Chief Executive Officer Full Time

We are seeking an outstanding individual for the role of Chief Executive, Education Scotland.

This is an exciting time for Scottish education as we implement significant reform to secure better outcomes for children and young people across Scotland. The Chief Executive will play a pivotal role in working with leaders across the sector to refocus the work of Education Scotland and to help strengthen the education and skills system and how it works.

Education Scotland plays an important role in creating the conditions for children and young people to thrive. As part of our reform commitments, the work and approach of Education Scotland is to be transformed to strengthen national support for improvement in Scottish education, with a new primary focus on curriculum design, delivery and improvement, including the provision of resources to support high quality learning and teaching.

We are therefore looking for a transformational leader who, within the context of our education and skills reform commitments, can rapidly refocus the work and approach of Education Scotland. They must ensure that it is able to drive greater improvement in Scottish education, bringing a stronger focus on curriculum design, improvement and innovation, whilst building an increasingly confident, respected and influential public body.

As Chief Executive you will have responsibility for leading circa 380 employees until His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) exists in its own right. Following which, responsibility will be for circa 250/300 employees, across a range of professions (all employees are Civil Servants, some of whom have professional backgrounds in teaching, early learning and childcare, community learning and development and corporate services), working across buildings located in Livingston, Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness, and Aberdeen. You will provide significant national leadership, delivering professional advice, information and evidence to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Scottish Ministers and Scottish Government officials, on all aspects of education policy.

Individuals on any working pattern can apply for any post. We welcome flexible working. If you are interested in applying on a job-share basis, please make clear in your application if you wish to be considered as a pre-existing job-share partnership or if you are interested in moving into a job-share arrangement. We will assess proposed working patterns against the business requirements for the post and discuss all options with candidates.

Job description

As Chief Executive of Education Scotland, you will have a range of duties and responsibilities. A short summary is below but more detail can be found in the Candidate Pack at the bottom of this page.

Reform and transformational leadership

• Lead the Agency to deliver on reform commitments, including the strategic development and corporate transformation of the Agency, with a comprehensive programme of engagement with internal and external stakeholders to inform, and ensure support for reform.
• Providing transformational leadership to drive a change in practice, successfully refocussing the Agency on curriculum design, improvement and innovation.
• Ensuring the Agency is focussed on supporting change and improvement in educational practice, based on evidence.
• Ensuring that colleagues have a common understanding and view of the Agency as an integral part of government and provider of national support, aligning outcomes with ministerial priorities.
• Playing a key role in facilitating a collaborative approach to digital transformation across the education system, as a priority.
• Ensuring the Agency engages with, and plays a lead role in, the Education and Skills Reform programmes, working with Scottish Government officials to review the Agency’s organisational design.

Delivery

• In line with ministerial priorities, including public sector reform, provide leadership and strategic direction to ensure that the Agency meets key delivery targets and delivers in all aspects of its remit, operating in an efficient, effective manner, and that the Agency is a high performing, continuously improving public body that is ensuring that reform is making a difference.
• This includes responsibility for the development of, and delivery against, organisational strategy and supporting plans, including the priorities set out in the framework document and chairing the Advisory Board.
• Provide independent professional advice, information and evidence, to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Scottish Ministers, and Scottish Government officials, on all aspects of education policy.
• Ensure that Education Scotland is able to draw on staff and secondees with relevant experience within education settings, including those with recent frontline professional experience.
• Work closely with senior leaders and Chief Executives across the system to drive improvement in Scottish education.
• Provide organisational and national leadership and direction, to inform, share and promote approaches to improvement to close attainment gaps as set out in the National Improvement Framework.

Curriculum design and development

• Develop and lead the Curriculum Improvement Cycle and support curriculum design and delivery.
• Ensuring that curriculum advice and support is clear, trusted and focussed on realising the ambitions of Curriculum for Excellence, and driving improvement across Scottish education.
• Develop and lead a national framework for professional learning, which will build on the existing and well-regarded national leadership professional learning programmes.
• Prioritise and oversee the support that the Agency gives to the education system (local authorities, schools, ELC, and other education providers/ organisations) in line with education priorities.
• Deployment of the Attainment Advisor and National Improvement Framework teams, who support, advise and challenge the interventions and approaches across Scotland, that secure improvements in excellence and equity.

