Careers Adviser - East Lothian Ref No: 3433

Skills Development Scotland; Scotland; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A national skills agency in Scotland is seeking a Careers Adviser to deliver impartial career guidance in East Lothian. The ideal candidate will possess a CDI-recognised Qualification in Career Development and a Post Graduate Diploma in Career Guidance and Development. In this role, you'll support individuals in their career decisions and manage career guidance services. This is a fixed-term position until December 31, 2026, emphasizing a friendly and supportive work environment.

Benefits

Progressive benefits

Commitment to employee wellbeing

Supportive team culture

Qualifications

• Possess a Career Development Institute (CDI) UK-recognised professional accredited Qualification.
• Current students pending completion in May 2024 will be considered.
• Demonstrate strong understanding of policy, theory and practice in career guidance.

Responsibilities

• Deliver impartial career guidance.
• Develop career management skills.
• Support individuals in planning and managing career decisions.

Skills

Strong interview skills

Group work

Coaching skills

Career guidance knowledge

Education

Qualification in Career Development

Post Graduate Diploma in Career Guidance and Development

Job description

If you require this advert in another format, please contact [e-mail] or call 0300 013 5119.

Overview

Our East Lothian CIAG team is looking for a new team member to join a friendly, supportive and creative team in the East Lothian office.

This is a fixed term post until 31st December 2026 - we’d love for you to join us!

About the You and the Role

To deliver the role of Careers Adviser at Skills Development Scotland, it is essential that you possess the Career Development Institute (CDI) UK-recognised professional accredited Qualification in Career Development (QCD or its predecessor equivalent) and Post Graduate Diploma in Career Guidance and Development. Current students pending completion in May 2024 will be considered.

In your role as Careers Adviser, you’ll be delivering impartial career guidance, developing career management skills and supporting individuals to plan and manage their career decisions, now and in the future, including services which respond to those facing redundancy.

You’ll be able to demonstrate strong interview, group work and coaching skills with a sound knowledge and understanding of policy, theory and practice in the field of career guidance and you will work with and through a range of partner agencies to engage, inspire, motivate and encourage clients to achieve their full potential.

Come and make an impact you can be proud of!

East Lothian is a vast and wide area offering cultural and historical experience as well as outdoor activities. Our CIAG team have the privilege of being able to support and work with people with wide ranging aspirations and goals ranging from careers in science and technology to hospitality to care and much more.

Our team go above and beyond to support each other both within and outside of work through our social groups.

Hear first-hand from some of our Careers Advisers about the benefits and lifestyle of a career in the career service at SDS and what makes them so passionate about their jobs.

About SDS

Skills Development Scotland is the national skills agency. Our ambition is to drive productivity and inclusive growth through investment in skills, enabling businesses and people to achieve their potential. Through the sharing of expertise, intelligence, and extensive partnership working, we enable the development and delivery of innovative solutions to Scotland’s skills and labour market challenges. This is even more important given the current economic climate and recessionary outlook. Find out more about SDS here.

Values

Our organisational values are created by our colleagues and are the compass that guide our behaviours and actions with our customers and each other. We need our future employees to share these values and help us to continue to deliver our bold ambitions for the future;

• We put the needs of our customers at the heart of all we do
• We make use of our combined strengths and expertise to deliver the best outcomes
• We demonstrate self-motivation, personal responsibility, and respect
• We continually improve to achieve excellence

Benefits

SDS is an award-winning equal opportunities and fair work employer. Our values and culture are owned and driven by our colleagues and show our commitment to our customers - the people of Scotland. Our employees enjoy a wide variety of progressive benefits and working practices. We prioritise employee engagement, wellbeing, and development, making us a great place to work.

Click here to see the full range of our Benefits

Where you’d be based

The East Lothian team operate a full locality model, and we have a well-established place/based approach to enhance our customer delivery which you will be part of across the East Lothian area. If you’d like to discuss this contact [e-mail]

SDS as an Inclusive Workplace

At SDS we are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. If you\'ve got the right skills for the job, we want to hear from you. We encourage applications from the right candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, belief or race. To support our ambitions our application process is anonymised. Therefore, while we want to know about your relevant skills and experience, please avoid disclosing any identifying characteristics.

Our Application Process

The closing date to submit your application is Sunday 18th January 2026. Due to the festive period, interviews will take place week commencing 26th January 2026.

More information on the interview format will be made available if you are invited to interview. To find out more about working at SDS and our application process please visit us at here.

If this opportunity excites you and you would like to discuss the role in more detail to help you decide if it is right for you, contact [e-mail]

Internal applicants should discuss their application with their People Manager prior to applying for this post.