Description
Job Description
Are you a visionary leader with a passion for delivering impactful change and driving digital excellence?
Social Security Scotland is seeking an exceptional leader to shape the future of our organisation at a pivotal time. As a key member of the Executive Team, you will provide strategic and professional leadership that embeds our core values of dignity, fairness, and respect into every aspect of our operations.
You will play a central role in translating Ministerial commitments into cost-effective, value-for-money services, while leading digital and organisational change that enhances the lives of people across Scotland. This is a unique opportunity to influence national policy, manage significant budgets, and lead a high-performing team in delivering innovative, client-focused services.
With responsibility for shaping and maturing our digital infrastructure, you will foster a culture of innovation, performance, and continuous improvement ensuring the Agency plays a key role in Public Service Reform. You will lead a multidisciplinary team, manage significant budgets in line with public finance standards, and ensure robust governance and risk management. Your influence will extend across government, working closely with senior officials and Ministers to shape the future of social security delivery in Scotland.
This role will be a highly visible senior leadership role and you will be expected to fully contribute to the overall governance and collective leadership of the Agency.
You will be comfortable with, and willing to, work to an agenda which changes and evolves over time. You should also be comfortable working in both Operational Delivery environment and within a large, complex transformation programme.
Responsibilities
Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will work alongside the Chief Operating Officer and our Deputy Directors to play central role in shaping the Agency's strategic direction, contributing to executive governance, and ensuring the integrity of a growing and high-impact organisation.
Main Duties:
* Lead the continued design and implementation of the Agency's Future Operating Model, creating a culture of change delivery within Social Security Scotland that supports the Executive team in prioritisation and ongoing decision making.
* As part of the Executive Team, provide strategic and professional leadership to the Agency, ensuring that both our values of dignity, fairness and respect and core Civil Service working practices are embedded in the culture and operating practices of the organisation.
* Lead engagement with senior colleagues in Social Security Directorate within the Scottish Government and other policy areas to ensure Ministerial commitments are developed into cost effective, value for money benefit delivery services.
* Represent Social Security Scotland with senior Government officials and Ministers particularly in relation to change and digital delivery issues but also on wider strategic management of the organisation.
* Provide strategic advice and guidance to the Chief Executive of Social Security Scotland, Social Security Directorate and Ministers on the feasibility of proposed strategic change and the internal requirements to ensure ongoing maturity of the current digital infrastructure.
* Lead the Digital, Delivery and Change governance forums required to meet the delegated authority of the Chief Executive, escalating relevant decisions to the Executive Team.
* Lead a mixed team of specialists accountable for the delivery of agreed priorities whilst continuously improving the digital infrastructure and change delivery approach in line with best value.
* As part of the Executive team, contribute to the development and continual improvement of operational policy, strategic business management, corporate governance and strategic communications, delivering significant impact across teams and the wider organisation.
* Manage a budget of £68.5 ensuring compliance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual.
Responsibilities
Qualifications
* Role holders should have or be working towards, a professional level qualification such as MPLA, APM's PMQ/Mop or Axelos' P30 qualifications.
Success Profile Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on. Professional Skills:
1. Governance (Level – Expert)
2. Stakeholder Engagement (Level – Expert)
You can find out more about the skills required here: Insert link Experience:
* Extensive experience and knowledge of Project and Programme Management, leading digital and change delivery within complex public or private sector environments.
* Demonstrate a strong understanding of the statutory responsibilities under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).
* Experience of designing and delivering digital solutions that support the secure handling of sensitive data.
* Demonstrable capability in embedding safeguarding principles into digital transformation programmes, risk, and information-sharing protocols.
Behaviours: Level 6
* Leadership
* Working Together
* Delivering at Pace
* Managing a Quality Service
You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Behaviour levels - Success profiles: candidate guide - How to apply
Candidates must apply online, providing a CV and supporting statement (of no more than 500 words) that directly addresses the Experience criteria listed in the Success Profile above. General or unrelated statements will not be accepted and may result in your application being sifted out. Please ensure your statement clearly demonstrates how you meet the specified experience requirements.
During the interview and assessment process we will test your skills and experience as well as Behaviours aligned to this role.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.
If you are shortlisted, you will be provided with full details of the next stages of the selection and assessment process. This may include an individual psychological assessment and a staff engagement exercise.
Assessments are scheduled for the weeks commencing 16, 23 February and 2 March however this may be subject to change. Some of the assessments may take place in person, further details will be provided for shortlisted candidates.
The Final Interview Panel will take place in person in Glasgow. Interviews will be chaired by David Wallace, Chief Executive, Social Security Scotland.
Indicative Timeline *
* Final interviews: w/c 9 March 2026
*Timings are subject to change. You will be informed appropriately.
Qualifications
About Us Social Security Scotland is an executive Agency of the Scottish Government launched in September 2018. Its purpose is to administer the devolved Scottish social security benefits effectively in accordance with the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Social Security Charter, which has been recently agreed by Parliament. Social Security Scotland is split between its headquarters in Dundee, a further site in Glasgow and people based around Scotland in preparation to deliver direct face-to-face services to clients. It currently comprises of over 4,000 staff. The Agency is responsible for payments of around £6 billion per annum affecting 1.7 million people in Scotland.
Further details of the Agency can be found here:
Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland. We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer. As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Working Pattern & Location Our standard hours are 37 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role. This post has teams based across both Dundee and Glasgow. You may be based in either Dundee or Glasgow but will need regular travel to provide leadership across all sites as well as engage extensively with Scottish Government, particularly Social Security Directorate, colleagues based in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Security Checks
Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).
In addition to the standard pre-employment checks, this vacancy will also require all candidates to obtain National Security Vetting (NSV) at Security Check (SC) clearance level. This type of check normally includes meeting a minimum UK residency period, which for SC level is 5 years.
Further information about NSV checks can be found on the UK Government website - National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK
You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Senior Civil Service recruitment: candidate guide -
Equality Statement We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation. Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them. This content is to be included on all vacancies. Any additional information which is essential to the job advert can be published here, but the majority of roles should only require the link to our careers website. Further information Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website. Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes. This role is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship organisations only.