A fantastic opportunity to come and join the Children First team in East Ayrshire

At Children First our ambition is for every child in Scotland to be safe, loved and well with their family. As a charity we offer emotional, practical, and financial support to help families to put children first and campaign to uphold the rights of every child.

We have two exciting opportunities to be part of either our innovative Restorative Family Group Decision Making Service, or our East Ayrshire Family Wellbeing Service.

Position one: Project Worker - Family Group Decision Making

The team and model of relational and restorative approaches, including Family Group Decision Making, will play a pivotal role in the delivery and development of the service, ensuring high quality relationships with children and families and working alongside our partners to evidence impact. We are therefore looking to recruit a dynamic, experienced individual who can help drive the successful development and growth of this new and innovative partnership.

Previous experience in the delivery of Family Group Decision Making is not essential but you must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the principles and values of the approach. You must also show a commitment to complete accredited training, which will be provided.

This is a part-time position of 28 hours per week.

Position two: Project Worker – Family Wellbeing

In this role you will be working alongside families of school aged children who are experiencing mental and emotional distress and subsequently struggling in school, in the community or at home.

At Children First we work with the whole family, and we see our relationships as the key to our approach in improving wellbeing. We offer families space and time to tell their stories, make sense of their difficulties and help them to find their solutions.

You will have a sound knowledge of the impact of trauma and adversity on parenting and on children’s development, and to promote children’s safety and wellbeing, will meet families at times and places that most suits their needs. This post requires flexibility, which mean daytime, evening and weekend work, in order to offer appropriate level of support to individual families and deliver community events.

This position is full-time 35 hours per week.

What kind of people are we looking for?

If you have experience of working within child protection processes, are committed to restorative approaches, meaningfully involving children and families, and have a professional qualification in a relevant area such as Social Work, Teaching or equivalent in Childcare/Social Care or related area, accredited counselling qualification, or other relevant qualification at SCQF level 9 or higher then we want to hear from you.

Children First along with partners share a determination to act upon the recommendations from The Independent Care Review and deliver The Promise to children and young people. We are also determined that the full incorporation of the UNCRC means that children will have their rights respected in all areas of their lives and will have a real say in the way they are supported. If you share this determination, we would love to hear from you.

Additionally, you:

• will have experience of keeping children safe in their own families
• are fiercely passionate about children’s rights
• think it’s a privilege to work with and on behalf of children and families and,
• are kind and will bring their whole selves to the job: heart and mind

What kind of team member will you be?

Knowing our ambition for children, you will be someone who is:

• resilient, skilled and knowledgeable who wants to transform children’s lives
• determined to support children to stay safely with their own family
• big hearted and courageous
• able to build strong relationships and to manage the tricky conversations
• is compassionate and understanding of trauma
• a cool head and clear minded at times of pressure
• inspiring colleagues and teams to be even better
• an amazing ambassador for children and Children First

Above all else, the most important thing to us is that you are someone who will do the right thing for children and their families at every turn.

Base

You will be based in East Ayrshire with our partners in the HSCP and will travel to connect with other parts of the organisation. You will work on an outreach basis to connect with children and families in communities across East Ayrshire which will require some evening and weekend working.

Salary, Conditions, Pension

We will offer you a competitive salary, generous annual leave entitlement (40 days inclusive of 9 public holidays). ​We have additional benefits such as a cash back health plan, cycle to work scheme, and option to join a ​Credit Union.+

A fantastic opportunity to come and join the Children First team in North Ayrshire

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of our Family Wellbeing Service in North Ayrshire and an innovative partnership between Children First and CORRA Foundation, working alongside families, building strong relationships, taking an approach that is restorative, relational and trauma informed striving to achieving positive outcomes for families. This service is funded by the Scottish Government and is delivered over a period of 5 years.

We are also determined that the full incorporation of the UNCRC means that children will have their rights respected in all areas of their lives and will have a real say in the way they are supported. If you share this determination, we would love to hear from you.

Our project builds on the voices of the recovery community and our extensive experience in supporting children and families impacted by substance use. We will do this through early help providing community-based whole family support that can be accessed easily in a non-stigmatising way and more acute support for whole families through pathways related to our integrated drug and alcohol recovery service e.g. residential rehabilitation and/ or inpatient detox and rehabilitation.

Our project seeks to:

Ensure children, families and communities affected by substance use in North Ayrshire access early help to prevent crisis and to support the whole family to recover from the impact of substance use.

Reduce the number of people who develop problem drug use.

Promote a whole system’s approach personalised to the specific needs of families impacted by substance use, ensuring that individual’s most at risk, have access to specialist support that aids their recovery.

What kind of people are we looking for?

