Description Food is important to everyone, from providing us with the energy and nutrients to live and being at the centre of our social relationships as we sit down to a meal with family and friends, it touches on many aspects of our lives. This role provides an exciting opportunity to work in an area that aims to tackle the challenge of developing an innovative food systems approach to food policy development. The role of the Good Food Nation Policy Official is a high profile and challenging role which has involvement with range of external stakeholders, a new public body and policy officials around Scottish Government. This post is based in the Good Food Nation Team which is a part of the Food Policy Unit within the Food and Drink Division of the Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate (ARE). The team leads on a broad range of Scottish Government food policy initiatives that support our vision for Scotland to be “a Good Food Nation, where people from every walk of life take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food they produce, buy, cook, serve, and eat each day ”. Under the Act, Scottish Ministers are required to produce a national Good Food Nation Plan which sets out the Government’s goals for food policy and how it intends to achieve them. Your role will support the work to finalise the draft of the first national Good Food Nation Plan and to develop and embed working mechanisms across a wide range of policy areas that ensure a joined up approach to developing food policy. Future work within this role will also be focused on supporting local authorities and health boards to develop their own the Good Food Nation plans. This work aims to embed an innovative whole system approach to the development of food policy. Working as part of a small team the post holder will have lead responsibility on contributing to finalising the national Good Food Nation Plan, working closely with other policy areas both within and outwith ARE. Once the Plan is published the post holder will support the development of working practices that ensure the legislative duties in relation to the Plan are met. Responsibilities Take the lead on finalising the national Good Food Nation Plan, taking account of recommendations made during Parliamentary scrutiny. This will require excellent drafting skills and attention to detail. Lead on the work to provide support to local authorities and health boards to develop their own “local” Good Food Nation plans e.g. development of guidance, setting up a forum to share good practice. Provide support for the development of secondary legislation required for commencement of different parts of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act and for the specified functions. This includes working with SGLD to finalise the timing and text of statutory instruments; liaising with Ministerial Private Office and the Parliament and Legislation Unit to make arrangements for signing and laying; and high quality and accurate drafting of accompanying documents. Provide support on the work to establish a Scottish Food Commission. Lead on managing grant funding for food education projects. Oversee and prepare high-quality and well written briefing for Ministers, including FMQ briefing; contributions to colleagues; ad hoc queries and correspondence as required and ensure the teams respond to correspondence cases and PQs within agreed timescales. Develop and maintain strong working relationships and effective communications with a variety of key contacts in the Scottish Government and externally. 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. Technical / Professional Skills: 1. Policy Context and Purpose – Level 1: Developing Criteria being tested: cross-cutting policy objectives and responsibilities 2. Working with Ministers – Level 2: Practitioner Criteria being tested: Deliver effective internal communication. Write for different audiences and purposes, including scrutiny. You can find out more about the skills required here: Detailed Descriptors Experience: Policy experience is essential. Behaviours: Making Effective Decisions – Level 3 Delivering at Pace – Level 3 Seeing the Bigger Picture – Level 3 Working Together – Level 3 You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Behaviour levels - Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot How to apply Apply online before 22 June 2025, providing a CV and Supporting Statement of no more than 1000 words which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above. If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and a written analysis exercise. Assessments are scheduled for w/c 7 July 2025 however this may be subject to change. In the event of a tied interview/assessment score, merit order will be determined by score in Working with Ministers and Making Effective Decisions criteria. About Us The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles. 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 Our standard hours are 35 hours per week. We offer a range of flexible and hybrid working options depending on the needs of the role. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us. 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. 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.