Research Officer
- Part time
- £26,640 – £32,560 pro-rata
- Hybrid: Glasgow or Edinburgh
- Closing 18th November 2026
- Advertised from 28th October 2026
- 28 hours per week. Fixed term to 31 March 2028 with the intention to extend.
Role
Established in 1944, One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) is the leading charity working with single parent families in Scotland. We provide expert advice, practical support and campaign with parents to make their voices heard to change the systems, policies and attitudes that disadvantage single parent families. We work alongside single parents and their families, placing them at the centre of everything we do. Creating ways to overcome barriers, changing their lives and
fulfilling their potential. We also celebrate the many achievements of single parents and their children.
Our vision is to see a Scotland where single parent families are celebrated in all their diversity, are treated fairly and live free from discrimination and poverty. Our mission is to amplify the voices of single parent families in their unique role as sole carers and providers and together challenge stigma, poverty and inequality to achieve change.
Our values are trust, equity, justice, collaboration and compassion. These are the principles or standards that we consider important in life. They shape behaviour and guide our decisions and actions.
Our strategic objectives shape and guide all roles at OPFS. They are the pillars that underpin all our work. We all will:
- Support single parents to build on their strengths and attributes to achieve their goals.
- Strengthen single parent families’ wellbeing, enabling children to be happy and thrive.
- Influence policies to eradicate child poverty taking an intersectional, equalities approach to policy making.
- Involve single parents, experts by experience, to co-produce OPFS services and policy priorities.
- Challenge societal attitudes and behaviours to fully support and respect single parent families.
About this role
We're looking for an experience Research Officer to join our Policy, Participation and External Relations team. This is an exciting opportunity to drive forward research projects, produce compelling findings, recommendations and high quality impact reports and webinars that bring our findings to life. We're looking for a creative and insightful person who is passionate about creating a Scotland where single parent families can thrive.
For more information, please download the Job Description & Person Specification below.
Application notes
Please visit the One Parent Families Scotland website to apply.
Downloads
Are you interested in supporting families and listening to their experiences to help us shape future services?
We are seeking a Family Engagement Intern to help deliver family support activities and engage with children, parents and carers to better understand the support families need.
About Play Midlothian
Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to enable every child in Midlothian to thrive through play by creating opportunities, removing barriers and addressing inequalities. We have an office base at the One Dalkeith Business Hub in central Dalkeith, but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and if commissioned, beyond.
About the Role
This internship has been created to help us develop our support for families experiencing, or at risk of, poverty.
The postholder will work alongside a Play and Wellbeing Practitioner to run Play in Mind family sessions, strengthening family wellbeing through play in woodlands (likely two sessions per week).
A significant part of the role will involve engaging with children, parents and carers to better understand their experiences, needs and ideas. This will include organising and facilitating focus groups, questionnaires, discussions and creative activities that help families have their say. The learning gathered through this work will help inform the future development of Play Midlothian's services for families.
The role offers an opportunity to gain practical experience in play, family support and community engagement, with training, supervision and support provided throughout. This role would suit someone considering a future career in these or related areas (such as social research, social work or the wider third sector).
If you are enthusiastic about working with families and helping ensure their voices are heard, we would love to hear from you.
Information and Content Officer (Support line)
- Part time
- £30,602 – £35,778 pro-rata
- Hybrid: Edinburgh
- Closing 30th October 2026
In this role, you’ll:
- Create helpful, clear and accessible resources and information for parents and carers for the support line section of the Children First website.
- Translate complex information about support and services into clear, accessible and engaging communications for families.
- Update and manage website content using the CMS, ensuring information is accurate, accessible and up to date.
- Drive forward organic social media activity promoting the support line, share new resources created for families and develop engaging multimedia content, including video.
- Support children and families to safely and appropriately share their stories, following Children First’s story‑gathering, consent and safeguarding processes at all times.
- Use insight, learning and feedback to inform continuous improvement in communications activity.
We’d love to hear from you if you have:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
- A proactive, collaborative approach and commitment to our values.
- Previous experience in a similar communications role.
- Strong social media skills.
- Excellent ICT skills and strong experience of Canva and creating video content.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to concisely summarise key information.
What we offer:
- A workplace with values of with love, with purpose and with strength
- 40 days annual leave, inclusive of bank holidays
- Pension scheme and wellbeing support
- Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
- Access to Westfield Health, giving colleagues and their families confidential counselling support, wellbeing resources, and access to health and lifestyle benefits to support physical and mental wellbeing.
- Blue Light card discount
- A Fair Work accredited workplace
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.
Marketing Officer
- Full time
- £30,602 – £35,778
- Hybrid: Edinburgh – hybrid with extensive travel and occasional weekend work
- Closing 12th November 2026
In this role, you’ll:
• Deliver integrated marketing campaigns that amplify the voices of children and families and inspire positive change.
• Lead the creation and promotion of co-produced content including films, animations, stories, social media content and publications.
• Build trusted relationships with children, young people and families, ensuring their experiences shape our communications and campaigns.
• Manage and grow Children First's digital presence through website, email and social media channels, using insight and analytics to improve engagement.
• Champion the Children First brand, ensuring all content is accessible, inclusive, ethical and consistent across channels.
We’d love to hear from you if you have:
• Experience delivering multi-channel marketing campaigns and developing compelling content for a range of audiences.
• Experience working collaboratively with children, young people, families or communities to co-produce content and campaigns.
• Strong copywriting, communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across teams.
• Experience using digital marketing tools including CMS platforms, email marketing systems, video editing and design software.
• A commitment to children's rights, participation and inclusion, alongside a passion for improving outcomes for children and families.
What we offer:
• A workplace with values of with love, with purpose and with strength
• 40 days annual leave, inclusive of bank holidays
• Pension scheme and wellbeing support
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Access to Westfield Health, giving colleagues and their families confidential counselling support, wellbeing resources, and access to health and lifestyle benefits to support physical and mental wellbeing.
• Blue Light card discount
• A Fair Work accredited workplace
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.
Upside Community Worker (Tayside)
- Part time
- £29,362 – £34,032 pro-rata
- Hybrid: Tayside
- Closing 5th November 2026
Circle is a registered charity working at the heart of communities across central Scotland. We work with families facing multiple disadvantages because of structural inequality, poverty, drug and alcohol use, imprisonment, physical or mental health, trauma, abuse and loss. We believe that every child, no matter their background or circumstances, should have the support they need to live a happy and healthy life.
We offer excellent staff benefits including a competitive salary, generous pension contribution, flexible working, an employee assistance programme and generous annual leave.
We are looking to recruit a values-driven Community Worker to join our Circle delivery team in Tayside as part of a Scottish Government–funded programme providing inclusive voluntary throughcare services across Scotland. The service supports men, women and young people leaving short-term custody or remand, helping improve reintegration, wellbeing and community safety.
The successful candidate will provide person-centred practical support to people returning to their communities. Working with Throughcare Prison Workers and partner organisations, they will help coordinate pre-release planning, support smooth transitions, and connect individuals with local, specialist and community-based services.
The postholder will build trusting relationships, take a compassionate and non-judgemental approach, and work proactively with partners to achieve the best outcomes. They must also be flexible in supporting both local and wider service delivery as needs change.
The postholder will build trusting relationships, take a compassionate and non-judgemental approach, and work proactively with partners to achieve the best outcomes. They must also be flexible in supporting both local and wider service delivery as needs change.
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