Rural Child Poverty Project Officer

Post Title: Rural Child Poverty Project Officer

Salary: £31,016 - £33,088 per year

Hours: 36 hours per week

Location: Hybrid/Livingston

Duration of contract: Until 31st March 2026, with possibility of extension subject to funding

The Improvement Service are looking for a Project Officer to provide support to local partners in their work to tackle child poverty. This is an opportunity to support local action and drive action and improvement.

The IS has been working with the rural and island authorities and health boards in relation to poverty in their areas. This has included developing and supporting a network of rural child poverty leads, encouraging the sharing of good practice and identification of solutions to shared challenges. Recent work has focused on supporting work to:

• Understand and address barriers to accessing childcare in rural and island locations.
• Ensure the voice of lived experience is heard in a meaningful way.
• Use data more effectively to understand and map unmet need.

The post holder will be part of the Transformation, Performance and Improvement team and will provide project support on all elements of the work of the IS with local child poverty lead officers in local government and health in rural and island areas. The post-holder will also work in liaison with other IS staff and with stakeholders and partners across Scottish local and central government, other public sector bodies and relevant organisations.

The post holder will report to the Programme Manager for Child Poverty and SAVVI.

• Support the development and maintenance of strong, collaborative relationships with local partners.
• Provide a secretariat function for the Remote, Rural and Island Child Poverty Network.
• Support knowledge exchange including through preparation of a range of information, reports, briefing papers and presentations.
• Support the development of local understanding of the use of data and intelligence – including data sharing – to understand and address child poverty.
• Advise management on matters requiring attention and project management decisions, respond to enquiries and help resolve problems arising.
• Coordinate and provide administrative support, including the set up of meetings and events.
• Contribute to the effective maintenance of project management and communication activities.
• Contribute to the work with Councils and Health Boards, other public sector organisations and stakeholders to strengthen partnership and collaborative working arrangements.
• Capture and share knowledge, assisting in activities which deliver an effective approach to knowledge sharing and dissemination across the organisation, to partners and the wider public sector.

For more information please read the job description and person specification.

Location: West Lothian Council Civic Centre, Howden South Road, Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 6FF. It is anticipated that the role will involve a blended model of office and home working. This flexible approach will be agreed between employee and line manager.

Duration: Until 31st March 2026, with possibility of extension subject to funding. This post can be offered as a secondment.

Hours of contract: 36 hours

If you would like to apply for this position, please visit My Job Scotland.

Sunday 26 October 2025

A competency-based interview will take place via MS Teams, week commencing 10 November. Shortlisted candidates will be advised by email a week in advance of the interview.

For more information about competency-based interviews, see our guide to competency-based interviews. You may also find it useful to read our current Business Plan

The Improvement Service (IS) is a publicly funded company limited by guarantee, with a total annual budget in the region of £12 million. We exist to support councils and their partners to improve the health, quality of life and opportunities of all Scottish people through community leadership, strong local governance and the delivery of high-quality, efficient local services.

Working for the IS means joining a team of professionals, who work together to strive for continuous improvement in the public sector and ultimately, better outcomes for Scotland's communities.

Our company headquarters are based in West Lothian, located conveniently for commuters between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Pay is only one of the benefits of working for the IS, our terms and conditions are progressive and flexible and employees are rewarded with a generous annual leave entitlement of 41 days per year as well as a flexible working policy.

The IS is committed to promoting equality and diversity in all its activities to promote inclusive processes, practices and culture.

The IS is a Disability Confidence Committed Employer. We are committed to interviewing anyone with a disability who meets the essential criteria.