Organisational and people management

• Accountable Officer for the management of the Agency’s operating budget, which is up to circa £40m (subject to any subsequent in-year changes) in the current financial year, until the establishment of HMIE, at which point budgets will be realigned; ensuring that all relevant financial considerations and Scottish Government guidance, including issues of propriety, regularity, efficiency and value for money, are taken into account in delivering the Agency’s business.
• Until the establishment of HMIE and in line with the short term line management relationship with His Majesty’s (HM) Chief Inspector, the post-holder will have Accountable Officer responsibilities for the inspection function, overall responsibility for all employees and will be responsible for ensuring that appropriate support is in place to enable HM Chief Inspector to deliver inspections and fulfil their duties.
• Until HMIE is established as a body in its own right, overall responsibility for circa 380 employees.
• Following the establishment of HMIE, overall responsibility for circa 250/ 300 employees.

Further detail on the roles and responsibilities can be found in the Candidate Pack at the bottom of this page.

Person specification

In your Supporting Statement, and if invited to interview, you will be expected to answer on the following Essential Criteria which includes both the Specialist and Leadership criteria as set out below:

• We strongly encourage you to structure your Supporting Statement around these criteria

Specialist Criteria

• An education background with practical experience and a proven track record of leading and delivering improvements in excellence and equity is essential. A professional education qualification is desirable, but not essential.
• Experience of operating successfully at board or senior level using strong political acuity, in a complex organisation, delivering cultural and high-profile programmes of change, with a strong track record of analysing evidence and drawing on personal expertise and resilience, to provide advice that drives improvement, through challenge where necessary.

Senior Civil Service Leadership Criteria

Leading collectively

• Delivering whole system change, by using strong, collaborative leaderships skills, and taking a whole system approach to complex, dynamic issues.
• Actively developing wide networks internally and externally, breaking down and collaborating across barriers to deliver outcomes.

Developing others

• Embedding an inclusive, learning culture – trusting and empowering others, to enable high performance and deliver tangible evidence of innovation.

Leading others

• Setting clear strategic direction and making high quality decisions which balance risk and stakeholder interests to deliver outcomes, whilst creating a sense of collective purpose.
• Creating opportunities for development and innovation, building confidence and a positive organisational culture, that embraces the opportunities of reform.

Understanding and developing self

• A strong understanding of yourself as a leader, how your personal life experiences and background impact on your thinking and behaviour, and how your decisions and actions impact on others.
• Personal resilience to role model inclusive leadership, embracing accountability and exposure, overcoming barriers to change.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £108,393, Scottish Government contributes £31,401 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know…

Selection process details

Fully completed applications should be submitted by 23:55 on 6 October 2024.

To apply for this post, you must register on our Applicant Tracking System and submit the following documents through such:

• A CV uploaded to the Applicant Tracking System.
• A Supporting Statement (no longer than 1500 words) explaining why you consider your skills, qualities, and experience suitable for this role. The system will prompt you to complete this section.

In your CV and Supporting Statement, you should relate your experience to the Essential Criteria outlined in the Candidate Pack. Please note that both CV and Supporting Statement must provided via the Applicant Tracking System for your application to be considered.

Please consult the Candidate Pack and Further Information Pack. when preparing your application.

If there are any technical issues, please contact SCSResourcing@gov.scot

Additional Information

This competition is being run in accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.

If you are shortlisted, you will be provided with full details of the next stages of the selection and assessment process. This will include an individual psychological assessment and both staff and stakeholder engagement exercises. It may also include a recorded presentation. You will also have the opportunity to meet with Ministers and other key stakeholders prior to the final selection panel interview to learn more about the role and the organisation.

The Final Interview Panel will be chaired by Chris Pilgrim, Civil Service Commissioner and will include Neil Rennick, DG Education & Justice, Scottish Government. Information on other panel members will be provided to shortlisted candidates.

Final interviews will be held in St Andrew’s House, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG.

If you have any questions please contact Peter Morrison in the SCS Resourcing Team at Peter.Morrison@gov.scot.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

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