Community Alliance Trust is a development trust serving Greater Craigmillar. We bring together individuals and organisations to identify need and advocate for positive local change.

We also host and run services from The White House supporting the people of Craigmillar. This includes an open-door policy for those in need, hosting welfare and benefit advisors, as well as directly running community gardening sessions.

We have funding to expand and develop our work this year, including this new role to restore Craigmillar Library Garden.

We are looking for an experienced community gardener to lead our work transforming the neglected grassy area at Craigmillar Library into an edible and sensory community garden. The role will include co-designing the garden layout, engaging with volunteers, and motivating them in gardening sessions at the library.

Gardening sessions will include repairing and building raised beds, prepping the ground for the sensory garden, planting a range of scented, colourful and edible plants suitable for Scotland, supporting volunteers to increase their confidence and gardening skills, and building community.

The project will take place over five months on a part-time basis, with twice-weekly gardening sessions taking place most weeks.

While this project is discrete, we will be looking for a community gardener at our new Niddrie Mill site on a long-term basis. This will be a much larger community garden serving Greater Craigmillar. Please let us know if you are also interested in this permanent position, as we will be hiring for the Niddrie Mill Gardener role from the pool of applicants for the Craigmillar Library Community Gardener.

If you would like to be a part of long-term positive local change in Craigmillar, we would love to hear from you!

Are you passionate about helping people to live a better life? Do you want to work for a charity where your health and wellbeing matter just as much as the people you support? Do you want to be part of a trauma-informed team where you will be supported to develop creative and flexible ways of working?

At LinkLiving, our values and people are at the heart of everything we do including how we recruit our staff. It is important for us to find people who share our values, which are:

• Empathy (listen to and understand an individual’s needs and circumstances)
• Respect (treat others the way they wish to be treated)
• Integrity (be honest and have strong moral principles)
• Caring (show kindness and concern for others)

LinkLiving is a Scottish health and wellbeing charity that supports people to manage or overcome the effects of negative life experiences (including trauma, mental health challenges, poverty and inequality) so that they can build on their strengths and aspirations in order to live their best possible lives. We support people through a range of models including:

• Personal development and employability programmes
• Self-help coaching
• Supported accommodation
• Care at home
• Housing support
• Befriending
• Social cafes

The Service

The Falkirk Core & Cluster project supports young people aged 16 to 21 who have experienced care or are arriving in Falkirk through the National Transfer Scheme. The goal is to help them develop the skills necessary for successful independent living while also providing access to employment, training, and educational opportunities. In collaboration with Link Housing Association, we offer a supported core and cluster housing initiative. This project features ten independent tenancies situated around a central hub/training flat, where our small but dedicated team delivers flexible, individually tailored support

The Job

As a senior practitioner, you will be skilled and experienced in working with care-experienced young people. Taking a trauma-informed approach, you will be responsible for complex and varied key-working issues, co-ordination of complex support arrangements and supporting the leadership of the service. You will use your extensive knowledge and experience to provide support and guidance to less experienced colleagues through informal mentoring (where relevant).

You will have extensive experience in multi-agency working, housing support systems and the support of care experienced young people which you will use to establish and maintain respectful and empowering relationships with service users so that they feel valued and supported and in control of their own lives. You will be responsible for carrying out assessments of new service users and for reviewing existing service users on a regular basis.

In your role you will offer practical, emotional and social support to care experienced young people within the project, assisting them to develop the independent living skills necessary for future tenancy sustainment. You will need to develop warm and effective relationships with the young people supporting them to cope with their lives in a positive and planned way so that they can make informed choices and take responsibility for their actions, advocating for them with a range of other agencies to ensure their rights are upheld at all times

About You

We are looking for a compassionate and dedicated individual with the skills and passion to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. You should have a general standard of secondary education, including passes in English and Maths at Standard Grade level, and a SVQ Social Services and Healthcare SCQF Level 6 and be willing to work towards qualifications recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). These include an and an SVQ Social Services and Healthcare SCQF Level 7, alongside a suitable supervisory or management qualification, if not already attained.

