The Scottish Parliament will be invited to nominate Nicola Killean to His Majesty the King for appointment as the new Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland.
The Commissioner’s general duty is to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people in Scotland.
Ms Killean is set to succeed Bruce Adamson who leaves the position next month following the completion of his six-year term of office.
A motion to agree Ms Killean’s appointment will be considered by the Parliament on Wednesday 26 April.
The appointment follows an open recruitment process. The position attracts a starting salary of £77,260 and is for a single term of six years.
Nicola Killean OBE was the very first employee of the charity Sistema Scotland in 2007 and worked with the Board to create and grow the organisation to a charity of national significance.
It supports children and young people to gain vital life skills such as confidence, resilience, team work, pride, creativity, and aspiration, and aims to strengthen community cohesion and tackle inequalities in some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged areas.
The charity delivers a social change programme called Big Noise in 5 cities in Scotland, using music and nurturing relationships to support over 3,500 children and young in Scotland.
She graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with a degree in music education and has had a particular focus throughout her career in creating opportunities for children and young people from more disadvantaged communities.
She previously worked as a nursery teacher, as one of the first cultural coordinators in Scotland focusing on designing arts projects as social development and intervention models, the Scottish Officer for the charity Youth Music, as well as music leader and freelance project manager.
Ms Killean is a Saltire Foundation Fellow, and has also previously held voluntary roles within the Children’s Panel in Scotland and on the Board of Horsecross Arts.
She was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list for 2020, for services to ‘Music, children and community cohesion’. She believes passionately in the potential of all children and young people.
Find out more about the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland