Science & Technology Engagement Lead

• Flexible. Must be comfortable with regular travel both for project work and Involve team activities. Must be able to travel across the UK. (Remote)
• Closing6th May 2024
• Advertised from 11th April 2024
• Full time, 35 hours per week, with flexible or part time considered.

This role will primarily sit within our Capacity Building and Standards (CB&S) function but will work closelywith our Innovation and Practice (I&P) and Advocacy and Communications (A&C) functions.

The CB&S function aims to build capacity both inside and outside of public institutions to embed the processes,skills, structures and cultures needed for effective public participation in decision-making. The I&Pfunction is responsible for the deliberative, dialogic and participatory projects and processes that we run. TheA&C function aims to build political and public understanding of and support for making participation anddeliberation an everyday, integral part of our democracy.

This role will have a thematic focus on public engagement in decision-making within the science, technology and datasectors. Candidates do not need an educational or work background in this sector, although it would be useful,but we would expect the successful candidate to take a keen interest in these topics.

Involve achieves its impacts by growing expertise in sector-specific areas where public engagement is important.Science and tech represent policy areas where citizen engagement on both principles and practice is vital andwhere public engagement can also open the door to broader deliberative democratic interventions and feedbackloops.

Technological advancement, including AI, presents risks and opportunities and will be an ongoing priority forgovernment with five critical technologies likely to be central to UK policy for at least the next Government .

Involve has a significant pedigree and is well networked in the area of public engagement in science. Over the last20 years we have been thought leaders in this space, in particular running the government’s science and techengagement programme, Sciencewise . We have developed a reputation forbest practice public dialogue, deliberation and capacity building.

Given the opportunity to grow this area, our reputation, and the important democratic need, we don’t want to standstill.

As Engagement Lead you will play a central role in leading Involve’s work, and building out our strategy, on publicengagement in the science, technology and data field. The job will involve leading on our Sciencewise programmeof public dialogue as well as supporting, growing and communicating our science and tech public engagement ingeneral. You will be a proven project leader and strategic thinker looking to make your next move and developyour leadership and profile in this interesting and important area of public engagement in decision-making.

The closing date for applications is 9 a.m. on Monday 6th May 2024.

Shortlisted candidates can expect to hear by Tuesday 14th May 2024 if they are being invited to interview.

Interviews will take place on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May 2024 via Zoom.

• Home based role with travel across Scotland (Remote)
• Closing30th April 2024

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced individual to join Humanist Society Scotland as our Head of Ceremonies.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to be involved in far-reaching wedding, funeral and naming services acrossthe entire country. Over one million people in Scotland attend a humanist ceremony every year and this roleholder has a unique opportunity to shape how these services are delivered across a wide range of communities thelength and breadth of Scotland.

As the Head of Ceremonies, you will play a pivotal role in overseeing all aspects of our ceremonies department,ensuring seamless operations, maintaining high standards, and fostering relationships with both internal andexternal stakeholders.

We are especially interested in hearing from someone who has experience in strategic development of marketing andpromoting services.

As a highly motivated self-directed individual you will manage a network of over 140 celebrants and line manage twosupport staff. We are seeking someone with considerable people management skills and a strong knowledge ofmarketing and promotion to direct and ensure delivery of growing the current demand and market share for ourservices.

In order to avoid conflict of interest and as this role has key management responsibilities in overseeing thedelivery of all of our ceremony services this role holder cannot also hold a position as a celebrant.Individuals who are interested in becoming a celebrant can register their interest here instead .

Responsibilities:

• Provide guidance and support to the ceremonies support team, including line management of twostaff.
• Maintaining strong relationships with key contractors such as our celebrant trainers, emergencyout of hours support and celebrant area officers.
• Ensure good oversight and planning of related budgets including delegating responsibilities to members of teamwhere appropriate
• Developing and implementing business plans for sustainable growth, based on sound research and analysis of thecompetitive markets and future opportunities and then creating and implementing strategies to grow thebusiness.
• Utilise various marketing channels and techniques to reach target audienceseffectively.

New Celebrant Recruitment:

• Oversee recruitment and training provision for new celebrants working closely with our trainers.
• Workingwith our celebrant network to develop meaningful mentoring relationships for new celebrants.
• Ensurefeedback from trainees helps further develop and improve our training.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Coordination:

• Coordinate ongoing CPD opportunities for celebrants, including organising gatherings and training sessions toenhance their skills and knowledge.

Reviews Oversight:

• Oversee and coordinate professional reviews of ceremonies.

Complaints Management:

• Address and resolve complaints from clients in a timely and professional manner.

Relationships with External Stakeholders:

• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders, including funeral directors, weddingvenues and other relevant partners.
• Collaborate with external partners to expand our celebrant networkand reach new audiences.
• Sharing best practices and learning from professional networks of otherhumanist leaders and groups.

Person Specification:

• Proven experience in a leadership role, preferably within service delivery. This could be in the public, privateor third sector.
• Previous professional success in creating a meaningful promotional and marketingstrategy to help increase market share.
• Ability to proactively anticipate emerging trends and threatsand apply business intelligence to react in response.
• Strong organisational and project managementskills, with the ability to multitask and prioritise effectively.
• Sound people management skillsincluding the ability to handle delicate issues such as bereavement, complaints and conflictresolution.
• Strong customer service experience both internal stakeholder facing and external publicfacing.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport with diversestakeholders.
• Demonstrated proficiency in budget management.
• Independent work ethic with abilityto self motivate and direct including ability to work on own initiative and prioritise workload.
• Abilityto maintain confidentiality, and an understanding of GDPR principles.
• Has strong experience of ensuringthat decisions are data-driven and evidence led.
• Is a committed team player and is used to collaborativeworking throughout the organisation.
• Good knowledge of humanist principles andpractices.
• Professional experience of the wedding or funeral industries would be desirable but notessential.

