Are you a strategic leader who cares passionately about delivering positive outcomes for people and is excited by helping people to thrive?

At Citizens Advice Scotland we are a service for people and by people. People are the heart of our network.

Our Head of People role will drive our People agenda, so we need someone who is an experienced HR professional who puts people at the heart of every decision. But this role is about more than just your qualifications. We are looking for a strategic leader who inspires and drives people to succeed and creates a culture that celebrates our people’s successes, encourages personal development and takes people with them on the journey of change.

If you are a strategic leader who cares passionately about people and wants to make a difference to communities across Scotland we want to hear from you. This is an exciting opportunity to really make a difference to the lives of people across Scotland and ensure that the people that work and volunteer for our network thrive in their roles.

This newly created role will lead Citizens Advice Scotland and our members, 59 local bureaux to be regarded as be one of the best places to work in Scotland.

What you will do:

• Build a culture that aligns with our values and ensures our decisions and interactions with each other are person-centred, inclusive, collaborative, empowering and supportive.
• Support our people to deliver advice and insight that changes lives through ensuring that we have the right policies, procedures, training and support to do their role.
• Champion the value that people bring to the network and ensure people drive our decision making.

If you are ready to lead meaningful change and make a lasting impact, we would love to hear from you.

Employee benefits

Citizens Advice Scotland offers excellent terms and conditions. We want our people to have a great work life balance and we have designed our working practices and benefits to support this. Here are some of things our employees benefit from: a 35-hour full time working week, 40 days annual leave, genuine flexibility in working hours with a flexi-time system, and hybrid working opportunities for every role. For more details of some of the other benefits on offer to our employees, please see the section on employee benefits in the job pack.

Citizens Advice Scotland is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies and flexible working arrangements to support all our staff. We are also committed to equality of opportunity for all and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

CAS provides options for hybrid working to allow employees to balance their time attending the office with time working from home. The number of days you will be able to work from home each week will be dependent on your job role and can be discussed as part of the recruitment process.

Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our mission is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland and we currently have over 3000 Care Experienced members.

At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced children and young people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual relationship-based independent advocacy and a broad range of imaginative participatory opportunity for Care Experienced young people across Scotland; we work alongside corporate parents and communities of all sorts to broaden understanding; we work with policy makers, leaders and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy and practice on the basis of all that can be learnt from the voices of those with experience of care – working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.

Who Cares? Scotland is looking for an experienced and committed Head of People & Culture to lead and deliver our People & Culture function.

This is a hands-on, generalist HR leadership role with responsibility for the full employee lifecycle and the continuous improvement of people practices across the organisation. Reporting to the Chief Executive and managing the People & Culture Officer, you will provide practical advice and support to managers and colleagues while ensuring our people policies, processes and systems are effective, consistent, inclusive and legally compliant.

You will be the first point of contact for managers on a wide range of people matters and will play a key role in building management capability across the organisation. The role covers recruitment and onboarding, employee relations, performance and absence management, learning and development, wellbeing, equality and inclusion, payroll coordination, people data and reporting, and day-to-day HR operations.

You will also identify opportunities to improve how we work, enhance employee engagement and ensure our approach to People & Culture continues to reflect the values, purpose and ambitions of Who Cares? Scotland.

About you

You will be an experienced HR professional with substantial generalist experience and a practical understanding of the full range of people issues that arise within an organisation.

You will have a confident understanding of UK employment legislation and experience advising managers on employee relations matters, performance management, recruitment, policy development and workplace wellbeing. You will be comfortable managing sensitive and sometimes challenging situations, providing clear, balanced and pragmatic advice.

You will be highly organised, solutions-focused and able to manage competing priorities while maintaining accuracy, professionalism and confidentiality. Most importantly, you will be approachable and capable of building trusted relationships with colleagues at every level of the organisation.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to lead a People & Culture function within an organisation with a clear social purpose. You will have the opportunity to make a tangible difference to the working lives of colleagues across Who Cares? Scotland, while ensuring managers have the advice and support they need to lead their teams effectively.

The role offers variety, responsibility, autonomy and the opportunity to shape and continuously improve how we support our people.

About includem…

Founded in 2000, Includem is a Scottish charity working alongside children, young people and families to help transform lives. We provide relationship-based, flexible support that is available when it is needed most, helping young people build on their strengths, make positive choices and move towards the future they want.

We work with children and young people in care, families facing challenges, and those navigating education, mental health, justice or transitions into adulthood.

This is where you come in. Working for Includem means using your skills, experience and leadership to make a meaningful difference in an organisation where relationships, creativity and impact matter.

With a focus on external engagement, the Head of Development is responsible for identifying, developing and securing sustainable growth opportunities that enable Includem to extend its impact across Scotland.

As part of the Executive Team, the postholder will lead the organisation’s business development, strategic partnerships, fundraising, communications, policy and influencing activity, ensuring Includem remains at the forefront of supporting children, young people and families. Working closely with service delivery teams, the executive team and board, they will identify emerging opportunities, shape innovative service responses, strengthen external relationships and use evidence and impact data to influence policy and secure future investment.

This role plays a pivotal part in ensuring Includem has a strong external profile, diversified income streams, a robust evidence base on Includem’s model and impact and an influential voice in shaping services and public policy.

Benefits

Includem offers the following benefits:

• 28 days annual leave, increasing to 31 days with 5 years’ service.
• 9 public holidays
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Counselling service
• Family friendly leave
• SSSC Registration
• Blue Light Card
• Company pension
• Medicash
• Charity Worker Discounts
• Personal Assurance