Interested in a job that my friend really wants
I (M50) need to find a new job from September, when my current contract ends. The other day a colleague texted to tell me there is a vacancy where she works and she was hoping I'd apply. The job is a bit different from my past ones and not what I planned, but could be interesting and kind of a new challenge for me. I'm quite experienced in my profession and have good merits so I'd probably have a good chance of getting the job.
The dilemma is that a close friend of mine told me about a year ago she was interested in this particular job. My friend is very good at her work, but has less experience than me. Unfortunately right now my friend is at a bad workplace that hasn't made her feel too well and she wants to find something else. She has young kids and other factors that make her somewhat limited what other jobs she could take.
I'm very hesitant to apply for the job because of this. Should I just pass it? Should I try to talk to her about it? Or, just apply and see what happens?