So, what’s it like being a Project Worker at Outside the Box?
As Project Worker for the North Team at Outside the Box, I am part of two smaller project teams. The Support Choices team is made up of 3 Community Workers all based in Dunkeld and in the community. With my support, the team help people understand the ins and outs of the Self Directed Support (SDS) process in Highland Perthshire and raise awareness by holding events and getting out into the community to speak to people needing care and to professionals and organisations who provide care or hope to provide care.
The other main part of my role is to provide practical support to the Rural Wisdom team project in Perthshire, Moray and Angus. This involves supporting 2 staff members remotely with social media, blogs, events and record keeping as well as supporting wider Rural Wisdom team meetings with Borders and Eaglesham colleagues. Although most contact by phone and email, I am lucky enough to enjoy occasional visits to Brechin and Braemar to support events or just to catch up with colleagues – both types of visits always involve cake!
Being a Project Worker with Outside the Box is not a conventional admin role. I am given the space and authority to use my initiative, to be creative and to get involved with projects in the wider organisation that I have an interest in.
Although my base is the Community Co-working Space in Dunkeld, I am very much made to feel part of the wider Outside the Box team who work from Glasgow and various other locations. On top of being well connected electronically, I am able to connect with the wider team by travelling to monthly meetings in Glasgow. It’s nice to meet face to face which also gives me time away from my base – it’s always nice to get out!
Outside the Box is a small and very flexible organisation with a forward-thinking approach to work. The organisation has a flat structure and we work as a team with everyone pitching in – we are definitely not defined by our roles! As colleagues we are supportive of one another and this is the ethos on which the organisation works, and works well. Having such a scenic base with such good lunch and cake options is really just an enormous bonus!
As my maternity leave approaches, we are looking for someone to cover this exciting post for a period of 9-12 months. You can see the advert and how to apply here: https://otbds.org/were-recruiting-in-dunkeld/