You will bring extensive knowledge and experience in social care, housing issues, welfare rights, benefits, and procedures, alongside a solid understanding of housing support and care-at-home systems. Experience working with diverse service user groups, particularly care-experienced young people, is essential, as is an understanding of the challenges faced by marginalised and excluded individuals.

We value a non-judgmental attitude and the ability to recognise and nurture the unique gifts of others. You should have strong relationship-building skills, a commitment to supporting people, and sound decision-making abilities. Sensitivity to emotional and social needs is crucial, as is a proactive and reflective approach to learning and self-improvement.

You will also need proficiency in using technology to maintain and update records, along with the ability to stay informed about relevant practices, policies, and legislation. Your dedication to embracing diversity and challenging exclusive attitudes will make you an asset to the team.

If you are ready to bring your expertise, compassion, and commitment to this role, we would love to hear from you.

For a comprehensive list of the essential and desirable criteria required for this post, please refer to the Job Specification in the Job information Pack.

What’s in it for you?

The benefits of being a LinkLiving employee (subject to the policies and benefit terms and conditions) include:

• Competitive salary, reviewed annually, and opportunity for annual performance related salary increases and discretionary non-consolidated pay awards, subject to terms of the scheme
• 35 days’ holiday per year (inclusive of public holidays) pro rata plus additional 3 days pro rata after 3 years’ service
• opportunity to buy and sell holiday
• enhanced company sick and family friendly pay
• access to paid SVQ qualifications and a wide range of learning and development opportunities
• funded Disclosure Scotland and Scottish Social Services Council memberships
• defined contribution pension scheme with generous employer contributions plus salary exchange and additional voluntary contribution options
• access to a Salary Exchange car leasing scheme, subject to the terms of the scheme
• life assurance scheme providing death in service benefits
• healthcare cash plan for employees (and dependents) to support health and wellbeing plus discounts on shopping, restaurants, and other services
• employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate household dependants to support health, mental and financial well-being
• access to purchase annual corporate clothing vouchers
• annual flu vaccination
• access to a credit union savings and borrowing scheme
• cycle to work scheme
• access to discounts on mobile airtime plans and much more!

For a full list of benefits available to employees, please see the following link - linkliving.org.uk/work-with-us

Successful applicants will be required to apply for registration with SSSC within 3 months of their start date and be registered within 6 months.

This role is subject to PVG membership under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. Individuals who are barred from working with children or protected adults will not be considered for this position. Link will meet the cost of any new PVG scheme membership or membership update.

Are you an experienced Team Leader who supports continual improvement driving to practice excellence? Are you passionate about providing the best quality support for those in your care?

If yes, then we have the perfect role for you!

We are looking to appoint a Team Leader within our Adult Services here at Donaldsons. Focussing on the day-to-day delivery of the Treehouse service; a specialised service for neurodivergent adults who require bespoke support in wellbeing and learning.

You will have an SVQ L3 / SCQF L7 in Health & Social Care, and a willingness to work towards becoming a Care Inspectorate Registered Manager. You will also have a working knowledge of Health and Social Care Standards and the SSSC Codes of Practice and experience in leading a team.

Experienced working in partnership with parents, carers and multi-disciplinary teams to develop robust Personal Support Plans, as well as overseeing the effective evaluation of supported people’s journeys and personal outcomes, ensuring needs are being met to the highest of standards.

You will align with our purpose, values and attributes of being professional, dependable, collaborative, curious and adaptable and if you are able use and/or understand Makaton, that is a bonus!

What we offer?

