diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1aa174b9..85362f20 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [Unreleased]
+- Fix: triggering a scheduled task job on a scope that is not deployed now fails with a clear "deploy the scope first" message instead of an opaque error
+
 ## [1.13.0] - 2026-07-10
 - Add support to get AWS credentials via assume role
 - Add support to auto-create ALBs on scope create
diff --git a/scheduled_task/logging b/scheduled_task/logging
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d0df55d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scheduled_task/logging
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Logging utility — log4j-style level filtering
+# Usage:    log "level" "message"
+# Levels:   debug < info < warn < error
+# Control:  LOG_LEVEL env var (default: info)
+#
+# Example:
+#   LOG_LEVEL=info
+#   log debug "verbose details"  # suppressed
+#   log info  "deployment done"  # shown
+log() {
+  local level="${1:-info}"
+  local message="${2:-}"
+
+  local -i msg_num threshold
+
+  case "${level,,}" in
+    debug) msg_num=0 ;;
+    info)  msg_num=1 ;;
+    warn)  msg_num=2 ;;
+    error) msg_num=3 ;;
+    *)     msg_num=1 ;;
+  esac
+
+  case "${LOG_LEVEL:-info}" in
+    debug) threshold=0 ;;
+    info)  threshold=1 ;;
+    warn)  threshold=2 ;;
+    error) threshold=3 ;;
+    *)     threshold=1 ;;
+  esac
+
+  if [ "$msg_num" -ge "$threshold" ]; then
+    if [ "$msg_num" -ge 3 ]; then
+      echo "$message" >&2
+    else
+      echo "$message"
+    fi
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/scheduled_task/scope/tests/trigger.bats b/scheduled_task/scope/tests/trigger.bats
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..18ff2732
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scheduled_task/scope/tests/trigger.bats
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+# =============================================================================
+# Unit tests for scheduled_task scope/trigger - manually trigger the CronJob
+#
+# Contract:
+#   - A scope with no active deployment has no CronJob, so triggering must fail
+#     early with a clear "deploy first" message instead of an opaque kubectl
+#     error from `kubectl create job --from=cronjob/`.
+# =============================================================================
+
+setup() {
+  export PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../../.." && pwd)"
+  source "$PROJECT_ROOT/testing/assertions.sh"
+
+  # The workflow loads the `log` function via a `load logging` step, so the
+  # script assumes it exists. Mock it here (errors go to stderr, like the real one).
+  log() { if [ "$1" = "error" ]; then echo "$2" >&2; else echo "$2"; fi; }
+  export -f log
+
+  export K8S_NAMESPACE="default-namespace"
+
+  # Base CONTEXT: deployed scope with an active deployment
+  export CONTEXT='{
+    "scope": {
+      "id": "scope-123",
+      "current_active_deployment": "deploy-456"
+    },
+    "providers": {
+      "container-orchestration": {
+        "cluster": {
+          "namespace": "provider-namespace"
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }'
+
+  # Mock kubectl: cronjob exists, job creation succeeds
+  kubectl() {
+    case "$*" in
+      "get cronjob -n provider-namespace -l scope_id=scope-123 -o jsonpath={.items[0].metadata.name}")
+        echo "my-cronjob"
+        return 0
+        ;;
+      "create job --from=cronjob/my-cronjob"*)
+        return 0
+        ;;
+      *)
+        return 0
+        ;;
+    esac
+  }
+  export -f kubectl
+
+  # Deterministic timestamp for job name suffix
+  date() { echo "1700000000"; }
+  export -f date
+}
+
+teardown() {
+  unset -f kubectl date log
+}
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Success Flow
+# =============================================================================
+@test "trigger: success flow - finds cronjob and triggers a job" {
+  run bash "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../trigger"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  assert_contains "$output" "📝 Triggering job my-cronjob"
+  assert_contains "$output" "✅ The job my-cronjob was triggered, you can follow the execution from the logs screen"
+}
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Error: scope not deployed (no active deployment)
+# =============================================================================
+@test "trigger: fails with a clear message when the scope has no active deployment" {
+  export CONTEXT=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq 'del(.scope.current_active_deployment)')
+
+  run bash "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../trigger"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+  assert_contains "$output" "❌ The scope has no active deployment, so there is no scheduled job to trigger"
+  assert_contains "$output" "💡 Possible causes:"
+  assert_contains "$output" "The scope has not been deployed yet"
+  assert_contains "$output" "🔧 How to fix:"
+  assert_contains "$output" "• Deploy the scope first, then trigger the job"
+}
+
+@test "trigger: fails when current_active_deployment is null" {
+  export CONTEXT=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq '.scope.current_active_deployment = null')
+
+  run bash "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../trigger"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+  assert_contains "$output" "❌ The scope has no active deployment, so there is no scheduled job to trigger"
+  assert_contains "$output" "• Deploy the scope first, then trigger the job"
+}
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Error: deployed but no CronJob found
+# =============================================================================
+@test "trigger: fails with a clear message when no CronJob exists for the scope" {
