A fantastic opportunity to join the Children First team in Midlothian

Every child deserves to be safe, loved and well with their family.

At Children First, we stand alongside children, young people and families to help them build on their strengths, overcome challenges and create lasting change. We believe children should be heard, their rights respected and their voices at the centre of every decision that affects them.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Midlothian team, supporting children, young people and families experiencing a range of challenges, including parental substance use, poverty, poor mental health and trauma. The service also provides support to kinship carers and the children in their care, as well as Armed Forces families.

Working alongside families in their homes, schools and communities, you will be part of a skilled and caring team that delivers both whole family and individual support. Our practice is grounded in relational, systemic, strengths-based and restorative approaches. We recognise that families are experts in their own lives and work alongside them to identify what is working well, build resilience and create positive futures for children.

Alongside one-to-one and family support, we help families develop meaningful connections through peer support groups and links to their local communities, strengthening the relationships and networks that help children thrive.

About you

We're looking for someone who:

• Shares our commitment to putting children first and upholding children's rights.
• Understands the importance of listening to children and ensuring their voices influence the support they receive.
• Has experience of working with children, young people and families, including involvement in child protection processes.
• Values restorative, relationship-based and strengths-focused ways of working.
• Can work alongside families with compassion, curiosity and respect.
• Brings an understanding of the diverse experiences and needs of families across our communities.

We welcome applications from people with broad experience across family support, as well as those with specialist knowledge in particular areas of practice.

You will hold a professional qualification in a relevant discipline such as Social Work, Teaching, Childcare, Social Care, Counselling, or another related field at SCQF Level 9 or above.

Why Children First?

Children First is Scotland's national children's charity. We are ambitious for every child in Scotland to grow up safe, loved and well with their family. We provide emotional, practical and financial support to children and families and campaign tirelessly to protect and uphold the rights of every child.

We are determined that the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) becomes a reality in children's everyday lives. We want children to be listened to, respected and meaningfully involved in decisions that affect them.

If you believe in the power of relationships, the strengths within families, and children's right to be heard, we'd love to hear from you.

Our Values

Living our values, you will help create a workplace where our people can thrive, ensuring we deliver the best possible support to children and families.

• With love, we put children first.
• With purpose, we transform lives together.
• With strength, we do whatever it takes to protect Scotland’s children.

Do you love working with children and young people? Are you a teacher, health play specialist, youth worker, family support worker or someone with experience helping children and young people build confidence, develop new skills and have fun? Do you have a talent for creating engaging and memorable experiences that inspire children and young people to participate, connect with others and thrive?

If so, we'd love to hear from you.

Children's Health Scotland is looking for an enthusiastic and creative Programme and Engagement Coordinator to help deliver our exciting programmes and activities across Scotland.

Every week is different. One day you could be supporting children and young people to develop self-management skills through our award-winning programmes, the next you could be helping deliver a Health Rights Defenders session, planning a family event, supporting volunteers, or building relationships with schools, NHS services and community partners.

We're looking for someone who brings energy, positivity and creativity to everything they do, someone who believes every child deserves the opportunity to thrive and whose first instinct is to ask: "How can we make this engaging, accessible and fun?"

What you'll be doing

• Delivering engaging programmes, workshops and activities for children, young people and families.
• Supporting Health Rights Defenders, Self-Management Skills Programmes and SMS:HUB activities.
• Building trusted relationships with children, young people, families and partners.
• Supporting the delivery of events, participation activities and campaigns.
• Helping recruit and support volunteers.
• Collecting feedback and demonstrating the impact of our work.
• Creating blogs, case studies and social media content that celebrates children's voices and achievements.
• Helping children and young people build confidence, make connections and better understand their rights and wellbeing.

We're looking for someone who is

• Fun, friendly and approachable.
• Passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people.
• Creative and full of ideas.
• Organised and able to plan and deliver activities.
• Comfortable working independently and as part of a small team.
• A confident communicator who can build relationships with families and partners.
• Flexible and able to work regular Friday evenings and Saturdays.
• Willing to travel throughout Scotland.
• A driver with access to a car for business use.

Why join us?

At Children's Health Scotland, you'll be joining a friendly and passionate team committed to ensuring every child receives the support, information and opportunities they need to achieve their best possible health. In return, we offer:

• Nine weeks' leave per year (pro rata), including public holidays.
• A supportive team environment.
• Opportunities for training and development.
• The chance to make a genuine difference to the lives of children, young people and families across Scotland.

Important information

This is not a standard Monday to Friday role. The successful candidate must be able to work flexibly, including regular Friday evening and Saturday working, to support programme and event delivery. A full UK driving licence and access to a car for business use are essential. The post is subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and satisfactory Disclosure Scotland checks.

About Children's Health Scotland

Children's Health Scotland supports children, young people and families to navigate health challenges, understand their rights and improve their health and wellbeing. Through programmes, participation opportunities, events and information, we help children and young people build confidence, resilience, self-management skills and lasting connections. If you're enthusiastic, creative and ready to help children and young people thrive, we'd love to hear from you.

About Aberlour Sycamore Children’s Houses…

Aberlour Sycamore Services’ vision is to provide warm, loving homes for children where everyone learns, laughs, grows into their future and is treasured always. Sycamore services are widely recognised in Scotland for providing a range of quality therapeutic residential houses for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the country. The Service is a national resource and as such receives referrals from throughout Scotland.

What we are looking for....

We are looking for people to join our relief pool who are passionate about supporting children and young people. The children and young people who live in our houses have experienced significant trauma in their young lives and our aim is to create loving, nurturing family homes where they feel safe and cared for.

Our relief workers play a crucial role in supporting our teams. This work is offered on a casual, hourly paid basis to provide cover during staff absence and/or particularly busy periods.

Members of our relief pool have a varied range of backgrounds and often work in different areas of the workforce. Although experience in child-care is ideal, we would also like to hear from people who may have skills from their work experience in different sectors which would be transferrable and provide a good basis from which to learn and develop their skills, utilising the range of training we provide.

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.

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

We also follow Data Protection Guidelines - Here is our privacy policy.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for children with disabilities and/or additional support needs and their families.

Join us to help improve the lives of disabled children, young people and their families and carers by becoming our new Family Worker in Fife.

As Family Worker you will be providing information, emotional and practical support to families with children with a wide range of additional support needs, empowering them to understand and access the support available to them from external services.

The Family Worker role is essential in ensuring that families get the right help when they need it most.

About you:

This job is for you if you have:

·experience of working with children and young people with a range of disabilities and additional support needs

·excellent relationship building skills

·knowledge of children’s rights, trauma informed and inclusive practices

·an understanding of child and adult protection practices

·excellent organisational skills and administrative abilities

If you would like to work in a supportive and understanding work environment, ensuring that families feel valued and part of an inclusive community, we would love to have you on board.