Could you become our next Chair of Trustees?

We are looking for an exceptional person to join our Board of Trustees as Chair

Adoption UK is the leading charity providing support, community, and advocacy for those who are unable live with their birth parents. Our purpose is to secure the right support at the right time for children and young people who are unable to live with their birth parents, from childhood into adulthood.

You’ll have the opportunity to apply your unique skills and experience to lead our welcoming and dedicated Board. You will be expected to:

• Oversee the implementation of Adoption UK’s strategy
• Support the senior leadership team, adding value and expert advice
• Facilitate change that promotes the care and welfare of those unable to live with their birth parents, and their families
• Ensure the charity remains true to its purpose and adheres to its regulatory responsibilities

We are committed to being an inclusive charity, and we welcome and encourage applications from all sections of the community. Our new Chair will bring a passionate commitment to ensuring adopted people have a brighter future. They will help us to ensure we fully represent the diversity in the adoption community, as well as the voice of adopted people.

We are looking for a compassionate, skilled and motivated adviser to join our Thrive Early team.

The Thrive Early Family Adviser will provide practical, holistic support to families with children under five who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, poverty. The role will focus on helping families improve their financial wellbeing by providing advice and support around welfare benefits, income maximisation, debt and other financial issues, as well as information sessions to small groups.

A key part of the role will be building trusted, positive relationships with families who may face significant barriers to engaging with traditional advice services. The postholder will work with families over the medium to long term, providing tailored advice, advocacy and practical support to help them achieve greater financial security and wellbeing.

The successful candidate will work closely with colleagues from Home-Start, Save the Children UK, Citizens Advice Scotland and other local partners to deliver coordinated, whole-family support.

Person Specification

Essential:

• Experience providing welfare rights, money, debt or holistic advice.
• Experience supporting people experiencing poverty, financial hardship or complex life circumstances.
• Ability to build trusting relationships with individuals and families.
• Ability to manage a caseload effectively and maintain accurate case records.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with partner organisations and external agencies.
• Commitment to equality, inclusion and reducing child poverty.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the Scottish Social Security and welfare system.
• Experience of providing information sessions to small groups.
• Experience of working with families with young children.
• Experience of advocacy or casework involving complex issues.
• Experience of monitoring outcomes and contributing to evaluation or reporting.
• Knowledge of local services and support available across the Falkirk Council area.
• Access to a car.

Practical Requirements

The successful candidate will:

• Be able and willing to travel throughout the Falkirk Council area as required by the role.
• Be willing to undertake relevant training and professional development.
• Be able to work flexibly in response to the needs of families and the Thrive Early programme.
• Undergo a PVG check

About Thrive Early

Thrive Early is a partnership programme delivered by Citizens Advice Scotland, Home-Start UK and Save the Children UK. The programme supports the Scottish Government's commitment to tackling child poverty by helping families with children under five to prevent and mitigate the impacts of poverty.

Thrive Early provides integrated, community-based and whole-family support. The programme brings together:

• practical and emotional family support from Home-Start;
• financial, welfare and holistic advice from Citizens Advice;
• opportunities for families to share their experiences and influence service development and wider systems change through Save the Children UK.

Support is tailored to individual family circumstances and aims to improve financial wellbeing, emotional resilience, social connections and access to services.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Citizens Advice Bureau (Grangemouth & Bo’ness) Ltd. is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from people from all sections of the community and particularly encourage applications from people whose experiences and backgrounds reflect the diverse communities we serve.

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and during employment to support candidates and staff with disabilities or other individual requirements.

Make a real difference to people living with dementia and their families.

STAND is a Fife charity led by people with lived experience of dementia. We believe that life doesn’t stop with a diagnosis — people can continue to grow, connect and enjoy new experiences. Nine trustees currently sit on STAND's Board of Trustees and, as a peer-led charity, three (including the Chairperson) live with dementia, three are/were carers and three have professional backgrounds.

We are currently seeking the following new Trustees to share with us their experience, talents, and passions:

• Trustee Secretary (further details attached)
• Trustee (ideally with experience in fundraising, but experience in campaigning, marketing, HR, creative pursuits or digital technology would also be beneficial).

Insight or personal experience of dementia or caring responsibilities would be an advantage. The STAND team is friendly and supportive, and you will be working with the charity's Development Lead and Administration Officer alongside trustees, volunteers, staff and members of the charity.

The Board of Trustees currently convenes every six weeks (usually from 2.00pm – 3.30pm), with the AGM in the autumn. Office Bearers and senior staff meetings usually take place quarterly. Most meetings are held in Kirkcaldy and travel expenses are reimbursed up to 30 miles from Kirkcaldy. Rarely, an additional Extraordinary General Meeting of the Board may take place.

Between meetings, it will be necessary to work remotely.

Background

Ecas is seeking to recruit a new chair for its Finance and Personnel Committee (F&PC). This role is a unique opportunity to contribute your financial expertise to a charity that has been supporting adults with physical disabilities for over 100 years.

Ecas is an Edinburgh-based charity and works to improve the quality of life of physically disabled people across Edinburgh and Lothian: promoting equality, choice and participation through our activities, befriending service, and grants fund.

As the charity is largely self-financed from income from its own investment portfolio (worth circa £5m), it provides Ecas the freedom to deliver its services in a way that works best for our service users. Latest impact stats here.

Role

The purpose of the F&PC is to advise the Board on the investment of Ecas’ assets and oversee implementation of the Board’s strategic policies relating to finance, personnel and health & safety. The focus of the F&PC and Board is to continue the policy of maximising benefit to disabled people whilst keeping expenditure under control.

As Chair of the committee, you will play a key role in overseeing the charity’s finances, including the management accounts, annual audit, budget, and investments. You will be responsible for reviewing the draft F&PC meeting papers prepared by the Chief Executive. The Chair of the F&PC will also be a Director (trustee) appointed by the Board.

This is a voluntary role that requires attendance at three F&PC meetings and three Board meetings a year. Occasional ad hoc meetings may be required. In-person attendance preferred for F&PC meetings.

Person Specification

Ecas is looking for someone who:

• Has experience in finance, accounting, auditing procedures, and investments.

• Has good communication skills and an ability to think strategically.

• Is passionate about using their expertise to support people with physical disabilities across Edinburgh and Lothian.

• Is committed to Ecas’ mission statement.

We value diversity, promote equality and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.