In conversation with: Justina Murray – new Chief Executive of Aberlour 

This year, Aberlour Children’s Charity celebrates 150 years of service. Innes Burns met with its new Chief Executive, Justina Murray, to discuss her new role, where the charity finds itself all these years on, and Scotland’s stubbornly high child poverty rates.

Justina joined Aberlour Children’s Charity as Chief Executive in October 2025. She is passionate about improving outcomes for children, young people and families, by ensuring their voices and experiences shape policy and practice, tackling poverty and injustice, and ensuring rights are recognised and upheld.

Innes Burns:
Justina, lovely to meet you. How are you today?

Justina Murray:
Alright, I am feeling good. Had my double shot coffee on the way. A rare double shot and you did not need an order from me.

IB:
I was going to get your coffee as well. But tell us your story, Justina. You have got a really interesting background an I am fascinated to hear more.

JM:
Well, I am a very new recruit at Aberlour Children’s Charity. This is my sixth week. Prior to that, I was the CEO of Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs for eight years. And before that, I had a career in policy, research and partnership working, more in the public sector. But I have gone to the third sector now, and I am not going back.

IB:
Yeah, your background in the alcohol and drug sector interests me. What drew you to that kind of work?

JM:
Yeah, so when I was working with Scottish Families, I had previously been working in community justice and one of my portfolio areas was families affected by the justice system. When I came across the job at Scottish Families quite by accident, it really chimed with so many of the same issues around families being judged and stigmatised.

The services that we think will be there for people and their loved ones just were not really there. A lot of that chimed across justice and into substance use. And again, moving into Aberlour as well, there are so many of the same threads running through. 

IB:
And what a year to join…

When I saw it was the one hundred and fiftieth year, I thought that really puts everybody’s contribution in perspective. I have reflected on the fact that we are really just curators looking after the charity for this period and then handing it on to somebody else. It is quite humbling to be part of such a long history.

JM:
I know! When I saw the job advertised and saw it was the one hundred and fiftieth year, I thought that really puts everybody’s contribution in perspective. In my covering letter with my application, I reflected on the fact that we are really just curators looking after the charity for this period and then handing it on to somebody else. It is quite humbling to be part of such a long history.

IB:
So stepping into the role, what do you think the founders of Aberlour all those years ago would see in the charity now? Have you stuck to the roots?

JM:
Yeah, I think Aberlour wears its history very proudly. I think the founders would probably have mixed opinions about what they see now. They would be reassured that the charity still exists, which is quite an achievement, and that it is still absolutely there for families with children and families at the heart of everything.

The other thing they would be positive about is the reach of Aberlour. It has gone from being in Aberlour the village to being a national charity, supporting tens of thousands of children and families over the years. But I think they would probably be a bit depressed, to be honest, about the threads of poverty and real abject poverty, destitution really, that have threaded through that one hundred and fifty years. They might be shocked, given what a wealthy nation Scotland is now, that the need is still so great. So yeah, a bit of a mixed bag probably. 

IB:
And did that message come through during the celebrations this year? Was that a focus?

JM:
Yes, I think there has been a lot of celebration. A lot of cake has been eaten, I understand, over the year, which is important. It is really important to celebrate the achievements. But it has also been a really important time to reflect on Aberlour’s past, to acknowledge the past, some of which has been dark, but also to look to the future and recognise there is so much still to be done. Nobody is sitting back going, “This is brilliant, one hundred and fifty years, let us put our feet up.” There is so much still to do, which is really motivating.

IB:
Absolutely. What do you hope people take away from the celebrations? What kind of events have you had, and how do you want the public to see them?

JM:
Well, I have come in very recently to Aberlour but I still managed to get along to the one hundred and fiftieth celebration in Edinburgh, which was just before I started. It was a lovely event at the National Museum on Chambers Street. It was wonderful to see so many people who feel a real love for Aberlour. It is not an organisation that is just part of networks. People have a real feeling for the charity, as I did myself when I saw the job advertised.

There has been a range of celebrations. Every service and every area has marked it in their own way. There have been challenges too, people walking and cycling to mark the history. People have done their own thing, which is important and very Aberlour. It is not just top down “This is how we are going to celebrate,” but “How do people want to celebrate themselves?”

