This is an exciting opportunity to join our team in Midlothian which is expanding as a result of successful new funding in the areas of mental health and kinship care. You will join an existing team working with families with experience of parental substance use, trauma, poverty and poor mental health, amongst other factors.

We work alongside children and their families, offering individual and whole family supports, peer led groups and connection through community partners. This is an exciting yet demanding role which will require you to get alongside children and their families where, when and how best suits them, offering the right support at the right time.

What kind of Children 1st 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 difficult conversations
• Calm and clear minded during times of challenge or distress
• Kind and compassionate
• Passionate about Childrens Rights

If you have a professional qualification in a relevant area such as Social Work, Health, Teaching or equivalent in Child Care/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. In particular, we are seeking to further enhance our diversity from the perspective of ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender and disability.

Base

You will be based in our Dalkeith office and will work with families across Midlothian. There will be some flexibility to work at home when this suits the needs of families and/or the service .

Salary, Conditions, Pension

We will offer you a competitive salary, generous annual leave entitlement (40 days inclusive of 9 public holidays), flexible working opportunities and a contributory pension scheme.

Further Information

We have two posts available:

One fixed term 35 hour post funded initially for 12 months initially (with possibility of extension) and one fixed term 17.5 hour post funded initially until 31 March 2025 (with possibility of extension).

(if you are applying for the part time post, can you please note this on your supporting statement/CV)

hours to be worked flexibly across the week to meet the needs of families and the service. However, Thursdays are our ‘core day’ when essential service activities take place such as team meetings.

About the service...

Aberlour Early Years Family Support will provide gender-responsive, trauma- informed, flexible & accessible intensive support to meet the needs of pregnant women and families with children under 3. Support will be provided in families homes and communities at times that suit them (before school or nursery/evenings/weekends) and for as long as is needed, to prevent challenges escalating. We also aim to support local professional stakeholders and communities to coproduce solutions.

Our whole-family approach means we can create personalised support for both the children and their parents.

What we are looking for....

We are looking to recruit a dynamic and creative individual to lead and manage a small team and help develop the service to deliver support which is playful, warm, accepting, curious, tenacious, and empathetic.

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. To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees please go to our website.

You will be able to balance operational and administrative requirements while also being available to join your team as the lead practitioner on a flexible basis. This will include working directly with the children and families at weekends, evenings and on public holidays in a planned way. There will be an opportunity within this post to work flexibly between the office and home.

Work is carried out individually or in groups using a variety of settings including the service base, family homes, schools and community venues. You will be involved in planning, designing and delivering appropriate work, assessing and evaluating the services, maintaining accurate records and compiling reports.

If you would like more information or wish to discuss this post further, please contact Grant Cowper, Service Manager, on 07785 451479.

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 on our website.

About Intensive Family Support Service

Our service supports families in the Dumfries and Galloway area who are struggling to cope. The families we work with may have a wide range of issues, which include drug and alcohol use within the family. As a Child and Family worker you would work directly with the whole family in various settings, such as their own homes, our dedicated base and other community locations.

You will be the trusted person they could talk about what they are going through at home. You whilst undertaking assessments to identify what support we can provide. You will work with the children and the family offering practical help, in the community, family home, liaising with partner agencies, schools and nurseries. Participate and lead group work sessions. Attending meetings, children’s hearings, school meetings & health appointments as required necessary. You will help establish routines and build life skills with families. Help families build parenting skills and confidence.

What we are looking for....

You should have a sound knowledge of child development and be able to work with parents either individually or in groups to develop their parenting skills & confidence.

We are looking for two child and family workers, each working 22.5 hours per week with the potential to be worked flexibly, evening & weekend work may be required dependant on the service need. An allowance is incorporated in the salary to support this requirement. This post is offered on a temporary basis until 31st March 2026.

We are looking for candidates who are passionate about supporting young people, families and communities, who are flexible and share our vision that collaborative working and relationship based early intervention is the best option for young people and families who are feeling overwhelmed or excluded. A current driving licence is an essential requirement of this post. However, if you have a disability which precludes you from holding a driving licence consideration will be given if alternative transport can be arranged.

Find out more information on what we are looking for in candidates 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.

Please note, we do not offer sponsorship for work visa’s therefore you need to have the right to work in the UK to apply for any of our posts.

Do you want to join an organisation that has been named recently as a Top 100 company to work with by The Sunday Times?

If you do and would like to have an informal chat before applying then please call Rhonda Wilson, Head of Admissions and Programmes, on 07715 238337.

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. We have a strong ethos of values and a culture that enables us to Be Brave and to Keep the Promise of involving the children and young people as fully as possible in taking decisions that affect their lives.

Our home in Fort William is a Hybrid Model, we have a residential service for children and young people as well as a service that we call Sustain Plus, which supports whole families by providing both emotional and practical support. We work with families and parents to secure a nurturing environment for children up to 18 years old. We also help parents/caregivers develop their ability to care for their children, provide practical parenting skills, and engage with their community. Our service provides flexible support of varying intensity and aims to encourage the development of family routines, resilience, and improved parental confidence.

We are looking to appoint a House Manager who will join our strong and thriving Residential/Sustain Plus community in Aberlour.

What we are looking for

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with a passion for supporting vulnerable children and whole families to achieve the best possible outcomes in their lives. The successful candidate will have the drive, determination and cultural values to be able to lead their team to empower the children and young people to make the changes which will ultimately transform their lives.

We want someone who believes that all children and families are deserving of love and someone who will support the team to ensure that our children and families are able to live fulfilling lives without having restriction imposed on them in their everyday lives.

The person we choose to join us must have experience of working in and leading practice in a children’s house and with families. They must be visible to the team and children to ensure that the vision and values are lived every day - This will include working evenings and weekends.

Our homes provide a rich environment that provides safety, relationships, growth and healing for the children and adults who live and work there. To achieve this the successful candidate must have knowledge about developmental trauma, how this will have impacted children’s early life experiences and understand how to lead a team to ensure that every response a child receives takes account of their trauma.

A comprehensive support package focussed on achieving excellence in practice is provided to all of our teams and the successful candidate will also receive clinical supervision, provided externally to support their professional practice development and well-being.

If you share our vision of Being Brave for every child, young person and families, and Keeping the Promise, and you have the skills and passion required to meet the challenges of this role we look forward to hearing from you.

Ideally, candidates will have experience of leading a team within a residential childcare environment involving a residential shift rota and also experience in supporting whole families. You will be required to have or be willing to work towards the qualifications for being a manager in a residential childcare facility: a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 9 or above plus a management qualification at SCQF level 8 or above.

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.