Join our team and contribute to creating meaningful and memorable ceremonies that celebrate life and humanist values.If you're passionate about making a difference and thrive in a dynamic environment, we want to hear fromyou

• Flexible. Must be comfortable with committing to regular travel both for project work and Involve team activities. Must be able to travel across the UK. (Remote)
• Closing29th April 2024

We're looking for a Senior Project Officer, to work in our Innovation and Practice team and support exemplary,agile project management across Involve.

This is an exciting time to join the Involve team. Alongside increasing public and political interest in ourapproaches, we are increasing the size and impact of our project work. We have a couple of new multifacetedprojects which need really effective and agile project management. As a Senior Project Officer you willcontribute to all aspects of our delivery, with a particular focus on project and programme management of largerprojects. Your main focus will be on:

• Project management and delivery - core project management and logistics, running onboarding for participants,event management, analysis and reporting, and facilitation
• Building our project management approachfurther - supporting Involve to build our project management capacity and resources that are appropriate for ourcreative, inclusive processes and culture
• Project and programme design - working with project teams todesign entire projects and processes which use deliberative, qualitative and participatorymethods
• Project impact - recording and monitoring how our projects work, the kinds of impacts they have,and the ways they contribute to Involve’s mission.

This Senior Project Officer role sits in our Innovation and Practice Function. Our team’s daily work includes settingup, managing, designing, delivering and reporting on a wide range of participatory and deliberative processes,ranging from small scale, hyper-local community engagements to large, national, multi-event Citizens’ Assembliesand longer term projects. Our processes can be face to face, hybrid, or online, and often involve bringingtogether different groups from within the public with interested parties and experts from across government,business , academia and civil society.

In addition, you would work closely with our Capacity Building and Standards team to support their work helpingothers to deliver these approaches and contribute to our communications and advocacy work. You will also supportfundraising for grants and projects, responding to tenders and writing proposals and building relationships withour funders, collaborators and clients.

We are looking for an excellent project manager, able to manage fairly large projects and task manage others at alllevels to ensure smooth delivery. You will be great at managing relationships at all levels and working withothers to get things done. Given the nature of our work we are also looking for public participation skills, orrelevant or transferable expertise and an understanding of deliberative practice. That will enable you to designand deliver project management, and support facilitation that fits our work and enables you to contribute toadvising our clients on designing and delivering effective engagement. It is critical that you are open to newideas, a good team player, committed to shifting power and addressing inequities in our society and that you arepassionate about furthering our vision. Experience of building project management capacity, fundraising andstaff management is desirable.

• Flexible. Must be comfortable with committing to regular travel both for project work and Involve team activities. Must be able to travel across the UK. (Remote)
• Closing29th April 2024

Involve is at the vanguard of changing our democracy. Combining innovative, high-quality practice with making a clearcase for a democracy fit for the 21st century, we are showing exactly what our democratic future holds.

As Project Administrator you will play a key role in our team, working together to build a vibrant democracy, wherepeople are at the heart of decision-making. Your focus will be to support the delivery of Involve’s projects andprogrammes to a high standard, helping to manage relationships, budgets, logistics, events and systemseffectively.

To succeed in the role, you will be an outstanding and detail oriented administrator who has excellentorganisational, written and verbal communication skills. You will show lots of initiative, be a strong teamplayer whilst also being able to work autonomously, as well as have a passion for our mission.

The first major project that will play a significant part of your role will be the Democracy Network - a major project for Involve whose aim is toconnect people working on issues of power and democracy to increase our understanding and effectiveness, takeaction together, and lead on issues to build a stronger democracy.

Engender is Scotland’s leading feminist policy and advocacy organisation. We work to dismantle gender inequality andto secure equal access to power, safety, resources and rights for women.

The Role

This role will be responsible for ensuring the smooth running of Engender’s operations and administrativesystems.

The role involves working closely with colleagues across the Engender team and the Board, leading on officeadministration tasks including organising meetings, diary management, facilities co-ordination and otheradministration tasks as required.

The Candidate

The ideal candidate will be an experienced Administrator, who can provide a comprehensive and efficientadministrative and support function to the organisation. We are looking for someone with experience of providingadministrative support, a good knowledge of general office procedures and excellent IT and literacy skills. Theywill also need good interpersonal skills as team working is essential in this role.

Required Skills and Experience

• Proficiency in ITC including Excel, Outlook, SharePoint and the rest of the Microsoft Office suite
• Ableto work flexibly as part of a small team
• Excellent planning and administrative skills, includingattention to detail
• Effective prioritisation of competing tasks using owninitiative
• Administration experience including diary management and meeting preparation

This is a full-time position of 35 hours per week (Engender is currently trialling a 4-day working week. During thetrial working hours will be reduced to 30 per week with no impact on salary. The outcome of the trial willdetermine whether Engender adopts this approach in the longer term.)

Competitive salary of £24,808.53

38 days annual leave, including bank holidays

Auto-enrolment into Engender’s pension scheme with 8% employer contribution

Flexible working opportunities and access to services and resources to support you with your wellbeing