To apply you also need to read:

• Other Information
• How to apply

And complete either:

• Application Form (MS Word)
• Application Form (100KB pdf)

Please ensure that you are able to access all of these documents and that you complete and return your completed application form by Friday 6 June 2008.

About the Parliament

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) ensures that the Parliament has the property, staff and services it needs. The SPCB is made up of the Presiding Officer and four MSPs who are appointed by the Parliament. It makes decisions on a wide range of issues to do with running the Parliament and employs the staff who work for the Parliament. Parliamentary staff are not civil servants. They are independent of the Government and provide an impartial service to MSPs of all political parties. There are many groups of staff performing a wide range of tasks, from clerks (who advise MSPs on detailed matters of parliamentary procedure) to security and IT staff. The Clerk/Chief Executive, as the Parliament’s most senior official, has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the Parliament operates smoothly and efficiently. You can find out more about the Parliament on our website, www.scottish.parliament.uk

We aim to be a progressive employer, offering staff an excellent range of benefits, including:

• guaranteed pay progression to the salary maximum for satisfactory performers
• a choice of pension schemes
• on-site occupational health services • interest-free travel season ticket loans
• strong development and training policies • an active equal opportunities policy
• a comprehensive work-life balance policy:
  • enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
  • 30 days annual leave plus 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
  • the opportunity to apply for part-time working; job share; career break; home working
  • flexible working arrangements
  • emergency leave/special leave
  • childcare voucher scheme
  • healthy living and well-being scheme

About the Posts

Education and Community Partnerships is a new team that has been set up to develop and deliver a range of educational services.  These will support MSPs and enable the people of Scotland to engage with the Parliament.  Services will be delivered at the Parliament building at Holyrood and in local venues across Scotland.  The new approach focuses on citizenship education to support the Curriculum for Excellence and will include:

• an inward education programme of visits, tours and workshops
• outreach education including the MSPs in Schools programme
• resources to support learning and teaching about the Parliament
• seminars for teachers
• events for young people

We will be developing an approach to also offer

• support for our committee’s outreach work
• educational conferences about the Parliament
• partnerships with key community organisations

Our services are provided in Gaelic and we are responsible for implementing the SPCB’s Gaelic Language Plan, with a five year development plan. We aim to work with a wide range of Scottish residents from varying backgrounds and levels of education.

We are now looking for 8 people to join our team, covering the following posts:

Inward Education Assistants – 5 posts, all based in the Parliament building in Edinburgh. One post will be Gaelic speaking.

Outreach Education Assistants – 3 posts, based in the following areas:
        • East Central Southern Scotland
        • West Central Southern Scotland
        • Highlands
One post will be Gaelic speaking.

You will be asked to specify which vacancy you are applying for when you complete the application form.

Duties

Inward Education Assistants

Your job will be to facilitate learning sessions for school groups visiting Holyrood. Visits will include an educational tour or a presentation about the Scottish Parliament, its work and MSPs, along with activities. For the tour, you will deliver key educational messages as you guide your group around the Holyrood building. Both types of inward visit may include the group meeting with their local MSPs. The roles also include leading workshops and seminars for young people, and assisting with our seminars for teachers and educational events programme. These jobs will be based in Edinburgh. One post will deliver sessions in Gaelic as required, as well as in English.

Working pattern is 25 hours a week, working 3 days out of 5, Monday to Friday. Some flexibility will be required to meet operational requirements. These are sessional posts, covering school term times. This means you will work the equivalent of 42 weeks, excluding the Parliament’s Christmas recess and summer recess (July and August). Occasional evening and weekend work may be required, for example to support events (overtime rules will apply).

Outward Education Assistants

These jobs will be home based. The three posts will be based in the Highlands region; in the east of Central Southern Scotland and in the west of Central Southern Scotland. The majority of your working time will be spent in schools or other local venues. One of the jobholders will be a Gaelic speaker so that they can deliver sessions in Gaelic as required, as well as English. They will work with schools across Scotland so could be based in any of the three regions.

Your job will be to facilitate learning sessions in school. Our sessions include a presentation and activities to engage young people. The presentation will be provided for you and focuses on explaining the role of the Scottish Parliament, its MSPs and its work. The activities explore key themes such as voting and citizenship in more detail. You will be provided with the materials for the activities – these are designed to make the session lively and engaging for young people.

The role will include extensive travel in order to deliver sessions in schools across your area (or outwith your area for the Gaelic speaking role). Sometimes you may engage with more than one class or school in a day. The role will require extensive travel on a daily basis, sometimes to areas where public transport is limited or not available. Full support for costs of travel will be provided.

You will be working on your own, with remote support from your line manager who is based in Edinburgh. IT equipment to support home working can be provided.

Working pattern is 25 hours a week, working 3 days out of 5, Monday to Friday (the core days are Tuesday to Thursday). Additional hours are flexible to support demand and for travel, and flexibility will be necessary overall to meet operational requirements. These are sessional posts, covering school term times. This means you will work the equivalent of 42 weeks, excluding the Parliament’s Christmas recess and summer recess (July and August). Occasional evening and weekend work may be required, including for travel (overtime rates will apply).

All roles may be required to support other educational initiatives as we develop our new approach to education and community partnerships.

Qualifications and Experience

Ideally you will have a teaching, education, training or similar relevant qualification along with one year’s practical experience. Alternatively you should be able to demonstrate at least two years’ experience in giving presentations to a wide range of ages as part of education programmes or events. Applicants for the Gaelic posts must have a good standard of spoken Gaelic. Please note that the requirement published in previous versions of the job advert for a full driving licence is no longer necessary.

Skills and Knowledge

You must also be able to demonstrate:

• Practical experience of teaching or delivering training/educational sessions for young people

• Excellent oral communication skills and an engaging presentational style (and a good level of spoken Gaelic for the Gaelic posts)

• Well developed interpersonal skills with the ability to work with a range of audiences

• Ability to work independently and flexibly on your own initiative

• ICT skills especially Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint

• Knowledge of/interest in the Scottish Parliament, and the ability to quickly build and maintain a good level of knowledge.

Use section 5 of the application form to provide evidence of these qualities.

Salary

If you are successful, you will normally be offered the starting salary at the minimum of the range shown. However, a higher salary may be awarded if you have skills and knowledge that are particularly relevant to the post and beyond the published minimum.  The full time salary scale for the post(s) you have applied for is:

The pro-rated salary range is £9,870 to £11,750. You will be paid monthly in arrears by Bank Credit Transfer directly into your bank or building society account on the last banking day of the month. Your salary will be broken into 12 monthly payments.

Progression from your starting salary is dependent on you performing the duties of your job to an acceptable standard in accordance with the Scottish Parliament Performance Management System. During your first 9 months in post (the probationary period), your line manager will meet with you on a monthly basis to carry out performance, conduct and attendance assessments, followed by completion of a final appraisal report to be carried out 9 months after you take up your appointment. Thereafter, if your appointment is confirmed, you will follow the standard appraisal cycle (1 April – 31 March). You will progress at the rate of 2 scale points/1 year per annum provided you are performing your duties to the required standard. Your progression date will be the anniversary of taking up the appointment in the grade. This means that, subject to satisfactory job performance, you are guaranteed to reach the maximum of your scale within 3 years.

Other Information

All posts are permanent and pensionable. Applications may be made in Gaelic or English, and versions of the application form are available in both languages. (Gaelic version)

You will be interviewed by a panel of three and your interview will last about 50 minutes. We will ask you to prepare a short presentation, details of which will be provided if you are invited to interview. Interviews will take place in Edinburgh in the week beginning 23 June. The expected start dates are August 2008.