Are you a strategic, values-led leader ready to shape high-quality services and drive meaningful impact?
We’re looking for an inspiring and forward-thinking Associate Director to join our Senior Leadership Team. This is a pivotal role where you’ll lead high-performing teams, deliver excellent person-centred services, and play a key part in shaping the future of our organisation.
Operating across Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, you’ll translate strategy into impactful local delivery—ensuring services are safe, effective, financially sustainable, and continuously improving.
Purpose of the role
As Associate Director, you won’t just lead services—you’ll help shape the direction of the organisation. You’ll bring together people, performance, and purpose to deliver outstanding outcomes for the people we support and will work collaboratively with senior colleagues and teams across the organisation.
You will have strong leadership experience in health or social care, a proven track record of delivering results and a want to make a meaningful difference to the people we support.
What you will bring
- The ability to lead high-quality, person-centred services
- A proven track record of driving performance, compliance, and financial sustainability
- The capability to build and nurture high-performing, psychologically safe teams
- Strong skills in championing innovation, digital ways of working, and continuous improvement
- Experience in developing effective partnerships with communities, families, and commissioners
A detailed overview of responsibilities can be found in the role profile attached to this advert.
This is an exciting time to join Cornerstone as we deliver our new strategic plan, Improving Lives Together, built around the following organisational priorities:
- The Foundation – Digital innovation: empowering everything we do
- Pillar 1 – Voices of the people we support at the heart of all decisions
- Pillar 2 – People: leadership, workforce and culture
- Pillar 3 – Financial sustainability: building for the future
- The Roof – Quality: evidence based improvement
This is a hybrid working role, with an expectation of regular, meaningful engagement across our offices and services. You will therefore ideally be located within reasonable reach of one of our key hubs in Irvine or Dumbarton.
Please apply with your CV and cover letter, uploaded via the ‘Supporting Documents’ section of our online application process.
For an informal discussion or further information, you are welcome to contact Nikki O'Brien at nicola.o'brien@cornerstone.org.uk.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an in-person interview on the 13th and 14th July 2026 at our office in Glasgow.
The successful candidate will be required to undertake a Level 2 Disclosure check through Disclosure Scotland.
Please note: if you have spent more than 12 months outside the UK (excluding France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania or Spain) within the last 10 years while over the age of 18, you will need to provide a criminal record certificate from the relevant authority as part of our pre employment checks.