Shared Care Scotland is a small team with big ambition: we aim to be the lead organisation in Scotland on all aspects of short breaks policy and practice. We are looking for an enthusiastic and skilled Operations Assistant to fulfil an important organisation-wide role in providing efficient, accurate and responsive administrative support that helps colleagues, Board members, partners and enquirers work effectively.

If you have skills and experience in delivering administrative and operational support to a busy and diverse team, are self-motivated and keen to develop your knowledge of the health and social care sector then we’d love to hear from you.

For the right candidate, this is an exciting opportunity to work with a dedicated team to deliver on a range of activities that can improve the lives of unpaid carers in Scotland.

In return we offer a supportive, collaborative team environment with excellent terms and conditions.

About Shared Care Scotland

Shared Care Scotland (SCS) is a dynamic and ambitious charity dedicated to improving the quality and provision of short breaks in Scotland for adult and young carers and the people they help care for. It is estimated there are 700,000 to 800,000 unpaid carers in Scotland.

We have a vision of a Scotland where everyone who receives support or provides unpaid care can live a satisfying life, with the assistance they need to take regular, quality breaks from demanding caring routines.

As one of Scotland’s leading National Carer Organisations we contribute to the development of policy and best practice for carers. We host a national online directory of short break services, manage a £10m Short Breaks Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government which provides grant funding to third sector organisations to help carers access breaks from caring, and deliver an innovative social tourism programme called Respitality.

For more information visit our website: sharedcarescotland.org.uk

Geeza Break is a long established, unique social care organisation providing family support, peer support, group work and respite services for children, young people and their families in the local community. We predominantly deliver services in and across the Northeast of Glasgow, but our respite service offering has a wider Glasgow based reach.

We provide a high quality, person centre, trauma informed, planned respite sitter service for children and young people ages 0-16 years, often with disabilities and or additional support or learning needs. We provide this practical and regulated service alongside wraparound support for the whole family. The charity has been operational since 1992, and we remain committed to retaining a holistic, non-judgemental and inclusive approach and ethos to our services.

We provide learning and development opportunities, peer support for reflective practice sharing as well as regular support and supervision sessions, within a nurturing and welcoming team.

The charity offers competitive annual leave and public holiday allocation, alongside an additional Winter Wellbeing Day as a non-contractual benefit to staff members in recognition of the requirements of delivering high-quality social care in the community.

Organisational Structure

To be accountable overall to the Chief Executive Officer and line managed by The Senior Family Support Worker.

Attendance at thrice yearly peer support sessions with respite colleagues to promote and support reflective practice.

Carers of East Lothian is a values driven local charity making a real impact in the community supporting adults who care for family and friends. We have an excellent reputation, gaining recognition through the Carers Trust ‘Excellence for Carers’ Award and have secured the contract to deliver adult carer services across East Lothian for an initial two-year period and a total period of up to six years, to 2031. We are a Carer Positive Exemplary employer, Disability Confident Committed and a Living Wage employer. We are currently recruiting for the following opportunity:

Key Responsibilities:

• Re-establish, champion and promote Respitality as a valued part of Carers of East Lothian’s short breaks offer.

• Build relationships with local hospitality, tourism and leisure businesses, approaching at least one new business each month to secure donated breaks.

• Work with carers to understand their circumstances, preferences and support needs; match them with suitable local or national breaks and assist with bookings, donor communication and referrals where required.

• Develop partnership working with East Lothian Young Carer Service and colleagues to extend appropriate opportunities to young carers and families and, where helpful, combine breaks with other grants.

• Maintain accurate records of enquiries, donations, matches, outcomes, feedback and impact, and provide regular statistics and progress updates for funders and stakeholders.

• Ensure delivery complies with GDPR, confidentiality, safeguarding procedures and organisational policies.

• Contribute to the Respitality Delivery Network, maintain contact with Shared Care Scotland, and support related carer-friendly initiatives including Carer ID Card, Carer Positive and Think Carer training.

• Undertake other reasonable operational duties consistent with the purpose and level of the post.

Flexible working arrangements and 6% matched pension.

If this sounds like the kind of meaningful, varied and enjoyable role you are looking for, please apply and tell us how your skills, experience and enthusiasm would help us develop Respitality for carers in East Lothian.

CoEL is seeking a confident, friendly all-rounder who enjoys people and variety. You will be a resourceful and organised person ready to join a small administration team at Carers of East Lothian. You will help to support unpaid carers and professionals with accessing the information and support they need.

What you’ll be doing

• Answering our central telephone line, welcoming visitors and responding to enquiries.
• Listening, gathering key information, registering carers and processing referrals.
• Managing our shared inbox, maintaining accurate records in CharityLog and helping with appointments, events and day-to-day office administration.
• Working closely with our experienced Admin Officer to maintain the smooth running of our office.

What you’ll bring

• Excellent communication and listening skills, warmth, confidence and empathy.
• Strong organisational skills, attention to detail and adapt when priorities change.
• A proactive, curious approach, happy to ask questions, find answers and solve problems.
• Good Microsoft 365 skills, especially Outlook, Word and Excel, plus enthusiasm for learning new systems.
• Comfortably in your ability to work autonomously, whilst being a strong team player.

You do not need previous experience working with carers. We provide training on our services, referral pathways and systems. You’ll focus on the administration role first, with routine finance duties introduced gradually after probation, with support.