Are you passionate about supporting families?

We are seeking new Board members, including those with Digital, Finance, Policy or Communications expertise.

Scottish Families supports anyone who is concerned about someone else’s alcohol or drug use. We were established in 2003 by families themselves, who came together to support each other and to campaign for recognition. Our five Outcomes are that Families are Supported, Included, Heard, Connected, and that Families Create Change.

We are a national charity based in Glasgow but working right across Scotland. We provide a range of national and local services, including a national helpline, one to one support, bereavement counselling and local family support services. We also deliver a national workforce development programme; Connecting Families; My Family, My Rights; communications; fundraising; and policy/ campaigning work, as well as our Routes young persons programme, and Grow Your Own Routes national development programme.

We are Scotland’s leading charity supporting families affected by substance use, and are recognised by the Scottish Government as one of their Key Third Sector Partners in the field of alcohol and drugs. We are funded through a combination of Government grants, commissioned services, charitable trusts and fundraising.

You can find out more about our work by reading ‘The Cost of Loving’, our Strategic Plan 2023-26, and ‘Celebrating Families’, our Impact Report 2023-24. Our website is at sfad.org.uk.

We are seeking a number of new Board members in response to recent and upcoming changes in our Board membership. (Board members serve an initial three-year term, which can be extended for a further three years).

You should be available to attend quarterly meetings, which are held in person at our national office in Glasgow city centre (with the option of joining online via MS Teams). Meetings are held on Saturday mornings and the schedule is set well in advance.

This role is primarily a Community Fundraising role, focused on building strong relationships with supporters, volunteers, community groups and organisations across Scotland. You will support individuals and communities to take part in charity or third party run events or to organise their own fundraising activities, helping them feel confident, inspired and connected to the impact of their support. For 2026-27 we have an ambitious Community Fundraising target, based on previous years’ success and an active and growing community of supporters, we aim to raise £330,000 through a combination of challenge, in memory, community and individual giving. Your work will go a long way in achieving this target. By building meaningful relationships and engagement opportunities for supporters, many of whom will be bereaved families and beneficiaries, you will play an important part in growing sustainable income that allows Held In Our Hearts to continue supporting families across Scotland

A role with Stewardship at the heart of it: Alongside community fundraising, this role offers a unique and exciting opportunity to shape and develop the charity’s supporter stewardship approach. Having grown quickly in the last 4 years, our approach to stewardship is a growing area of focus for the charity, and you will play an important role in helping us ensure supporters feel valued, appreciated and connected to the difference their contributions make. This means the role goes beyond traditional community fundraising, giving you the opportunity to contribute to the development of high-quality supporter journeys and to develop meaningful ways to thank and recognise supporters across an array of fundraising products. Help create impactful donor communications and updates. Strengthen long-term relationships with supporters and partners. This combination of community fundraising and stewardship development offers a rare opportunity for someone who enjoys relationship-building and wants to broaden their experience in supporter engagement and fundraising strategy

At Samaritans, our vision is that fewer people die by suicide. Every day, our volunteers and staff provide life-saving emotional support to people in distress, and behind that work is a culture built on compassion, inclusion, learning and human connection.

We are looking for a Senior Community Fundraiser – Scotland to help grow income, strengthen supporter relationships and unlock the power of community fundraising across Scotland.

This is an exciting senior role within our Community and Events team, working closely with colleagues and volunteers across our Scottish network. You will develop fundraising opportunities that reflect Scotland’s distinctive communities and supporter landscape; while helping volunteers, branches and supporters play their part in our life-saving work.

​Contract

• £42,000 (FTE) per annum plus benefits
• Full Time (35hrs per week)
• Fixed Term (18 months)
• Hybrid working - Meeting in person and working collaboratively are things we value. This role is linked to our Edinburgh office with a blend of home and office working and occasional travel to our central office based in Surrey.
• In-person working: Minimum of 1 office day each week in the Edinburgh office, normally Wednesdays.
• We are passionate about flexible working, talk to us about your preferences.

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About the role

​The role will be line managed within the Community and Events team, while working closely with the Scotland office to shape and deliver fundraising growth across the nation.

This role will also require occasional travel to our central office in Surrey Ewell or our London Hub office on Leadenhall Street

What you’ll do

Grow community fundraising income in Scotland

• Lead the day-to-day delivery of community fundraising activity across Scotland.
• Identify, develop and manage a strong pipeline of supporters and fundraising opportunities.
• Manage income budgets of around £200k or more and contribute to forecasting, reporting and performance analysis.