+  kubectl() {
+    case "$*" in
+      "get cronjob -n provider-namespace -l scope_id=scope-123 -o jsonpath={.items[0].metadata.name}")
+        echo ""
+        return 0
+        ;;
+      *)
+        return 0
+        ;;
+    esac
+  }
+  export -f kubectl
+
+  run bash "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../trigger"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+  assert_contains "$output" "❌ No CronJob found for scope 'scope-123' in namespace 'provider-namespace'"
+  assert_contains "$output" "💡 Possible causes:"
+  assert_contains "$output" "🔧 How to fix:"
+}
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Namespace resolution
+# =============================================================================
+@test "trigger: uses the namespace from the provider for lookup and job creation" {
+  # kubectl only succeeds when called against the provider namespace; any other
+  # namespace makes it fail, so this asserts the resolved namespace is threaded
+  # through both the cronjob lookup and the job creation.
+  kubectl() {
+    case "$*" in
+      "get cronjob -n provider-namespace"*)
+        echo "my-cronjob"
+        return 0
+        ;;
+      "create job --from=cronjob/my-cronjob"*"-n provider-namespace")
+        return 0
+        ;;
+      *)
+        echo "unexpected namespace: $*" >&2
+        return 1
+        ;;
+    esac
+  }
+  export -f kubectl
+
+  run bash "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../trigger"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  assert_contains "$output" "✅ The job my-cronjob was triggered, you can follow the execution from the logs screen"
+}
+
+@test "trigger: falls back to the default namespace when the provider namespace is not set" {
+  export CONTEXT=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq 'del(.providers["container-orchestration"].cluster.namespace)')
+
+  kubectl() {
+    case "$*" in
+      "get cronjob -n default-namespace"*)
+        echo "my-cronjob"
+        return 0
+        ;;
+      "create job --from=cronjob/my-cronjob"*"-n default-namespace")
+        return 0
+        ;;
+      *)
+        echo "unexpected namespace: $*" >&2
+        return 1
+        ;;
+    esac
+  }
+  export -f kubectl
+
+  run bash "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../trigger"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  assert_contains "$output" "✅ The job my-cronjob was triggered, you can follow the execution from the logs screen"
+}
+
+# The workflow includes values.yaml to set K8S_NAMESPACE, but the script also
+# guards the expansion so that a missing include can never abort it under
+# `set -u`. These reproduce that unguarded environment (K8S_NAMESPACE unset).
+@test "trigger: does not abort under set -u when K8S_NAMESPACE is unset (uses provider namespace)" {
+  unset K8S_NAMESPACE
+
+  run bash "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../trigger"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  assert_contains "$output" "✅ The job my-cronjob was triggered, you can follow the execution from the logs screen"
+}
+
+@test "trigger: falls back to the nullplatform default when K8S_NAMESPACE is unset and the provider namespace is absent" {
+  unset K8S_NAMESPACE
+  export CONTEXT=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq 'del(.providers["container-orchestration"].cluster.namespace)')
+
+  kubectl() {
+    case "$*" in
+      "get cronjob -n nullplatform"*)
+        echo "my-cronjob"
+        return 0
+        ;;
+      "create job --from=cronjob/my-cronjob"*"-n nullplatform")
+        return 0
+        ;;
+      *)
+        echo "unexpected namespace: $*" >&2
+        return 1
+        ;;
+    esac
+  }
+  export -f kubectl
+
+  run bash "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../trigger"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  assert_contains "$output" "✅ The job my-cronjob was triggered, you can follow the execution from the logs screen"
+}
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Workflow wiring (trigger-job.yaml) — the layer the script tests can't see
+# =============================================================================
+@test "trigger-job workflow includes values.yaml so K8S_NAMESPACE is provided" {
+  run grep -A2 "^include:" "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../workflows/trigger-job.yaml"
+
+  assert_equal "$status" "0"
+  assert_contains "$output" "values.yaml"
+}
+
+@test "trigger-job workflow loads the log function before the trigger step" {
+  run cat "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../workflows/trigger-job.yaml"
+
+  assert_equal "$status" "0"
+  assert_contains "$output" "name: load logging"
+  assert_contains "$output" "\$OVERRIDES_PATH/logging"
+}
diff --git a/scheduled_task/scope/trigger b/scheduled_task/scope/trigger
index 1ebf6cce..0aeefc5a 100644
--- a/scheduled_task/scope/trigger
+++ b/scheduled_task/scope/trigger
@@ -1,6 +1,22 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-K8S_NAMESPACE=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq -r --arg default "$K8S_NAMESPACE" '
+set -euo pipefail
+
+DEPLOYMENT_ID=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq -r '.scope.current_active_deployment // empty')
+
+if [[ -z "$DEPLOYMENT_ID" ]]; then
+  log error "❌ The scope has no active deployment, so there is no scheduled job to trigger"
+  log error ""
+  log error "💡 Possible causes:"
+  log error "   The scope has not been deployed yet"
+  log error ""
+  log error "🔧 How to fix:"
+  log error "   • Deploy the scope first, then trigger the job"
+  log error ""
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+K8S_NAMESPACE=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq -r --arg default "${K8S_NAMESPACE:-nullplatform}" '
   .providers["container-orchestration"].cluster.namespace // $default
 ')
 
