great self-motivation and creative thinking to lead on a project in Scotland to improve the lives of young people in foster care and their families. This post will work collaboratively with the Scotland team and other colleagues delivering participation work across the UK.

You will lead and coordinate the work of the Young Person’s Advisory Board which supports care experienced young people to campaign for change to children’s social care and lead on the delivery of a programme of activities related to this.

This role is vital in ensuring we are the best organisation we can be by listening to those our work affects.

This is a great opportunity to bring your expertise to designing and delivering the next stage of this project and make a genuine impact on the experience and outcomes for young people living in foster care and fostering families.

At this point, we hope you're feeling excited about the job description you’re reading. Even if you don't feel that you meet every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply.

What we can offer you

• 38 days leave (including bank holidays)
• A range of family friendly and fostering friendly leave options Flexible and hybrid working
• Enhanced maternity and adoption pay
• Enhanced sick pay
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Helpline
• Pension and life assurance
• Contribution to eye tests and lenses
• Season ticket loans

Our commitments to you

The Fostering Network is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community and especially those from under-represented and minoritised backgrounds. All applications and hiring decisions will be considered on merit.

• If you identify as care experienced and meet the minimum criteria for the role, you will be guaranteed an interview under our commitment to the Care Leaver Covenant
• If you have a disability, please tell us what reasonable adjustments would support your participation in the recruitment process
• We are open to job-sharing arrangements for all roles, please indicate this in the application form if you are applying as part of a job share

SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) supports the aim of Scottish Government and COLSA for any child, young person or adult who has thoughts of taking their own life, or are affected by suicide, to get the help they need and feel a sense of hope.

Around since 1923, SAMH is Scotland’s national mental health charity. We are a committed and lead member of the Suicide Prevention Scotland delivery collective, ensuring that lived and living experience is at the forefront when delivering Scotland’s national suicide prevention strategy, Creating Hope Together.

About the Role

The Lived and Living Experience Panel (LLEP) is a group of people from across Scotland who have lived experience of suicide. The purpose of the LLEP is to ensure that the voice of people with experience of suicide is at the heart of Creating Hope Together: Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022-2032. The panel plays a central role in co-producing Suicide Prevention Scotland’s programme of work to deliver the strategy.

SAMH hosts the LLEP on behalf of Suicide Prevention Scotland, a delivery collective established by SG and COSLA.

The Lived and Living Experience Panel Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating LLEP engagement with all organisations involved in the delivery of Creating Hope Together.

The postholder will establish and manage effective relationships with panel members, national and local stakeholders and partners, coordinate meetings and engagements, and support provision of ongoing emotional and wellbeing support and guidance to LLEP members.

What we are looking for

To be successful in this post you will need experience of working in suicide prevention and working with people or groups with lived experience. You will have experience of providing emotional support, guidance and advice to people, and strong project management, coordination and administrative skills.

What we will provide for you

You will work in a supportive environment and will be provided with a full induction and training opportunities. You will be given the chance to develop your knowledge and skills, as well as develop professionally. Some of our benefits include:

• Funded continuous learning and development opportunities, access to over 100 courses online in addition to virtual training sessions
• 30 days annual leave rising to 33 after five years’ service
• Four public holidays
• Two paid wellbeing days off per year to use on what matters to you
• Team wellbeing budgets
• Workplace pension scheme
• Life Assurance policy
• Employee Assistance Programme.

Embracing difference, leading change

We are seeking a dedicated Services Manager to join our West of Scotland services’ team. The West of Scotland area covers a wide geographical area and has services from Glasgow, Hamilton and Helensburgh. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who aligns with our organisational values and is passionate about driving positive change. If you are enthusiastic and committed to making a difference, we invite you to explore this role.

At Scottish Autism our organisational values are Collaboration, Compassion, Change Makers and Contribution. These values are at the heart of everything we do.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive and forward-thinking organisation. We utilise and promote a coaching model to develop the autonomy of our teams. Successful candidates must possess strong leadership, coaching and mentoring skills, approachable and friendly, you will provide and maintain a quality service, where the focus will be on developing skills, strategies of intervention and maximising independence for those we support. You will have demonstrable experience of liaising with multi-disciplinary teams, developing and auditing various care and/or support plans, risk management, people management, and developing close links in the local community, promoting the service and the organisation.

One of the key outcomes for this role will include managing the direct service provision of a group of services to the highest quality and maintaining these services as autism specific. The successful candidate will also manage the financial and budgetary targets involved in the provision of these services and participate in the planning, update and review of these budgets.

Suitable candidates will have a relevant qualification as set by the SSSC such as SVQ level 4 in Health/Social Care and the Leadership in Management and Care Award; coupled with experience in a management role.

Scottish Autism offers youa comprehensive benefits package which includes:

• 32 days holiday (which increases to 37 with your length of service)
• Free 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Various discounts via our discount platform and corporate partnerships
• Sector leading training from day one
• Non-contributory life assurance scheme
• Workplace Pension (Employer matched up to 9%)

Find out more about our comprehensive benefits package HERE

For more information or an informal chat about the role, please contact Liza Mccrorie, Regional Manager via liza.mccrorie@scottishautism.org

This post is subject to a PVG Disclosure check. Please note, the successful candidate will be required to update their SSSC registration within 3 months of starting in post. Scottish Autism cover all the costs of PVG membership and SSSC Registration for employees.

Full UK Driving License preferred due to the wide geographical area covered by the role.