Benefits:

• 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays, with up to 5 additional days for continuous service and option to buy or sell leave
• Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities
• Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages
• Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover
• Staff discount portal and Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 national retailers discounts.

Why Action for Children?

Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives.

A bit about the role

Residential Worker – Hillcrest House, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis.

Hillcrest House is a five-bedded Children’s home in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. We provide high-quality, trauma-informed care to care-experienced children and young people, as well as short breaks for those with additional needs.

Our aim is simple: to create a safe, nurturing home where young people feel secure, valued, and able to thrive.

We are expanding and are looking to welcome Residential Workers who will be a consistent and supportive presence in the daily lives of our young people — people who understands that relationships change lives.

We are committed to supporting our staff through regular supervision, reflective practice, high quality training and ongoing professional development – because those that care for others deserve to be supported too.

How you'll help to create brighter futures

• Build trusting relationships using a trauma-informed, attachment-aware approach (Training provided)
• Respond to emotional and behavioural needs with empathy and consistency
• Support and contribute to individual care plans
• Plan and take part in activities that promote life skills, confidence and wellbeing
• Work as part of a 24/7 rota team, including evenings, weekends and sleep-ins (Sleep-ins are paid in addition to salary)
• Support daily routines and promote dignity and respect
• Work collaboratively with families and partner agencies
• Maintain clear, accurate records

Let's talk about you

You are caring, bringing warmth, compassion and a commitment to lifelong learning, and you’re motivated by the chance to make a real and lasting difference in young people’s lives. You understand that all behaviour is a form of communication that requires a calm, kind response and curiosity about what needs the young person is communicating.

You will have:

• A genuine interest in supporting care-experienced young people and children with disabilities
• An understanding of — or willingness to learn about — trauma-informed practice
• Experience in residential, childcare or social care settings is helpful, but we also welcome applicants with transferable skills from other people‑focused roles
• Experience supporting young people with a range of emotional or behavioural needs is helpful but full training and support is provided in our positive behaviour system
• A strong commitment to safeguarding
• Registered with the SSSC or willingness to do so within 6 months of employment
• SVQ 3 and/or HNC in Social Care (or willingness to work towards - we will fund and support you to achieve this)
• A commitment to ongoing professional development

This is rewarding work where your kindness, patience and people skills can have a lasting impact. If you’re someone who shows care, can stay calm and supportive in difficult moments and treats others with respect, you already have the foundations to thrive here. If you are ready to commit to making a lasting difference in young people’s lives, we would welcome your application.

Good to know

Application Process

Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for thisrole.

There are five sections to complete: Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity, Submission & Declaration.

Contact: Jessica Jarvis email us at recruitmentservice@actionforchildren.org.uk quoting reference 13432

Diversity, equality and inclusion

At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace.

We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Disabled candidates. We are taking deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society at Action for Children. We have a diversity and inclusion strategy and an anti-racism action plan as well as a range of diversity and inclusion staff networks and groups. We welcome applications from people of all genders, including men, who are currently under‑represented in our Children’s Services workforce.

About Aberlour Hearts and Minds Renfrewshire

Working in partnership with Renfrewshire Council this service works to improve attainment outcomes for neurodivergent care experienced children and young people.

The service brings together vulnerable children and young people with a mentor to build a consistent and trusting relationship and improve their opportunities. The focus in every mentoring relationship is on developing the relationship, recognising and building their strengths, and providing support and encouragement to deal with difficult and challenging situations in their lives.

What we are looking for....

As a Family Mentoring Co-ordinator you will help develop this vital service and ensure its ongoing success for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable children we are looking for experienced and dedicated workers.

You will have demonstrable experience of supporting volunteers and a good understanding of the issues facing looked after children along with experience of developing and delivering training.

You will have a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 8, or relevant experience and be driven to succeed.

You will work 37.5 hours per week, this is usually worked over Monday - Friday between 9am - 8pm to help induct, train and support our volunteers. There may be a requirement for occasional weekend work.

A full driving licence and access to a car are essential for this role.

This is a fixed term post for 12 months.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees.

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. Find out more about our Employee Benefits here and our commitment to Equality and Diversity here.

We are looking to appoint a part-time Project Worker 1 within our Thrive Service. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced worker to join Barnardo's and support service delivery within our children and young people's disability service.

We are seeking individuals who are keen to develop their experience of supporting children and young people through groupwork and on a 1-1 basis at our service base. The Thrive service operates Monday – Thursday from after school until early evening to 7pm. The work pattern each week would be 24 hours over Monday – Thursday from 1.30 – 7.30pm.

General responsibilities and requirements

• HNC Social Care or equivalent
• Previous experience of working with children and young people
• Have experience of developing and facilitating groupwork
• Being creative, dynamic and flexible to meet the needs of children and young people
• Working effectively as part of a team
• Experience and knowledge of applying safeguarding policies and procedures
• An understanding of the adversities experienced by children, young people and families, particularly around disability and ASN
• Complete assessments, care plans and maintain recordings in line with local and organisational policy
• Work collaboratively and flexibly with partners and alongside children, young people and families to shape their support

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

Benefits

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Our basis and values

About Aberlour Youthpoint Moray

Our Youthpoint Moray service provides help to children and young people in Moray who may be struggling with their emotions and behaviour, prompting concerns about their well-being. Our young people’s workers provide one-to-one and group work support for our children and young people, in a safe and relaxed setting. They help them to understand the issues that are affecting them, that can sometimes be the cause of their behaviour. They help them take steps to overcoming their difficulties at home, school and in the community. The team also work with other family members, parents and carers to improve relationships at home.

Aberlour Youthpoint Moray provides three services to young people in Moray; Intensive Community Support (ICS), Early Help and Mentoring and YP Zone.

The Intensive Community Support service funded by The Moray Council works closely with social work teams with young people and families to support young people and families to achieve their full potential and develop important life skills through non-formal educational activities. ICS also supports young people and families to enable positive change and improve outcomes. This is delivered via 1 to 1’s, group work, and family support.

Early Help and Mentoring service provides support to disadvantaged, excluded and vulnerable young people and their families to enable them to gain and retain control of their own lives and remain safely in their own homes and communities. Early Help and Mentoring support young people to improve their health and wellbeing, make positive and informed choices and develop their self-awareness and confidence. Early Help is delivered by Young People’s Worker’s through 1 to 1, group work and family support. Mentoring and befriending are delivered by volunteers on a 1 to 1 basis.

YP Zone provides targeted 1:1 support for young people who are affected by their own substance use through a harm reduction approach. The service offers relationship-based, strengths-focused emotional support tailored to individual needs, helping young people to better understand and reduce substance use, improve their wellbeing, and develop healthier coping strategies.

What we are looking for....

You will work 22.5 hours per week, across our Intensive Community Support service and your main role will be to provide one to one and group work support to young people and their parents as identified through appropriate referrals. You will plan and deliver activities and groups in partnership with young people and their parents in relation to their needs. You will work within a variety of locations in the Moray area. You will need to be able to drive and have access to a vehicle to be able to take young people out and about. The role will also involve liaising with partner agencies and entering data into Aberlour’s case recording information system.

The team will provide support both within and out with normal office hours, dependent on the needs of young people and families. This may include early mornings, evenings, and weekends. All staff are expected to take a full and active role in the delivery of the service.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees click here.

Please note, a driving licence and access to a car is essential for this role.

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. Find out more about our Employee Benefits here and our commitment to Equality and Diversity here.

Please also read our recruitment privacy notice - Aberlour | Privacy notice