@@ -8,8 +24,21 @@ SCOPE_ID=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq -r '.scope.id')
 
 JOB=$(kubectl get cronjob -n "$K8S_NAMESPACE" -l "scope_id=$SCOPE_ID" -o jsonpath="{.items[0].metadata.name}" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
 
-echo "Triggering job $JOB"
+if [[ -z "$JOB" ]]; then
+  log error "❌ No CronJob found for scope '$SCOPE_ID' in namespace '$K8S_NAMESPACE'"
+  log error ""
+  log error "💡 Possible causes:"
+  log error "   The scope's scheduled job may not have been created yet, or the deployment is still in progress"
+  log error ""
+  log error "🔧 How to fix:"
+  log error "   • Verify the CronJob exists: kubectl get cronjob -n $K8S_NAMESPACE -l scope_id=$SCOPE_ID"
+  log error "   • Redeploy the scope if the CronJob is missing"
+  log error ""
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+log info "📝 Triggering job $JOB"
 
 kubectl create job --from="cronjob/$JOB" "$JOB-$(date +%s)" -n "$K8S_NAMESPACE"
 
-echo "The job $JOB was triggered, you can follow the execution from the logs screen"
\ No newline at end of file
+log info "✅ The job $JOB was triggered, you can follow the execution from the logs screen"
diff --git a/scheduled_task/scope/workflows/trigger-job.yaml b/scheduled_task/scope/workflows/trigger-job.yaml
index 6b07c1ce..02df28f0 100644
--- a/scheduled_task/scope/workflows/trigger-job.yaml
+++ b/scheduled_task/scope/workflows/trigger-job.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,18 @@
+include:
+  - "$SERVICE_PATH/values.yaml"
 provider_categories:
   - container-orchestration
   - cloud-providers
 steps:
+  - name: load logging
+    type: script
+    file: "$OVERRIDES_PATH/logging"
+    output:
+      - name: log
+        type: function
+        parameters:
+          level: string
+          message: string
   - name: trigger
     type: script
-    file: "$OVERRIDES_PATH/scope/trigger"
\ No newline at end of file
+    file: "$OVERRIDES_PATH/scope/trigger"