Jobs for the Human Rights sector

National Policy Lead – Children and Young People

Hours available: 21-35 hours, to be worked flexibly.

Salary Range: £34,877 – £40,023 per year (pro-rata)

Location

Blend of home working and office, based in Rose Street, Edinburgh or can be entirely home based anywhere in the UK. Please talk to us about your flexible working requirements!

The role 

Scottish Women’s Aid has an opportunity to join their Policy team. This is an exciting position where the role holder will be responsible for working on policy relating to children and young people and domestic abuse, violence against women and girls, and gender related topics. They will work closely with the Membership, Training and Communications teams.

Background

Scottish Women’s Aid is Scotland’s leading voluntary sector organisation working to end domestic abuse and promoting effective policy and practice responses for women, children and young people who experience domestic abuse. We are the umbrella organisation for 32 autonomous Women’s Aid groups delivering direct services to women, children and young people across Scotland.

What you’ll do

Working across third sector organisations you will build and maintain relationships to input to policy and influencing, as SWA as well as jointly with others. You will maintain good working relationships with civil servants, challenging ideas and find solutions where necessary.

The role includes inputting to and submitting consultation responses, researching and writing briefings, preparing for SWA to providence evidence in parliament, keep our communications team up to date with policy inputs and changes, and input to good practice stemming from policy changes. All of these roles, requiring great working relationships across the organisation, but especially with Membership, Training and Communications.

What We Need

• We’re looking for someone with experience in a similar role, with specific knowledge of the Scottish policy landscape and the potential that offers. We’re looking for someone who can work across domestic abuse as it relates to children and young people – examples include the Children’s Hearing system, child contact, the welfare system. We ask that you’re a self-starter, ready to apply these skills creatively to meet our strategic priorities. Excellent written and verbal communications skills go without saying: you’ll be skilled in the ability to engage confidently with a range of different audiences, and be adept at writing to suit them, working alongside colleagues across SWA and our members across the country.

We’re looking for someone who has:

• Knowledge of the Scottish policy landscape
• Awareness and understanding of the feminist analysis of domestic abuse and the impact on women, children and young people
• Demonstrable track record of developing and writing successfully in a policy context
• Highly organised approach to effective planning, delivery and the development of applicable tasks
• Drive to make a difference in a fast moving time of policy

What we offer

There are many reasons to work for Scottish Women’s Aid. We have a great working culture and our mission and vision attracts a brilliant staff team. Your hard work is rewarded with a package of support and benefits including:

Flexible working

We offer flexible hybrid working options for the majority of our employees. Some posts are eligible for full-time homeworking.We also offer flexibility for staff and work/life balance through a number of flexible working options such as flexi time, condensed hours, job sharing.

Pay

SWA are a Living wage employer, our pay and grading system offers a competitive starting salary and yearly progression.

Annual Leave

We offer a full-time annual leave entitlement of 30 days (210 hours) per year plus 10 Public Holiday days (70 hours) per year. Leave is accrued at the rate of 3.33 days (23.3 hours) per month.

Pension

SWA believes it’s important that we help you save for your retirement so access to Nest pension scheme is given to all eligible employees. SWA contributes 10% of gross contractual earnings on the provision that the employee contributes a minimum of 3% towards their pension contributions.

Learning and Development

SWA supports and develops staff to ensure they have the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities. There is an internal schedule of training on key skills and knowledge relevant to all staff. There is also scope to attend ad hoc training for employees who are working to develop specific skills.

Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay

SWA offers staff who meet the criteria for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) an enhanced maternity pay of 20 weeks on full pay and 20 weeks on half pay.

Wellbeing

As part of SWA’s commitment to staff wellbeing, staff are offered access to a confidential 24/7 health and Wellbeing service with AIG which provides confidential advice, counselling and legal support to all staff, and where applicable, immediate family members.

Bike 2 Work

An interest-free loan to purchase a bike, can be arranged up to the value of £1,000.

Edinburgh Leisure Gym Subsidies

Edinburgh based staff are able to access Edinburgh Leisure facilities for the reduced price of £1 per session.

POSITIVE ACTION

Applications will be accepted from women only under Schedule 9, part 1 of the Equality Act 2010.

Scottish Women’s Aid is an equal opportunities employer, all women, including women with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, may apply for women-only roles.

SWA are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the people we serve.

We are taking positive action to address an under-representation of minoritised and marginalised women within our workforce. We offer Disabled and racially minoritised women the option of requesting that their application is considered under the terms of our Guaranteed Interview Schemes. You will be asked if you wish to be considered when you complete our application form.

If you would like to discuss the job or any adjustments, whether due to disability or any other reason, please contact us.

More Information

Please visit our website for more information including a job description and application guidance.

If you would prefer not to exclusively write your application,you can send us an existing CV and a video or a voice note which answers question 11 on the application form in no more than 5 minutes.

Please see the attached documents for more information about the role and the next steps in the recruitment process.

Scottish Women’s Aid is a company limited by guarantee, company no. SC128433, and a charity registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, charity no. SC001099.

Role Purpose:

The Clinical Director will provide strategic clinical leadership to the Restraint Reduction Network, ensuring that all initiatives, standards, and practices align with evidence-based approaches, human rights principles, and the goal of reducing restrictive practices across education health and social care settings. This role will champion best practice, influence policy, and support the implementation of RRN Training Standards nationally and internationally.

