Depute Managing Director

Welcome

Welcome and thank you for your interest in the role of Depute Managing Director of The Ridge.

The Ridge is a community organisation, based in Dunbar, East Lothian, comprising a charity (SCIO) and its wholly-owned trading subsidiary social enterprise The Ridge Foundations CIC (TRF). TRF is a construction company specialising in training in traditional building skills.

We support local people to overcome challenges to the fulfillment of their potential, with a strong focus on high quality skills training, and on the provision of a range of supports in partnership with our local council and other statutory and third sector organisations. Issues around rural access to support services and training opportunities create additional barriers locally, and we aim to bring help and opportunity to where people need and can access them within the local community, which also creates resilience, connection and wellbeing across that community. We have a Support Team, a Garden Team (working in our 2 gardens) and a Training Team, all working across a number of sites within the historic town centre of Dunbar. The Ridge has taken ownership of various derelict buildings and wasteground sites around the High Street – their restoration and revitalisation provide vehicles for personal transformation, for skills learning in the process of creating much-needed end uses, saving our built heritage and developing beautiful gardens for our community to enjoy.

Our training encompasses gardening (produce and flowers), construction (we have 11 apprentice stonemasons and joiners), cooking (we are about to complete our new training kitchen) and a wide range of life skills, arts and crafts. We are also an SQA centre, and provide National Progression Awards in Construction and National Certificates in Rural Skills to pupils from across the county who are either not attending or not thriving in school.

The scope and scale of our work has grown exponentially over the past 11 years, and we need now to restructure to ensure capacity at the highest executive levels of the organisation. This is a hugely exciting time to be getting involved in a really dynamic organisation, which has created a template for sustainable community renewal, and has connection and reach at a national level.

The role of Depute Managing Director is complex and varied. You may not already have all the skillset required – we would be interested in giving the right person, with the right passion, commitment and aptitudes the opportunity to step up into the full role over time. If you are looking for an opportunity to make a really tangible difference in people’s lives, and to be part of something at the cutting edge of the third sector in Scotland; if you are passionate about equity and about unleashing the untapped potential of people and a shared place; if you have the experience to bring to some of the aspects of the role, and an enthusiasm to learn new skills and ways of working, then we would be thrilled to hear from you!

Kate Darrah
Managing Director