• With love, we put children first.
• With purpose, we transform lives together.
• With strength, we do whatever it takes to protect Scotland's children.

How to Apply

If you share our values and are passionate about working alongside children, young people, and families to create meaningful and lasting change, we would love to hear from you.

Closing Date: 16th October 2026
Interview Date: 26th October 2026
Contact: For more information, contact iona.mitchell@childrenfirst.org.uk.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Role Summary

To deliver high-quality, relationship-based support to children, young people, and families through whole-family support, group work, and community-based interventions. The project worker will have the ability to work across various projects within the Fit Like Family Wellbeing team. They will work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency context, strengthening families’ capacity to keep children safe and recover from trauma.

The role contributes to Children First’s strategic aims, including early intervention, prevention, community resilience, and upholding children’s rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the GIRFEC framework.

Key Results Areas

1. Building Trusting Relationships

   • Build and sustain strong, compassionate, and respectful relationships with children, young people, and families. Work in a trauma-informed, strengths-based way that recognises lived experience, builds confidence, and supports recovery.

2. Direct Support to Children and Families

   • Provide direct emotional, practical, and therapeutic support to children, young people, and families. Respond flexibly to need, offering consistent support that promotes safety, wellbeing, and stability.

3. Child Centred Assessment

   • Complete timely, high-quality assessments in line with Scotland’s National Practice Model. Ensure assessments reflect families’ stories, hopes, and strengths in their own words and clearly identify what matters most to children.

4. Planning and Progressing Support

   • Work alongside families to develop, review, and progress support plans through the Children First Connections framework. Regularly review progress, adapt support as circumstances change, and recognise achievements with children and families.

5. Participation and the Voice of the Child

   • Support children and young people to express their views in ways that feel safe and meaningful to them. Uphold their rights by ensuring Space, Voice, Audience, and Influence, demonstrating clearly how their views inform decisions and next steps.

6. Group Work Delivery

   • Co-design, deliver, and evaluate group work for children, young people, and families. Use group activities to build wellbeing, connection, and resilience, and to reduce isolation through shared experiences.

7. Community Connection and Early Help

   • Develop positive links with local communities, schools, and third sector organisations. Promote Children First services as early help and support families to access community-based resources that strengthen long-term safety, belonging, and wellbeing.

8. Partnership Working

   • Work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team, collaborating with colleagues across health, education, social work, justice, and third sector partners. Contribute to joint assessments, planning meetings, reviews, and safeguarding processes.

1. Information Sharing and Safeguarding

   • Share information responsibly and proportionately, in line with Children First information governance policies. Always prioritise children’s safety, rights, and dignity, and contribute to safeguarding when concerns arise.

2. Family Led Decision Making

   • Support approaches that enable families to lead decision making, including Family Group Decision Making. Promote solutions that strengthen family and community connections and help prevent unnecessary separation.

Corporate Responsibility

• Be committed and adhere to Children First vision, mission, and values.
• Comply with Children First Safeguarding policies and procedures.
• Comply with Children First Code of Conduct and any relevant professional standards relating to the role.
• Actively consider the involvement of children, young people, and families with whom we work, in all areas of practice, and to implement the Children First Participation Standards.
• Actively consider the involvement of volunteers in all areas of our work and implement the Children First Volunteer Development Policy.
• Observe all health and safety requirements.
• Work within and promote policies in relation to Diversity Equity and Inclusion and anti-discriminatory practices.
• Undertake any other reasonably required duties as instructed by line manager or someone acting on their behalf, in addition to the role-specific responsibilities detailed below.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for a skilled and compassionate Project Worker who can deliver high-quality individual, family, and group-based support to children, young people, and families. You will build strong, trusting relationships using a trauma-informed, strengths-based approach, ensuring children and families feel listened to, respected, and supported. You will be a responsive and flexible practitioner, able to offer support at times of need and when families are available, recognising that engagement often happens outside of standard routines.

You will be confident in completing timely, high-quality assessments rooted in Scotland’s National Practice Model, capturing families’ stories, hopes, and strengths in their own words. You will work alongside families to develop, review, and progress support plans through the Children First Connections framework.

A core part of the role involves co-designing, delivering, and evaluating group work and drop-in sessions for children, young people, and families, using group approaches to strengthen wellbeing, relationships, and resilience. You will actively develop and maintain strong community links, promoting Children First as a source of early help and supporting families to access community-based resources that improve long-term safety and stability.

Alongside being a member of the Aberdeen Family Wellbeing team, you will work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team, sharing information responsibly, upholding children’s rights, and supporting family-led decision making that helps prevent unnecessary separation from families and communities.

Need to Have

• Diploma in social work or other relevant professional qualifications (in Health, Education, Community Education) at SCQF level 9
• Full current driving license
• The ability to work flexible hours in line with project and service delivery requirements to ensure families have the right support at