Gary McLelland

Experience

• 

  South Lanarkshire Council

  Jun 2005 - Oct 2007

  Youth Worker

  Working in various youth centres and drop-in centres, as well as street work and community partnership working. Working to build positive relationships with young people and enable them to develop and access to group work programmes.

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  UK-based INGO

  Jul 2006 - Aug 2006

  International Volunteer

  Joining a team of young volunteers from the UK to secure funding and resources for the building of a school in a rural area of Kenya.

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  Stirling Council

  Oct 2007 - Sept 2008

  Inclusion Support Worker

  Providing support to children and young people and families who are experiencing difficulty in engaging with education, including promoting attendance. Duties involved:• Planning, delivering and evaluating interventions with individual and groups of children and young people in partnership with key stakeholders in education, social services and other relevant agenices within and outwith Stirling Council• Organising and delivering group programmes within a range of settings on a number of issues, including friendships and relationships Show less

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  Mercy Corps

  Sept 2008 - May 2009

  Project Youth Worker

  Developing a youth-led international development training programme, the Global Citizen Corps. This included:• Conducting market research to ensure relevancy of project topics/areas of exploration• Giving input at school workshops/conferences/talks• Provide staff development opportunities and pedagogy for teachers around areas of international development and human rights, particularly reproductive health• Provide upto date reports and other information, including presentations to key stakeholders and board members about the status of the project Show less

• 

  Stirling Council

  May 2009 - Jul 2013

  Developing a European Social Fund-funded programme to promote achievement through learning and development, with the aim of helping unemployed young people find employment, training or further education. Key duties included:• Delivering learning and development opportunities to young people ensuring the highest standards of quality and performance• To support young people to gain recognition for their achievement gained through accredited and non-accredited learning and development opportunities• To provide day to day supervision to identified Youth Services Assistants and Volunteers Show less Providing support to children and young people and families who are experiencing difficulty in engaging with education, including promoting attendance. Duties involved:• Planning, delivering and evaluating interventions with individual and groups of children and young people in partnership with key stakeholders in education, social services and other relevant agenices within and outwith Stirling Council• Organising and delivering group programmes within a range of settings on a number of issues, including friendships and relationships Show less

  • Youth Services Worker

    Nov 2012 - Jul 2013

  • Inclusion Support Worker

    May 2009 - Nov 2012
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  Care Visions Group

  Aug 2010 - Oct 2012

  Residential Child Care Worker

  Caring for children and young people who were looked after away from home. Duties included:• Providing leisure and creative activities in a safe and supportive setting• Helping residents to deal with problems and become independent• Talking with residents' families and arranging family and home visits

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  NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

  Apr 2013 - Sept 2013

  Ward Volunteer

  Assisting staff in the stroke ward by helping prepare meals, and interacting with patients.

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  Glasgow City Council

  Jul 2013 - Jul 2014

  Learning and Development Officer

  Working as part of the social work team at Glasgow City Council, my main responsibilities were to:• Assess and manage risk associated with complex cases• Conducting reviews and assessments of users needs and appropriate intervention• Ensuring that national and local policies and procedures are implemented• Overseeing the development and implementation of staff development and assessment

• 

  Humanist Society Scotland

  Oct 2013 - Feb 2017

  I developed the organisation's influencing strategy, as well as leading the policy and communications team, based around the core areas of:• Universal human rights• Promoting rational, evidence-based discourse in public ethical debates• Promoting inclusive, secular education• Raising awareness of the importance of open, democratic civic institutionsKey successes in this post included securing key alliances with both government and non-government stakeholders, supporting the successful equal marriage campaign, and achieving a successful settlement from the Scottish Government after a legal human rights challenge. Show less Education reform has long been one of the key objectives of the organisation. Leading on the development and promotion of education policy for the organisation included:• Pro-actively seeking opportunities to engage with government agencies, as well as responding to consultations• Consulting with members and key stakeholders of the organisationMy key achievement in this role was to secure a joint statement between Humanist Society Scotland and the Church of Scotland, indicating a joint vision for the future reform of religious observance in state schools. Show less

  • Head of Communications and Public Affairs

    Aug 2015 - Feb 2017

  • Policy and Public Affairs Officer

    Jan 2015 - Jul 2015

  • Education Policy Officer

    Oct 2013 - Jan 2015
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  European Humanist Federation

  May 2015 - Jan 2017

  Board Member

  As an elected member of the Board I oversaw the work of the executive team based in Brussels, inputting to the organisational strategy and operational plan. This focused, in part, on:• Maintaining a presence at EU institutions and the Council of Europe• Ensuring effective governance structures are in place to support the executive team• Helping to expand and diversify the membership of EHF by serving on the membership sub-committeeMy key achievement in this post was supporting the development of a pan-European reporting mechanism to quantify legal and policy differences to key human rights entitlements. Show less

• 

  Humanists International

  Feb 2017 - now

  Chief Executive

  Leading an international umbrella organisation of over 170 member organisations in over 70 countries, managing a team of staff and volunteers and ensuring the future sustainability of the organisation. Key areas of work include:• Ensuring that national, regional and international government organisations defend, respect and promote universal human rights• Ensuring that the organisation supports the development of successful and sustainable member organisations around the world• Ensuring the reputation, financial and human resources, and administrative effectiveness of the organisation Show less