• Responsible for strategic oversight of supported living service supporting 80 people via 270 staff (grade 5 Very Good Care Inspectorate graded service).• Line management of two senior managers responsible for 14 first level managers and 270 front line staff.• Member of Thistle Foundation’s Strategic Leadership team.• Responsible for all operational Health and Safety.• Development of organisational and departmental strategic plans.• Liaison and negotiation with senior local authority figures.• Facilitation of Queen Margaret University accredited Leading Others course.• Facilitation of training and organisational development events.• Preparation of Board of Trustee reports covering Quality and HR issues.

Responsibility for Quality Assurance and Improvement across Thistle Foundation’s service delivery. Leading on the following areas:• The implementation of the Carista information management system to allow its use across areas of outcomes recording, all core service delivery recording and Learning and Development recording.• Thistle Foundation’s ongoing work piloting innovative methods of using option 2 of the Self Directed Support Act using Individual Service Funds.• Responsibility for all Health and Safety matters across service delivery - IOSH qualified.• Oversight and co-facilitation of our Service Leader Development Pathway training programme.• Delivery and reporting of internal quality audits.• Delivery and roll out of an overhauled Personal Finance policy.• Review and redevelopment of a Quality Improvement strategy,

I have responsibility for:The management of a number of services providing individual support via dedicated teams to people with disabilities living in their own home.Supporting teams to transition to a Self Directed Team structure following a restructuring which removed the previous Team Leader role for which I had previously had line management responsibility.The development and review of the design of each individual service using person centred planning tools and processes.Line management of the Team Coordinator and approximately 20 Personal Assistants.Ensuring a strong outcomes focus by the identification and evaluation of clear outcomes for each supported person.Provision of in house training, particularly in Relationships and Sexuality.

Responsibility for:The management of a number of services providing individual support via dedicated teams to people with disabilities living in their own home.The development and review of the design of each individual service using person centred planning tools and processes.Line Management of 5 team leaders

I was the seconded research assistant on this project which sought to gather research evidence of the views of disabled people on how they wished professionals to act where there were concerns that a person may be at risk of harm, particularly in the context of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007.The project used forum theatre to allow a very diverse group of people to engage with the research and created a suite of resources to provide guidance to professionals in social work, health and support providers. A group of participant researchers drawn from people supported by the host organisations of Altrum were a core part of the project from initial ideas, funding applications, design and running of the research and dissemination.My key roles were:Supporting the participant researcher team to take part and develop skills for working on the project.Recruitment and coordination of participants for the research sessions.Contributing to design of the research.Conducting the evaluation of the research and dissemination.Writing of monitoring reports for the Big Lottery Fund and negotiating budget changes.Coordination of the National launch of the research in Glasgow.Dissemination of the research findings through conference presentations and training days to social workers and allied professionals.Management of the £210,000 Big Lottery Fund budget. The project came in on budget with a small surplus.The report and resources generated by the project can be viewed at www.thistle.org.uk/riskresearchproject/adultprotectionresourceSS

Managing a team of support workers to provide services to approximately 5 people with disabilities from their own homes.

Providing direct support in a residential home and then using person centred planning tools to support people to move to their own homes following decision to close the home.

Volunteer post supporting a young man with a spinal injury.