Build strong supporter and volunteer relationships

• Build and steward relationships with volunteers, branches, individuals, community groups and corporate partners.
• Champion excellent supporter journeys that attract new supporters and deepen existing relationships.
• Support volunteers and branches to reach their fundraising potential.

Work across Samaritans

• Support the development and delivery of the Community and Events fundraising strategy and operational plans.
• Develop networks across Scotland to raise Samaritans’ profile and unlock new opportunities.
• Work across the organisation to embed a “One Samaritans” approach to fundraising and engagement.
• Ensure activity complies with charity law, fundraising regulation and data protection requirements

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About you

​You’re an experienced community fundraiser who thrives on building relationships and making things happen. You enjoy working collaboratively, influencing stakeholders and supporting volunteers to succeed.

You’ll be confident working at both strategic and operational levels, balancing planning and delivery while keeping supporters and volunteers at the heart of everything you do.

What you will bring:

• Significant experience in community fundraising with a strong understanding of fundraising operations
• Proven ability to manage an income portfolio of £200k+ and work to financial targets
• Excellent relationship‑building, stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Experience of working with and supporting volunteers
• Strong understanding of charity legislation and fundraising best practice
• Experience of working cross‑departmentally and collaboratively
• A genuine commitment to Samaritans’ mission, values and equity, diversity and inclusion principles
• Experience of project management, coaching or mentoring, and managing change would be an advantage, as would knowledge of the Scottish fundraising environment.

Criminal record check (PVG)

We take safeguarding seriously at Samaritans and follow safe recruitment practices. As this role has direct contact with children and adults at risk, this role will require a PVG (Adults and Children) check.

At offer stage, as part of the conditional job offer, we will require the candidate to disclose in full, spent and unspent convictions by completing a declaration form. The declaration form will only be seen by those who need to see it as part of the recruitment process.

Why Samaritans?

At Samaritans, people matter deeply. We know that meaningful impact starts with how we support each other.

We are committed to creating an inclusive, supportive and flexible workplace where everyone can thrive. We value diversity of thought, background and lived experience, and we actively encourage applications from people from all communities.

Every person at Samaritans plays a role in helping fewer people die by suicide. If you are motivated by purpose, compassion and the opportunity to make a lasting difference, we would love to hear from you.

For further information about Samaritans, including our charity structure, values, employee benefits, and application process, please read our recruitment brochure available on our careers website.

We recognise the enormous benefits and the social justice imperatives of ensuring diversity at every level of our organisation. Samaritans is wholly committed to inclusion and diversity and to building a culture and environment where everyone is appreciated for the unique person they are. To ensure Samaritans is representative of those we support and who support us, we particularly welcome applications from disabled, racialised minority and LGBTQ+ candidates, as these people are under-represented at Samaritans.

If you are looking for a rewarding career and to work within an epic team that will help you grow and thrive, then you have come to the right place. Here you can start your day knowing what you do really does make a difference! This is an opportunity to work in a collaborative and learning focused environment working alongside a multidisciplinary team.

Penumbra Milestone is a 10 bedded step-down service providing short-term care and recovery (for approx. 12 weeks) for vulnerable men and women aged 18+ with a diagnosis of alcohol related brain damage (ARBD).

The service is alcohol-free and promotes recovery from ARBD through a wide variety of group work and 1-1 support. We utilise our specialist ARBD Toolkit, as well as Penumbra’s wider HOPE toolkit and IROC (Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter), to support and encourage people to make positive changes in their lives. It is our goal to help people build resilience develop positive coping strategies to minimise the chance of relapse, increasing their chance of prolonged recovery from ARBD. During their stay, each resident benefits from the shared expertise of our multi-disciplinary team, with regular in-reach support from Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Social Work, Psychiatry and many other visiting professionals.

The service was developed to reduce the amount of time people with ARBD spend unnecessarily in acute hospitals, recognising that people with ARBD are often medically fit for discharge but due to cognitive impairment and ongoing addiction and social issues a return to the community is likely to lead to further A&E or acute hospital admissions. Addressing the needs of each resident in a holistic way with a focus on recovery, rehabilitation and re-enablement has substantial beneficial outcomes for the residents, their families, their communities and for acute hospitals and social services at a wider scale.

The service is a collaborative partnership between Penumbra Mental Health, NHS Lothian/Integrated Joint Boards and City of Edinburgh Council. Referrals come from acute and community hospitals in Lothian, with additional referrals from the regional alcohol detox unit.

We can offer you a tonne of employee benefits, and we can promise you’ll be inspired by some pretty amazing humans every single day. We will support you on your own career path; developing new skills, accessing formal and informal learning experiences and providing opportunities to put your continual progress into practice.