Advertised from 2 March 2026

Role

Are you passionate about play, and ready to lead the practicalities of delivery?

We are seeking a Team Leader to coordinate and deliver high-quality, self-directed play opportunities across Midlothian. This is a hands-on leadership role, combining practical delivery with day-to-day coordination and line management of a small team.

Please note this is the April 2025 to March 2026 salary scale and pay may be increased for 2026-27. Further information may be available by the time of interview

About Play Midlothian

Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to enable every child in Midlothian to thrive through play by creating opportunities, removing barriers and addressing inequalities. We have an office base at the One Dalkeith Business Hub in central Dalkeith, but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and if commissioned, beyond.

About the Role

On appointment, the postholder will lead Play for All, our service supporting disabled children and their families to access play at home and in their communities. Experience of working with disabled children is essential. You will work directly with children and families, coordinating and delivering one-to-one support in their homes or other community settings, group play sessions for various age ranges, and parent peer support groups. A range of materials, tools and ideas have been developed and are available for use.

The postholder will also work at other sessions run by Play Midlothian, though Play for All will form the majority of the hours. We champion adventurous, self-directed play, with a focus on loose parts, and use varied community settings to create rich play opportunities. A high proportion of sessions take place outdoors, all year round.

Travel and transportation of play resources to multiple sites across Midlothian is required for successful delivery of our services. Most sessions take place after school hours and at weekends, so flexibility is required, though we do aim to share out weekend working on a rota pattern so that everyone gets predictable weekends off.

This role would suit someone with playwork, youth work or family support experience who is ready to step into frontline management — or an existing manager looking for a values-led, varied, community-based role. 

If you are enthusiastic about enabling children to play in their own ways, we would love to hear from you

Application notes

The role requires PVG scheme membership for children. The post is subject to the record accessed prior to the post commencing. Play Midlothian will meet this cost for the successful applicant. Please note that if selected for interview, you will also be asked to attend a play session of up to 1.5 hours in the week leading up to the interview - various day and time options will be available.

An application pack can be downloaded from our website at https://www.playmidlothian.org.uk/jobs, where the link to apply can also be found.

The application deadline is midnight Sunday 22 March 2026.

Interviews will take place on Friday 3 April 2026.