Skills Bank
Welcome to our Skills Bank.
You can find experienced and professional individuals who are willing to offer their skills in different aspects of your organisation. This will be for an agreed amount of time to support a specific project or activity.
The individuals are located across Highland. If you would like to join our list of skills bank volunteers, indicating your experience and interests then please fill out the application form linked below.
Are you an organisation looking for skilled volunteers? Click the link below to submit your details and get matched with the right people.
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Graham Ross
My Skills:
Mediation
Event Planning
HR
Location(s) covered:
Caithness, Sutherland
Event planning - In my current role, I am responsible for organising events. This has included in person events, that require presentations, speakers, tech, catering and venue organising as well as online events.
Mediation - Mediation has been a frequent skill utilised in my previous employment and as my time as a Unison steward. This is a skill I feel particularly capable of carrying out in a variety of situations.
Equality and inclusivity - This has been the main focus of my role for the last three years. If there is questions or areas that I don't feel equipped to support in, I know where to find the resources and have a skilled team to consult.
Residential childcare - Over fifteen years in public and private sector roles, from frontline work to management, equipped me with diverse skills including crisis de-escalation, case management, reporting, and multi-agency collaboration.
Management & Training - In leadership, I supervised staff across multiple homes with on-call responsibilities, benefited from extensive training, and later delivered specialised training to others.
Human Rights & Equalities - For the past three years, I’ve worked with HTSI and the THRE project, delivering training and resources to third sector organisations across Scotland on integrating human rights and equalities into their work.
Mhairi Wylie
My Skills:
Activity Based
Location(s) covered:
Highland Wide
I would be happy to prepare and facilitate team building or staff days for a community or charity group. This would include some preparatory 1-1 meetings, the full day itself and the write up (should that be appropriate) following the day. I would be happy to assist two or three groups a year once or, should a more intensive engagement process be necessary, one group for multiple sessions.
I am an experienced leader in the Third Sector and have been in a senior management position for twenty years and a leader of voluntary teams for multiple years previously. I currently sit as a non-executive member of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board and have previously held the role of a Children's Panel Member. My MSc studies included focus on systems mapping, project management and development in conflict and the roles of mediation. With responsibilities for facilitation, engagement, HR and leadership in both paid and voluntary roles I have developed a particular interest in facilitating engaging and specifically, creative, approaches to team sessions.
Alice Fogg
My Skills:
Governance
Location(s) covered:
Highland Wide, Nairnshire, Badenoch and Strathspey
I have experience with board support, third-sector governance, helping groups get set up, writing and amending constitutions, developing policies and procedures for third-sector organisation, risk management assessment and planning, and fundraising.
Hi there! I'm Alice and I work in the third-sector, supporting community groups to deliver community projects in Badenoch and Strathspey. I'm the Chief Officer of Voluntary Action in Badenoch and Strathspey, and I also volunteer for a community woodland and a social enterprise.
I've volunteered in the third-sector for over 10 years. Outwith work, you can find me playing sport, swimming, walking, and volunteering!
I'm happy to volunteer to help groups with anything related to third-sector governance and support!
Harry Tedstone
My Skills:
Asset Management
Activity Based
Business Development
Location(s) covered:
Highland Wide
Gardening - amateur but have designed and built several garden. Experience of propagation from seed and cutting, fruit, veg and flower.
Hospitality - run event caterer, food led public house and bed and breakfast. Experience in budget forecasting, cashflow projection, marketing and event management from bespoke dinner party for 8 to conference and wedding events up to 800 guests.
Charity sector - setting up partnerships to deliver services; business modelling and planning, recruitment, budget planning and management and regulatory compliance under Legal Aid Scheme. Experience of working within a public sector environment, codesign and coproduction delivery, working with stakeholders from consumer/client to public sector stakeholder involvement. Set up public private partnership to deliver support people program and undertook theory of change to assist in the delivery of combing stats for 5 legal advice agencies to evidence impact of provision on the wider local community.
A solicitor by training, I have working in the charity legal advice sector for more than 30 years. At the same time, with my partner, I have set up and run several successful businesses in the hospitality sector.
My specialism is putting charities and businesses together to bid for funding to deliver services.
Within my current role as Community Partnership Officer with Highland Hospice have developed a specialism in working with rural and remote communities in capacity building.
Gwen Harrison
My Skills:
HR
Activity Based
Location(s) covered:
Highland Wide
Where my skills could support most in one off / targeted support is in the following:
Supporting recruitment panel, senior staff / board
Proof reading review / feedback on funding application
Offering protected space to talk through an organisational issue
Roles have required a high level of engagement and business development skills and notably support through periods of change. With SDF supporting 19 organisations to submit 25 funding applications, 23 of which were successful, aiding 3.13 million pounds into the sector by supporting organisations to write strong funding applications, especially reflecting on their project monitoring and evaluation as part of that.
With RASASH facilitating engagement ensuring a strategic approach which produced SMART outcomes, reviewed / updating business plan, developing a strategy using logic modelling processes linking operational work and activities through to outcomes and aims of the organisation.
With a background in Third Sector, most roles have focused on engagement with health and / or social care related work, much of which around developing networks and ensuring people`s experiences were represented.
Gwen currently works as the Scottish Care Independent Sector Lead for Care Homes in Highland, but previous roles have included:
Local Support Fund Manager with Scottish Drugs Forum
Manager at RASASH the Rape Crisis Centre covering Highland
North of Scotland Engagement Manager with Diabetes UK
Adult Services Commissioning role for Third Sector with HTSI
Gwen previously trained in counselling delivery as well as therapeutic support work and more recently in coaching and mentoring.
Qualifications include BA in Integration of Health and Social Care and a Post Graduate certificate in Understanding a Resilience Landscape.
She also volunteers as a mentor for new managers within Third Sector through HTSI and is currently a board member of Highland print studio.
Luthien Lark
My Skills:
Evaluation and Impact
Activity Based
Location(s) covered:
Highland Wide
I would be willing to provide up to 3 sessions on 'Basic Person Centred Counselling Skills' for third sector organisations working with vulnerable adults or individuals experiencing mental health issues. This would include a preparatory 1-1 meeting with the co-ordinator, and 2 - 3 sessions lasting no longer than 3 hours for staff or volunteers. I would be willing to support two or three organisations or groups per year.
I started of my career working in front line mental health services both in Highland and Aberdeen city. I then went on to study Psychology MA Honours & COSCA Person Centred Counselling at the University of Aberdeen, graduating in 2010. After that I was involved in running a successful pilot employability project to determine the training and support needs of those furthest from the job market. This peeked my interest in Education and Training. I have since lectured in Health & Social Care before moving onto Training and Recruitment in both the commercial and funded sectors. Therefore I have a wealth of experience around assessment of needs for support and training. I currently work as Senior Volunteer Development Officer, as I am passionate about the benefits and value of volunteering, having done so most of my life. I have volunteered from a young age from stewarding at local agricultural shows to being a Trustee of a horse sanctuary. I am also enthusiastic about music & arts.