IB:
What drew you to Aberlour?

JM:
That is a very good question. I feel like I am at my interview all over again.

IB:
I was hoping it was not going to be like that!

I really like that Aberlour is both a service provider supporting families and also has a policy and campaigning role. It is great that children, young people and families can see that we are not content with the status quo.

JM:
Great fun. Exactly. So I was at Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs for eight years, a fantastic charity. I am really proud of the work we did there. But I felt after eight years that it was time to let somebody else take the helm. I was a bit all over the place about what to do next. I did not want to just work for another charity, it had to be something I felt strongly about. Then I came across the Chief Executive role advertised and it was a real gut reaction. I thought, “Oh, I love Aberlour. That looks great.”

It is fantastic to still be working with families, that is something I really enjoy. And obviously it is a larger charity so that brings challenges for me in a positive way. I also really like that Aberlour is both a service provider supporting families and also has a policy and campaigning role. It is so important that we use our learning from working with families to influence the changes that need to happen. And it is great that children, young people and families can see that we are not content with the status quo, we think things should be better, and they can see the charity campaigning for change. 

IB:
You have come into a role with significant stature in the children’s sector…

JM:
No pressure! 

IB:
No pressure, of course. In your professional opinion, what are the big challenges? You mentioned poverty, but I feel like it is a word mentioned so often now because of how huge a problem it is that it is almost used flippantly. What are the urgent actions that need to happen in the children’s sector to address the root causes of poverty?

JM:
Yeah, I think that point you make is so important. Poverty is a word that has been bandied about so much that it has lost its meaning and traction. People talk about reducing poverty, but you could give somebody ten pence and you have reduced their poverty. We need to talk about eradicating and eliminating poverty and disadvantage.

One of my absolute obsessions is the implementation gap between policy and practice. Both the UK and Scottish Governments do care about poverty and want to reduce it, but there is a real difference between wanting to do something and actually making a difference on the ground. That is a real challenge for us. Can we see and feel this in families’ lives? If not, then it is just words on paper.

The second priority is rights. We have so many powerful written rights in Scotland, like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child now incorporated into Scottish law, which is fantastic. However, in daily life, that is not a reality for most children. We need to make rights real. Saying people have rights does not mean those rights feel real to them. That means challenging ourselves and other services.

The final priority is funding. In the third sector, there is never enough money to go around. The funding is not always in the right place. We talk about services needing to be person centred, trauma informed, and rights respecting, but most funding is not actually in the services that make those real changes. We need quite a radical redistribution of public funding into services that families say they want.

IB:
Well, I do not doubt both governments’ intentions. I am sure if they could solve it tomorrow, they would. And I appreciate I am not speaking to Keir Starmer or John Swinney today. If you had an idea, if you could make one change for a quick win, what would it be?

JM:
To be honest, I am not a fan of the quick win idea or the one thing, because lots of things need to change. But the implementation gap is probably the biggest shift we need to make, to get away from just writing good stuff down and actually making it happen. That is not only for the Scottish Government or Parliament, but often when things are not right and we are not happy, that is where we focus. We need to understand better what happens between Parliament making decisions, the Government making decisions, and what families experience on the ground. We need to unravel anything that is getting in the way of good intentions becoming reality.

IB:
Just by the way, if Keir Starmer or John Swinney is watching, you are more than welcome to join us at Children in Scotland and answer these questions for us. Open invitation. I will even get your coffee.

I want to finish on a hopeful note. What gives you hope? 

JM:
I think that is a brilliant question and it is so important to retain that hope and belief. Everything I felt was true about Aberlour has been true in the weeks I have been here. I have been privileged to meet a lot of staff and visit services across the country, still a work in progress. Everywhere I have been, it is fantastic to see the commitment of the staff and the love and compassion they feel for the children, young people and families they support. I feel very privileged to be part of Aberlour’s story. We are all feeling hopeful moving into the future.

Justina Murray is Chief Executive at Aberlour Children’s Charity. Visit Aberlour’s website to find out more about their work.