Due to the nature of our Collective Management structure, this is a unique role. We are the last true collective organisation that operates within the Scottish Women’s Aid Network. You will be involved in and have shared ownership of all areas of work Clydebank Women’s Aid undertakes.

Fundamentally, this is a role that allows the opportunity to work with other feminists who, like you, are committed to improving the lives of women, children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse and overthrowing patriarchy. By working collectively, we are each able to take our equal share of the workload and as such promote a supportive and positive work environment. We value each other, our experiences, our health, our skills – both collectively and individually – and we are committed to upholding our compassionate and trusting work culture, our sisterhood and, our positive relationships through formal and informal practices such as bi-annual team building events.

This would be the ideal role for someone who does not want to be working from home and is looking for a varied and interesting role as no two days in Clydebank Women’s Aid are the same. You will have the unique perspective as a worker and a manager. By supporting the women, children, and young people directly, you will gain first-hand insight into the challenges and barriers they face. You will have the opportunity to contribute to local and national campaigns and legislation that could ultimately make a difference to the issues that the women, children, and young people that we support face on a day-to-day basis. Your passion, vision, attitudes, skills, and ideas will be valued and will be used to propel Clydebank Women’s Aid forward.

You will also be a Trustee of the charity and as such you will be required to make collective decisions on behalf of Clydebank Women’s Aid and ensure we are carrying out our remit for the public benefit, comply with and work to Clydebank Women’s Aid constitution, act in Clydebank Women’s Aid’s best wishes, manage Clydebank Women’s Aid resources responsibly, act with reasonable care and skill and ensure Clydebank Women’s Aid is accountable by complying with statutory accounting and reporting requirements that demonstrate that the charity is run well. We would urge candidates to look over the information on Trustee duties on office of the Scottish Charity Register website for more information: oscr.org.uk/managing-a-charity/trustee-duties

As a worker and Collective Manager at Clydebank Women’s Aid, we are all trained to the same level and have access to the same training opportunities, and Clydebank Women’s Aid will invest in your personal and professional development. With this, we do not have the expectation that you already have completed specific qualifications. Instead, we ask that you will be willing to work towards and gain an SVQ that meets both the standards of Clydebank Women’s Aid and the SSSC. The cost of which will be funded by Clydebank Women’s Aid. The cost of SSSC registration and PVG updates will also be covered by Clydebank Women’s Aid (within budgetary constraints).

Generous employment package:

• 14% employer pension contribution

• Continuous training and personal development opportunities

• Costs covered to complete SVQ level 9&10.

• Costs of PVG and SSSC registration covered.

• 30 days Annual leave and 12 Public holidays (pro rata)

• 7.5% of salary on-call payment

Exclusions:

Clydebank Women’s Aid is an Equal Opportunities Employer and positively welcomes applications from women from all sections of the community.

Only women need apply under Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010.

Successful applicants will be subjected to disclosure check through the PVG Scheme. This post is subject to suitable references and a successful completion of Induction.

Next steps:

We ask that you fully read the attached Applicant Information Pack for a full understanding of what is required for this interesting and varied role.

If you would like to apply for this post, please complete our 1st Stage screening form available here:

The closing date to complete Stage 1 of the application process is 9am Wednesday 8th January 2025.

Applicants who are successful will move onto Stage 2 and will be invited via email to complete our application form. Applicants will receive this email no later than the end of the day on Friday 10th January 2025.

To be considered for this role, second stage application forms must be returned by 9am Monday 27th of January 2025.

Interviews will take place on Saturday 8th of February 2025 between 10am and 3pm. Interviews will be conducted by 2 members of the collective and 1 external party.

Are you passionate about Human Rights?

Do you want to help improve the realisation of Human Rights for everyone in Scotland?

Do you have the skills, values, experience and expertise to help make that happen?

Are you interested in strengthening Scotland’s National Human Rights Institution?

If so, you could be just what we are looking for!

The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is Scotland’s human rights watchdog.

We are an independent, expert body that works with and for the people of Scotland; we monitor, listen, and speak up for all our rights and respond when things go wrong. We are a public body created by statute, with a mandate to protect and promote the human rights of all people in Scotland.