This role will also include delivering training, audits, working on projects that reflect areas of expertise and supporting organisations to restrictive practices through six core strategies.

Role Summary

· To be the clinical lead for RRN including leading our work supporting providers to improve via the six core strategies.

· To provide clinical leadership for the RRN  Partners Programme through acting as lead RRN consultant and delivering programmes.

· Working with the Director of Organisational and Workforce development to ensure programmes are effective and contemporary and evolves as practice evolves and improves with feedback

· Providing collaborative leadership of RRN in leading a restraint reduction movement across the British Isles and leading our RRN members community.

· Work with members of RRN Senior leadership team and board of trustees to ensure RRN is both sustainable and impactful in line with charities purpose

· Support RRN manager and associates to develop a range of resources ensuring that all RRN resources are:

o evidence based (linking with academics and universities)

o co-produced (with people with lived experience of restraint)

o protects human rights (linking with human rights organisations)

· Support and contribute to the continuous improvement of the RRN training standards and RRN Practice Leadership Diploma

· Act as an ambassador and spokesperson for the RRN, ensuring positive relationships with key stakeholders including charities, civil servants, professionals, academics and people with lived experience

· Ensure RRN develops its reputation as leaders in restraint reduction nationally and internationally and ensure internal culture reflects trauma informed practice we promote

· Work collaboratively with CEO to ensure clear strategy and internal culture reflects trauma informed practice we promote

· Ensure all resources and work undertaken by RRN reflect best practice in co-production with people with lived experience of restraint

· Supporting RRN associates with lived experience with clear expectations of their role and putting in person centred processes to minimise the impact of trauma through the direct work they do  for RRN and the interaction with the organisation.

· Contribute to the development of a Community of Practice

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Lead the clinical vision for restraint reduction across education, health and social care, ensuring alignment with RRN’s mission and values.
• Provide clinical leadership in ensuring all RRN activities are trauma informed and people with lived experience are provided with support then need to minimise risk of retraumatising.

Policy & Standards

• Ensure RRN Training Standards and resources are co-produced, remain current, evidence-based, and compliant with legal and regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to national and international policy development on restraint reduction and restrictive practices.

Quality & Improvement

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, including audits, research, and evaluation of restraint reduction strategies.
• Monitor and report on clinical outcomes and impact measures related to restraint reduction.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build strong relationships with NHS Trusts, social care providers, special schools, regulators, and self-advocacy groups.
• Promote co-production with people with lived experience of restraint and their families.

Education & Workforce Development

• Support the development and delivery of RRN Diploma
• Provide clinical leadership for webinars, conferences, and professional development initiatives.

Research & Evidence

• Collaborate with academic partners to advance research on restraint reduction and disseminate findings.
• Ensure all RRN resources are evidenced based reflecting best practice from both research and people with lived experience.

About the role 

This is a strategic leadership role dedicated to amplifying survivor voices and driving systemic change across the Alliance Partnership and the wider VAWG sector.

The Survivor Movement & Participation Lead (SMPL) will champion survivor leadership by embedding accountability, fostering peer-led services, and building a strong, intersectional movement to end violence against women and girls. The role leads the Experts with Lived Experience (ELE) network, develops survivor-led spaces and leadership pathways, and embeds survivor influence within governance and decision-making. The SMPL will represent survivors and the Alliance in national forums, coalitions and sector discussions, ensuring survivor participation shapes strategies, policy and practice.

Job description 

As the SMPL, you will:

• Lead and coordinate the Experts with Lived Experience (ELE) network, ensuring survivors are supported, resourced and fairly compensated, and design and facilitate survivor-led and peer support spaces grounded in trauma-informed, anti-racist and culturally rooted practice.

• Build survivor leadership through training, mentoring and development opportunities, and embed safeguarding, boundaries, confidentiality and collective care across all survivor involvement.

• Strengthen survivor leadership within VAWG and wider justice movements through campaigns, activism and public engagement, and support cross-movement alliances with LGBTQ+, disability and other justice communities.

• Facilitate survivor participation in governance structures, promote ethical and power-sharing frameworks, represent survivor-led practice in strategic forums and partnerships, and contribute to tools, learning and resources that assess and promote survivor influence.

Closing date and Interviews

This vacancy closes at 9am on Friday 23 January 2026, with first stage interviews anticipated to take place in the week commencing Monday 2 February 2026.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to design and present a 6–8 week programme for the Fearless Collective. Full details and guidance for this task will be provided after shortlisting.

About us

Women and Girls Network (WGN) is a pan-London organisation that supports women and girls affected by all forms of gendered-based violence. Our overall aim is to promote, preserve and restore the mental health and well-being of women and girls who have experienced, or are at risk of, gendered-based violence, whilst working towards a society free of gendered-based violence.

We do this by:

• Providing women-only holistic and seamless therapeutic services, which meet women and girls’ needs and contribute to total and sustainable recovery from the experiences of violence.
• Evidencing the impact of gendered-based violence and presenting this information in appropriate forums to affect social change in attitudes towards, and responses to, gendered-based violence.
• Developing good practice in the sector by providing training and guidance on specialist service provision and the development of culturally appropriate service delivery.

We are deeply committed to creating a workforce that reflects the diversity and strength of the women and girls we serve, and we strongly encourage candidates from Black and Global Majority backgrounds with Lived Experience who may not meet all criteria to apply.

WGN is an equal opportunities employer. 

The above post is exempt under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1.