Advertised from 8 April 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.

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 Out2Play, using the play rangers model of delivery to enable children to play out in greenspaces close to their homes.

The postholder will also staff other sessions run by Play Midlothian. 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, with some during the school day, 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 Tuesday 28 April

Interviews will take place on Tuesday 5 May 2026