Purpose  

The Young Women’s Movement is Scotland’s national organisation for young women and girls’ leadership and rights: working collectively, leading meaningful change and creating a more equal society. Young women are at the heart of everything we do. Our movement is informed, shaped and led by and for young women. For 100 years, we have been a collective force that has, and will continue to, change things for the better for all young women across Scotland.   

We work directly with young women and girls to equip them to lead change on issues that matter to them and create safe spaces where they can gain confidence, knowledge and skills. We support young women to amplify their voices in their communities and in decision-making spaces.    

2024 marked 100 years of The Young Women’s Movement, formally known as YWCA Scotland. To mark this momentous event, we embarked on a new project, funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, to explore young women’s heritage and stories within the history of our movement.   

Our Heritage Research Coordinator will continue to develop and lead our 100-year heritage project ‘Young Women Remember’ which has been ongoing for the past 12 months. This will include coordinating project activities, supporting young women volunteers to co-design the project, conduct oral history research and create the final digital archive.   

Key responsibilities  

Research

• Catalogue archival objects and documents belonging to YWCA Scotland.  
• Carry out robust qualitative and quantitative research, through desk-based reviews, oral history interviews and focus groups with an intersectional feminist lens.  
• Visit archives and libraries to research the history of YWCA Scotland.  
• Capture women’s voices and stories through record creation and participatory workshops.  
• Identify, engage with and maintain/nurture strong networks with women who have been part of YWCA Scotland.  
• Support the Research and Policy Lead on sharing research findings, information and best practice with networks and partners.  
• Travel to and communicate with local and national organisations as required for outreach and learning/development opportunities.  
• Produce engaging and accessible report writing and presentation.  
• Support a volunteer intern to carry out research on the history of YWCA Scotland in the 1960s/70s for their dissertation project.  
• Collaborate with web designers and young women volunteers to co-design a digital archive platform for our website.   

Co-design & volunteer coordination 

• Coordinate the co-design programme of research methods and outputs with young women volunteers.  
• Work alongside and support the training and coordination of young women volunteers in heritage and outreach tasks.  
• Support and work with young women peer researchers to conduct, record and transcribe oral history interviews.  
• Coordinate and attend events and other related outreach activities with young women.  
• Use participatory approaches to research and involve young women in the design of research projects.  

Project coordination 

• Develop and manage project timelines, ensuring key milestones and deliverables are met across projects.   

• Monitor and evaluate the Young Women Remember project, demonstrating impact in line with internal tracking tools and reporting to funders and stakeholders as required.  

• Maintain regular and clear communication with internal teams and external partners.  

• Contribute to risk management and safeguarding protocols throughout our work with young women and girls.   

• Ensure accessible, inclusive and rights-based practices underpin all project delivery.  

• Support the YWM team with any other duties.  

Everyone who works at The Young Women’s Movement:  

• Has equality at the heart of everything they do.  
• Takes a participatory approach to our work. We are for young women and by young women.  
• Builds communities of friendship and support networks, finding joy in our collective actions and connections.   
• Understands the impact of challenging inequality on those most affected by it. We lead with kindness and empathy, putting collective wellbeing at the core of our organisation.   
• Delivers our work with integrity and are proud of the work we do.  
• Is bold and brave. We do not shy away from challenging the status quo and taking radical steps to make gender equality a reality in Scotland. 

Let’s talk about you. You will already have or be working towards:  

Knowledge and Understanding 

• A good standard of education in a relevant field or demonstrable equivalent skills through continued professional development.  
• An awareness of basic preservation needs for material objects/documents of historical significance.  
• An ability to identify content gaps in archives collections.  
• A commitment to inclusivity, intersectional feminist perspectives, and accessibility.  
• Passionate about achieving gender equality and advancing young women’s stories through heritage and history.  
• Commitment to own continuing professional development.  

Experience

• Facilitating and delivering workshops, group discussions and/or delivering training.  
• Building and maintaining successful partnerships working across different sectors and interests.  
• Evidence of producing high quality, accessible and engaging research outputs.  
• Experience with community outreach and/or working with young people using a participatory youth work approach.  
• Training volunteers and coordinating peer-led research approaches.  
• Experience of project management in a research role.  
• Working within the women’s sector or with women, girls and non-binary communities.  
• Experience of youth work and/or participatory approaches working with young people.  

Skills and Competences

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; experience in advocacy or representing an organisation externally.  
• Confident using IT skills and experience of/willingness to learn Microsoft Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Canva.  
• Strong organisational skills and experience of managing time well with competing demands.  
• Ability to evaluate projects meaningfully and effectively for maximum impact.  
• Research analysis skills and ability to use (or learn) research software such as Nvivo or Microsoft Access.  

Other

• Flexible and adaptable approach, with willingness to travel across Scotland when necessary.  
• A clean/full driving license is desirable to help reach young women and girls across Scotland.   

Why you should want to work with us:  

• We operate a 4-day working week which means full time is 28 hours.  
• We are supportive of flexible working arrangements in addition to the 4-day week. 
• Our annual leave entitlement is 28.5 days a year, including 6 public holidays. 
• We offer an additional day of leave to celebrate your birthday. 
• The organisation closes between Christmas and New Year, with no impact on your annual leave entitlement. 
• We are committed to supporting staff development through training and coaching opportunities.  
• We offer a range of enhanced feminist policies, including fertility, maternity and menopause support.  
• We are a supportive, collaborative and feminist team and board. 

Don’t meet every single requirement?    

Studies show that women and Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic people are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet every qualification. So, if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with the job description, we’d love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within The Young Women’s Movement. 

Recruitment process  

The deadline for applications is 9am, Monday 30^th June. 

Please complete both The Young Women’s Movement Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form on our website.  

Interviews will take place online on 10^th July. Due to staff capacity and recruitment timescales the interview dates are fixed and it is unlikely we will be able to accommodate requests for alternative interview dates.   

If your application is successful in progressing to the interview stages, we will inform you no later than 5pm on Thursday 3^rd July.   

If you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements for the recruitment process or the role, please contact our Acting CEO Emma Hill – emma@youngwomenscot.org and we will be happy to discuss.