• have experience of keeping children safe in their own families
• are fiercely passionate about children’s rights
• thinks it’s a privilege to work with and on behalf of children and families and,
• are kind and will bring their whole selves to the job: heart and mind

What kind of Family Wellbeing team member will you be?

Knowing our ambition for children, you will be someone who is:

• resilient, skilled and knowledgeable who wants to transform children’s lives
• determined to support children to stay safely with their own family
• big hearted and courageous
• able to build strong relationships and to manage the tricky conversations
• is compassionate and understanding of trauma
• a cool head and clear minded at times of pressure
• inspiring colleagues and teams to be even better
• an amazing ambassador for children and Children First

Above all else, the most important thing to us is that you are someone who will do the right thing for children and their families at every turn.

Base

You will be based in Irvine, Bourtreehill within our Children First North Ayrshire space and will travel to connect with other parts of the organisation and North Ayrshire HSCP. You will work on an outreach basis to connect with children and families in communities across North Ayrshire.

Salary, Conditions, Pension

We will offer you a competitive salary, generous annual leave entitlement (40 days inclusive of 9 public holidays). ​We have additional benefits such as a cash back health plan, cycle to work scheme, and option to join a ​Credit Union.

Further Information

At Children First, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects communities across Scotland. Guided by our values, With Love, With Purpose, With Strength, we strive to create a culture where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported to thrive. We actively work to remove barriers to inclusion and promote equity in all aspects of our work. We warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, especially those from marginalised communities, and are dedicated to ensuring a fair and supportive recruitment process.

Join Barnardo's: Make a Difference to Young Lives

Barnardo's is a compassionate service provider supporting young people who have experienced trauma. Our Highland Clover service, developed in partnership with Highland Council, offers tailored care for young people with complex trauma and additional support needs. We aim to provide a safe, nurturing environment where young people can heal, grow, and thrive.

Clover stands for Care, Love, and Respect—the values that underpin everything we do and guide our approach to supporting young people and each other. We are seeking an empathetic, skilled individual to join our team and help us deliver on The Promise—ensuring every child's right to a safe, happy, and fulfilling childhood.

About the Role:

The Highland Clover service currently provides two support packages one of which is a 24-hour residential care service and the other provides bespoke individual care and wellbeing support. These innovative services are designed specifically for our young people for whom conventional support packages have not been appropriate. We are excited to be pioneering this new care model.

What We're Looking For:

• A passion for improving young people's lives
• Empathy and experience in trauma-informed care
• Ability to champion and advocate for young people
• Creative, proactive, and willing to bring new ideas to support their journey

Why Barnardo's?

• Impactful Work: Be part of a team that is transforming the way care is delivered and making a positive impact on young people's lives.
• Inclusive Environment: We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experiences.
• Supportive Team: Work alongside a dedicated, passionate team where your contributions are valued.
• Residential Care Involvement: This role involves working in a residential care setting, providing round-the-clock support to young people.

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 an individual who can integrate seamlessly into our existing team, working alongside it and relief adults to support excellent service delivery. We are looking for a Residential Worker to work 37.5 hours per week to work within our homes in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy. You will work as part of a residential rota including early, late, sleepovers and weekend shifts. You will have a knowledge and understanding of the importance of attachment, trauma and how this can impact on an individual’s development. At times our children express their distress through their behaviour and the role can be emotionally and physically challenging; we are therefore looking for someone who is resilient, understands that behaviour is a means of communication and is trauma responsive.

You will be skilled in building therapeutic relationships with the children, young people and young adults to enable them to feel safe, loved and cared for.

You must have the ability to quickly build your relationships with the adults within the house. The nature of the role is such that whilst joining a team for one house, you may be asked to support one of our other homes and you may also be supporting young people to attend school or participate in other learning programmes. You must therefore be able to quickly adapt to the different working environments.

You will be comfortable with working within Aberlour’s culture embracing respect, integrity, innovation and the ability to challenge. You must be able to be an exceptional role model for other staff and the young person.

Undertaking the role of Residential Worker will afford you the opportunity to develop and build on a range of transferrable skills which are valued in a range of employment: you will be able to demonstrate excellent flexibility and adaptability with exceptional interpersonal skills, ability to work with different teams and different children, young people and young adults living within our Sycamore Houses.

To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees click here

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. At Aberlour we have strong values - Respect, Integrity, Innovation and Challenging - which influence our everyday work. If you choose to apply for this role please tell us about your values in your supporting statement.

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. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers. Find out more about our Employee Benefits and our commitment to Equality and Diversity here

Aberlour is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of all our service users and uses a thorough and rigorous recruitment and selection process including PVG Scheme checks to ensure this commitment is not compromised.