About Scottish Fair Trade

Scottish Fair Trade is the national network organisation for Fair Trade in Scotland.

We work to build a world where trade is fair, people are valued, and the planet is protected. We connect communities, campaign for change, and support ethical businesses to grow and thrive.

Scotland is a Fair Trade Nation, and we’re working to re-energise the movement for the future, bringing all sectors of Scottish society with us.

About the role

The Development & Business Partnerships Officer plays an important role in strengthening relationships between Scottish Fair Trade and businesses, public sector organisations, social enterprises and partner networks across Scotland. The postholder supports engagement and knowledge-sharing around Fair Trade, ethical sourcing and sustainable procurement, helping to grow understanding and participation across different sectors.

The role also supports the development of Scottish Fair Trade’s membership community, encouraging organisations and businesses to engage with and support the movement for fairer trade.

Alongside this, the postholder will help coordinate light-touch consultancy and advisory activity delivered through Fair Change Co., our trading subsidiary, working with external associates or consultants where appropriate.

This is a relationship-focused and coordination role suited to someone with strong communication and organisational skills, an interest in ethical business and sustainability, and the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders.

Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund the opportunity has arisen to join us at an exciting and pivotal time in the journey of Dunterlie Action Group! We are looking to employ an experienced Community Development Worker who can help us to build our organisational capacity, strengthen our governance and support us as we deliver the aims of our Community Vision.

About Us:

Dunterlie Action Group (DAG) is a network of community leaders who have successfully worked in partnership with the Corra Foundation over the past nine years to build strategic partnerships, grow local groups and increase community participation. The Corra Foundations ‘Getting Alongside Communities’ programme has now moved to a new phase and it is DAG’s time to build on the momentum already achieved. We have been planning this transition for over a year and are confident that the right person will help us to become a resilient anchor organisation that empowers local people to have a voice in their community.

About the Role:

We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic and passionate about community. This post will assist DAG in creating a community led structure, capable of tackling poverty, strengthening local connections and supporting people to thrive. This post will be rooted in community and will focus on supporting the development of local groups and activities, supporting local people to develop ideas and build skills adn confidence. This post will report to our Community Coordinator with support from our board.

About You:

You will be professionally qualified and have experience of working with communities and partner organisations.

You should have a strong understanding of the challenges experienced by those affected by health inequalities, social isolation and low income.

You will have experience of managing and supporting local community groups and/or projects, either on a paid or voluntary basis. You should have a non-judgemental approach and be able to form positive working relationships with a range of individuals and groups. You should be able to demonstrate an understanding of how to gather data and evidence and how this can be used to deliver outcomes and help to meet local community needs. You should be able to keep accurate records and notes that will allow you to produce up to date reports on progress and impact. You must be able to work autonomously, using good time management, organisational and communication skills.

Duties and responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Funding – support local groups to apply for and manage funding, and develop their skills and confidence
• Managing budgets
• Supporting volunteers and group members to grow and develop skills, confidence and connection to their community
• Deliver workshops to targeted groups, that will include vulnerable adults and children
• Strengthening DAG Governance, through policies and training
• Build strong relationships with appropriate agencies and services
• Work alongside partners to maximise resources and address local poverty
• Support volunteers, group members and emerging leaders to develop skills and confidence
• Provide support for vulnerable community members on a one to one basis
• Engage meaningfully with stakeholders at all levels

This post is considered Regulated Work with Children and Protected Adults, under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. It is an offence therefore to apply if you are barred from working with children and protected adults. In addition to this, if you have lived or worked in any country outside the UK in the past 10 years, there may be a requirement for an overseas police check.

Selkirk Regeneration (SR) is a community charitable organisation with a broad remit to support the social, economic and environmental prosperity of Selkirk and its environs (TD7 postcode area). We have several well-established projects including developing a Local Place Plan with the community, delivery of the

Sustainable Borders energy advice service and managing a community pop-up shop in Selkirk High Street. We have investigated options for various community-owned renewable energy projects, including wind, solar and hydro, and most recently have led a feasibility study into a Local Energy Club as the most viable project in current circumstances. Selkirk Local Energy Club

The Selkirk Local Energy Club is a proposed community-led pilot that aims to help Selkirk make better use of renewable electricity generated locally. The club will use both domestic and business rooftop solar electricity generation to supply electricity to local households and businesses and community buildings on a local electricity tariff.

In simple terms, the model links local renewable generators with local households, businesses and community buildings that use electricity. The electricity still flows through the national energy grid, so members do not need a new physical connection to the generator. Instead, the Local Energy Club uses a commercial and billing arrangement to match local generation with local demand. When local renewable electricity is generated and used by participating members, members benefit from lower energy bills, while generators can receive a fairer return than standard export arrangements.

With external independent technical support, we have examined the feasibility of the project and developed a business plan; both demonstrate that this can be a realisable and viable scheme. Our next step is to establish a pilot scheme to convert this exciting vision into reality. We believe this will be the first distributed rooftop solar energy scheme in the Scottish Borders and will create a model that can be widely replicated by other communities.

The pilot will focus on moving from feasibility into live operation. This will involve commencing supply to participating members and monitoring the model over an initial 6-12 month period. The pilot will capture data on local electricity matching rates, bill savings, generator revenues, export performance, administrative costs and operational learning.

This evidence will be used to confirm that the Local Energy Club is technically, commercially and administratively viable, and whether it could be scaled up to include more members, more generators and wider community benefit activity in future.