The Commission is established as a National Human Rights Institution. As such we are part of a global network of bodies accredited by the United Nations to monitor state compliance with international and national human rights law and treaties. We are independent of government. It is the job of National Human Rights Institutions to use the rule of law to promote and protect the human rights of all of the people who live in any given country and assess the actions of the state on that basis. This is how the Scottish Human Rights Commission approaches its work.

Recruitment

We have a number of opportunities for people who share our values and passion for human rights to join our growing team. We are a small organisation with big ambition to use our mandate to further the realisation of people’s human rights in Scotland, and these key strategic posts, working together with colleagues across the Commission, will be integral to our success over the coming years.

The Commission is recruiting for four positions.

This follows an expansion of our mandate with the enactment of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024; investment in the development of a People and Culture Programme that will enable us to conclude the implementation of our Independent Governance Review from 2023; and to fill a vacancy following the upcoming departure of a member of the team.

In April the Commission embarked on its new 4-year Strategic Plan for 2024-28, focused on standing up for those in need of protection and holding those responsible for human rights to account. This requires us to build a Commission team infrastructure that is equipped to deliver this, and the current opportunities will support us to enhance our engagement with the Scottish Parliament, the media, and the application of the law through strategic litigation and monitoring of human rights across Scotland.

The Commission is committed to being agile, engaged, accessible, open to collaboration and above all visibly committed to the realisation of rights in Scotland, as an authoritative and challenging partner in pursuit of that goal.

These posts are a critical to enhancing the skills and capacity of our existing team in order to achieve the Commission’s goals.

About the Role

This is a truly exciting opportunity to play a central role within the Commission as it deploys it legal powers, focusing on developing and ensuring delivery of SHRC’s new legal powers and duties under the recently enacted United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (the “Act”).

We are looking for someone to join our legal and policy team who has experience of strategic litigation to uphold human rights, gained in a variety of settings. With a background in law and policy, in addition to a working knowledge of human rights, and particularly the rights of the child in a domestic context, your skills will be utilised to lead on interventions, develop proposals for potential areas of own name litigation under the UNCRC Act 2024, monitor human rights court judgements for the Commission, and manage live cases. You will also be responsible for liaising and developing a network with a variety of stakeholders, including people who are experiencing human rights violations, civil society advocacy organisations, the Courts, Law Centres, and the Law Society.

You will uphold the SHRC’s values and be confident representing the Commission with external audiences.

Are you passionate about Human Rights?

Do you want to help improve the realisation of Human Rights for everyone in Scotland?

Do you have the skills, values, experience and expertise to help make that happen?

Are you interested in strengthening Scotland’s National Human Rights Institution?

If so, you could be just what we are looking for!

The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is Scotland’s human rights watchdog.

We are an independent, expert body that works with and for the people of Scotland; we monitor, listen, and speak up for all our rights and respond when things go wrong. We are a public body created by statute, with a mandate to protect and promote the human rights of all people in Scotland.

The Commission is established as a National Human Rights Institution. As such we are part of a global network of bodies accredited by the United Nations to monitor state compliance with international and national human rights law and treaties. We are independent of government. It is the job of National Human Rights Institutions to use the rule of law to promote and protect the human rights of all of the people who live in any given country and assess the actions of the state on that basis. This is how the Scottish Human Rights Commission approaches its work.

Recruitment

We have a number of opportunities for people who share our values and passion for human rights to join our growing team. We are a small organisation with big ambition to use our mandate to further the realisation of people’s human rights in Scotland, and these key strategic posts, working together with colleagues across the Commission, will be integral to our success over the coming years.

The Commission is recruiting for four positions.

This follows an expansion of our mandate with the enactment of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024; investment in the development of a People and Culture Programme that will enable us to conclude the implementation of our Independent Governance Review from 2023; and to fill a vacancy following the upcoming departure of a member of the team.

In April the Commission embarked on its new 4-year Strategic Plan for 2024-28, focused on standing up for those in need of protection and holding those responsible for human rights to account. This requires us to build a Commission team infrastructure that is equipped to deliver this, and the current opportunities will support us to enhance our engagement with the Scottish Parliament, the media, and the application of the law through strategic litigation and monitoring of human rights across Scotland.

