Advocacy & Participation Worker – Western Isles

Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our mission is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland and we currently have over 3000 Care Experienced members.   

At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced children and young people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual relationship-based independent advocacy and a broad range of imaginative participatory opportunity for Care Experienced young people across Scotland; we work alongside corporate parents and communities of all sorts to broaden understanding; we work with policy makers, leaders and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy and practice on the basis of all that can be learnt from the voices of those with experience of care – working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.

The purpose of the post is to help nurture an environment where the voices, views and experiences of Western Isles Care Experienced and/ or vulnerable children and young people are at the heart of decision-making.  

Advocacy and Participation Workers (APWs) provide independent advocacy support to children and young people who have a need for advocacy support.  This means listening to what the child/young person has to say and supporting them to amplify their voices to ensure that their views are heard regarding all decisions which are being made about their lives.  

As the APW on the Western Isles you will also provide supports to children and young people involved in the Bairns Hoose.  The Bairns Hoose model provides a ‘one-stop’ service for children who have experienced or witnessed harm. It integrates 4 core areas: child protection, health, justice and recovery and adheres to 11 standards. 

You will also facilitate participatory and engagement opportunities, both local and national, creating conditions for collective advocacy which brings young people together, allowing them to develop confidence, a sense of belonging and the opportunity to identify common issues. You will help ensure their voices are heard by Corporate Parents and communities, creating positive change.  You will work closely with partner agencies including the Western Isles Council and other public services, in order to ensure that the voices of care experienced and vulnerable children and young people have an impact, and help create new opportunities and develop existing ones.    

At the heart of the advocacy relationship is trust – built through transparent, honest, accountable and reliable interactions between the child/young person and the APW.      

You will be skilled at developing positive relationships with children and young people.  You will place young people at the heart of everything you do, helping them live a positive life and to reach their full potential in the future.  

We welcome and encourage applications from those with experience of care.

If this sounds like the role for you, we would love to hear from you. To arrange an informal conversation about this opportunity, please contact Leanne Murdoch, Advocacy and Participation Manager at lmurdoch@whocaresscotland.org