Can you work to promote and protect children’s rights?
The Children and Young People’s Commissioner, Bruce Adamson, has been in post for six years and his term comes to an end in May 2023.
The Scottish Parliament is now recruiting for a new Commissioner. If you want to champion children’s rights in Scotland and have a passion for working with children and young people, then you can apply on the Parliament’s website.
Do you believe meaningful participation with children and young people should be at the heart of the Commissioner’s role ensuring young voices drive your vision and priorities? The Parliament is looking for someone with a proven track record of promoting and representing the rights of children and young people, excellent communication and networking skills and experience of successfully leading a team and sound judgement to influence decision-making.
What children and young people want from a Commissioner
We asked children and young people what attributes and qualities make for a brilliant Commissioner.
They said their Commissioner needs to be: indefatigable, caring, respectful, confident, not scary, understanding, empathetic, a good leader, brave, and determined.
The skills they believe a Commissioner should have include: experience of working with children and young people, knowledge on human rights, persuasion, a thick skin, a good media personality, and be able to take advice on board.
Important to them was that their Commissioner has a good sense of humour, the ability to listen and be happy to work as a team.
Watch more about the role and what our young advisers are looking for!
Listen to learn more about the role
In April 2022 to mark the office’s 18th birthday, the three people to have held the role of Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland came together – for the first time – to discuss their shared experiences of promoting and protecting children’s rights. Guided by questions from children and young people, Professor Kathleen Marshall, Tam Baillie and current commissioner Bruce Adamson discuss the unique challenges of the role and its strengths as an independent champion for children’s rights. The podcast is in three parts: Beginnings; Making it happen and the Handover.