The Commission is committed to being agile, engaged, accessible, open to collaboration and above all visibly committed to the realisation of rights in Scotland, as an authoritative and challenging partner in pursuit of that goal.

These posts are a critical to enhancing the skills and capacity of our existing team in order to achieve the Commission’s goals.

About the Role

The People and Culture Manager is a unique and exciting role that provides the post holder an opportunity to make a positive difference to how Scotland’s human rights watchdog evolves and develops to maximise its impact to promote the human rights of everyone in Scotland through a strong, skilled and well supported staff team. You will be at the centre of developing initiatives to lead a programme of culture and organisational development in order to fulfil key recommendations of the Independent Governance Review 2023 and take the Commission forward.

Reporting to the Head of Business Support and working closely with the Executive Director, with a strong background in people management, experience of cultural change and trade union liaison, and an ability to coordinate activities across a number of teams with diverse resources, you will utilise your skills to meet key deliverables, including coordinating an organisational development programme, reviewing and developing HR policies and updating the employee handbook.

You will be skilled in collaborative and partnership working and effective engagement with stakeholders, managing positive relationships with all staff members, senior leadership team and trade union partners. You will demonstrate your alignment with the Commission’s core values through your inputs and behaviours to these interactions.

This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic individual to embed the Commission’s values into working practices and implement progressive and impactful change across the organisation.

Role Summary

The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust (RBET) seeks a highly skilled Project Manager to lead the Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne project, delivering significant conservation and adaptation works at Ellisland Museum and Farm. The post is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to players of the National Lottery and South of Scotland Enterprise.

Introduction

The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust (RBET) safeguards the 1788 farm designed and built by the poet Robert Burns on the banks of the Nith near Dumfries. The A listed steading is the best preserved of all the poet’s homes, the only one he built, and the place where he wrote a quarter of his musical output, including the international anthem to friendship, Auld Lang Syne. The farmstead sits in 140 acres comprising woodland and fields which were first enclosed by Burns himself. RBET is a membership Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation with a volunteer board of Trustees formed in 2020, although the site itself has been held in trust since 1928. It is located six miles north of Dumfries off the A76. It is an accredited museum, with seasonal opening, holding events and group visits off-season, depending on capacity. A small team of volunteers maintain the grounds and riverside walks for free public enjoyment all year.

The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust’s charitable purpose is as follows:

To hold the lands and farm of Ellisland, and such other funds and assets as may from time to time be comprised in the Trust Property, in trust for the following purposes:

(a) the advancement of education

(b) the advancement of the arts, heritage and culture

(c) the promotion of the life and works of Robert Burns

(d) to maintain a museum and collections for the benefit of the public

The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust Mission Statement is as follows:

“Ellisland is the place to fall in love with Burns. We will increase awareness of Ellisland as central to the artistic development of Robert Burns in poetry and romantic song. We will enhance understanding of the site as the best place to see the natural world through the poet’s eyes. We will create a world class visitor experience and a vibrant centre for creative learning to ensure the unique collection, buildings and landscape are accessible to a diverse range of modern audiences.”

Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne

In September 2024, our trust secured the offer of a development stage grant of up to £489,206 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne. In November 2024 we were awarded up to £313,000 from South of Scotland Enterprise towards the project. We expect to receive Permission to Start by January 2025. The development stage of the project is costed at £945,000 while the full cost after delivery and re-opening is £7.4m, which includes start up activity costs.

Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne intends to bring the spirit of Burns – love, kindness and equality – into the 21st century and widen access to Ellisland with a vibrant programme of events, activities and artist residencies. We will restore the 1788 cottage, creating an immersive visitor experience, and develop a gallery/museum to display the collection, which is at risk in the deteriorating buildings. Our barn will be sensitively adapted as a Centre for Song, so future generations are inspired by Burns’s “sweet poetic ground.” We will increase visitor numbers and develop new income streams to protect the built heritage, collection and outdoor spaces, including woods, paths and fields created by Burns. This will increase economic prosperity in South Scotland and enhance wellbeing with skills training, jobs and volunteering opportunities.

A full brief can be downloaded below.