Carers UK has announced the appointment of a new chief executive, Helen Walker. She joins the organisation from the national volunteering charity TimeBank where she has spent ten years as chief executive. Helen will take over at Carers UK’s on 3 December and she replaces Heléna Herklots CBE, who stepped down after nearly seven years to become the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales.

SURF - Scotland’s Regeneration Forum - is delighted to announce that Peter Renwick will be supporting the development of its Langholm Alliance for Action initiative. The part-time Langholm facilitator post, which is initially funded for two years, will help support relevant local partners in the development of a range of practical regeneration activity. Following widespread agreement on an earlier feasibility plan, the focus of SURF’s efforts will be on enhancing collaboration on locally identified priorities, and linking Langholm’s challenges and assets to wider regeneration policy and resources.

Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing, is delighted to announce the appointment of Rosemary Ward to the position of director of programme. Rosemary Ward comes to Scottish Book Trust with over 25 years of educational experience having been a primary teacher, a quality improvement officer and an education director with Bòrd na Gàidhlig, the national development agency. She took over as director of the Gaelic Books Council in 2010 and has developed successful creative programmes, and effective collaborations, with a range of national literary agencies.