• An opportunity to work in a values-led, inclusive environment where our supported peoples’ wellbeing is at the heart of decision making
• Ongoing professional development including accessing training such as Makaton, and mental health and wellbeing
• Being part of a team with a strong culture of support and reflective practice
• A meaningful opportunity to make a long-lasting difference to people we support

Home-Start Clackmannanshire is a long standing, dynamic charity, striving to ensure every young child (under 12) has the best possible start in life locally. Raising a family has never been easy; our trained volunteers and staff are there to support families through challenging times. In Scotland, Home-Starts have over 1,500 volunteers supporting over 3,500 families and 6,500 children each year through compassionate, confidential help to parents/carers when they need us most. The parents/carers we support are often overwhelmed and isolated. They may be struggling with mental health, illness, disability, multiple births, poverty, domestic abuse, separation and/or trauma. We provide a bespoke support package of 1:1 in home and group services for families, helping them to cope with the stresses and strains of daily life and encourage them to build the skills, confidence, and strength they need to nurture their children for years to come.

In 2024, Action for Children, NHS (speech and language) and Educational Psychology launched an exciting new provision called Play Roots with the support and funding from our local Child Wellbeing Partnership. Play Roots is an enhanced 0-5 group provision for local families operating across four localities in Clackmannanshire weekly.

Purpose of the job

Play Roots has developed rapidly since the first group launched, with families directly informing our sessions, allowing us to ensure we are delivering a communities based, group support system, providing a nurturing and educational environment for children (0-5) and their parents/carers. Play Roots aims to enhance positive well-being, parent-child attachment, support early childhood development, and encourage wider community connections and changes for parental progression; providing the foundations for children and families to flourish long-term.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, driven practitioner, capable of coordinating the delivery of our four local groups to ensure their effective running, and maximising impact through groups supporting the development of children and parents/carers by creating fun and interesting learning environments/activities to enhance skills, promote emotional resilience, and encourage positive behaviours and routines. Central to this role is effectively liaising with partners and supporting our delivery team made up of staff from Home-Start Clackmannanshire, Action for Children, Educational Psychology, Speech and language, and a growing team of volunteers.

You will also:

• Contribute to the effective day to day operation of the scheme in accordance with the Home-Start Memorandum & Articles of Association, Home-Start, Standards & Methods of Practice, Home-Start Agreement and Quality Assurance Standards.
• Maintain high standards of practice in supporting families within the Home-Start model.
• Ensure equality of opportunity, fairness and diversity in all aspects of the scheme’s work.
• Implement best safeguarding practice in all areas of work.

Main Responsibilities

Supporting the work of Home-Start Clackmannanshire and our Play Roots Partnership

• Undertaking work as delegated by our CEO to support the strategic management, development, evaluation, and future funding of Play Roots.
• Supporting the implementation of and upholding all Home-Start policies and procedures.
• Complying with the scheme’s administration, monitoring and financial systems.
• Promoting the work of the scheme, as required by the CEO.
• Contributing to and supporting the development of the Home-Start network locally, regionally and nationally.

Support for families

• Take a lead role in receiving and assessing referrals to Play Roots in a timely manner.
• Making initial contact/arranging implementation of support or delegating to operational team members within Home-Start and Action for Children to do.
• Lead delivery partners in planning, preparing for, and delivering group sessions (4 sessions across 4 locations, weekly, during term time).
• Enhance group support offer by leading the planning, preparation and delivery of Holiday Programmes for families.
• Providing rich learning environments where children and their families can engage.
• Facilitating interventions one to one or in a group to support identified areas of need.
• Building effective relationships and channels of communication with our partners, such as children, young people, families, colleagues, and external agencies.
• Ensuring support to families is of a high standard, in accordance with Home-Start’s model, policies and procedures.
• To undertake designated responsibilities to safeguard and promote children’s welfare.

Supporting Volunteers

• We could not deliver our services without the support of our incredible team of volunteers. As such, you will be involved in ensuring any Home-Start volunteers contributing to Play Roots sessions are appropriately onboarded, supported, informed, and adhere to all organisational policies and procedures.

Working in Partnership

• Ensuring appropriate liaison with referrers and other professionals.
• Networking appropriately within the community.

The post holder may be required to undertake any other duties that fall within the nature of the role and responsibilities of the post as detailed above.