Description
Our ambition is for Scotland to be the best place in the world to learn, educate, research and innovate, so that all of our nation can flourish.
Our purpose is to create and sustain a world-leading system of tertiary education, research and innovation that changes lives for the better, enriches society and supports sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
The policy team is responsible for bringing coherence to SFC’s policy reviews, analysing and developing policy positions for the future that contribute to wider economic and education impacts, and supporting SFC’s strategic relationships with relevant UK stakeholders. In practice this includes shaping specific areas of policy which span the breadth of SFC’s work, supporting key national consultations or policy reviews that require cross-organisation coordination, and working with key partners across the UK to act as a channel of intelligence on external developments and advising on the implications for SFC. This post will be heavily involved in the ‘College Sector of the Future’ project.
This post is expected to last around 18 months.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead and/or support the development of key areas of policy which shape the breadth of SFC’s work, engaging with colleagues from across the organisation. This will include leading workstreams underpinning SFC’s contribution to the ‘College Sector of the Future’ project.
* Take responsibility for engagement with key partners, ensuring SFC’s policy positions are clearly understood and that there is effective and proactive stakeholder management.
* Horizon-scan and provide advice, support and guidance to internal and external Scottish stakeholders, producing briefings, reports and committee papers as required for SFC senior management and key stakeholders
* Provide advice and guidance to institutions and stakeholders (both internal and external) as required.
* Draft and present policy and strategy papers at committee and board level.
* Draft high-level briefings, speeches and other materials for senior SFC staff and board members.
* Represent SFC at external meetings, conferences and other events, including giving presentations, chairing and facilitating discussions when required.
* Provide effective line management to other team members as required.
* Contribute flexibly to the work of the wider directorate and other groups in SFC as appropriate and when required. From time to time this may include deputising for your line manager or other colleagues.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
It is important through your CV / Cover Letter that you give evidence of proven experience of each of the following essential criteria:
ESSENTIAL SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
* Experience of leading on, or having direct input to, analysis-based policy development, stakeholder engagement and influencing within a complex political environment.
* A proven track record of delivering high quality and effective outputs within time and resource constraints.
* Effective organisational and project management abilities to cope with a diverse and changing workload in a politicised environment.
* Proven ability to analyse, understand and respond to complex issues in an appropriate manner, demonstrating good judgement.
* Ability to interpret, analyse and explain complex information to audiences with varying degrees of expertise.
* Resilient and adaptable in periods of uncertainty.
* Degree level education (Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework level 9) or equivalent experience.
DESIRABLE SKILLS
* Previous experience of strategic planning in the college sector.
* Evidence of subject matter experience relevant to the role.
* Experience of monitoring and evaluating projects/programmes.
* A proven track record of leading and managing people.
* Knowledge of the further and/or higher education sector.
* A demonstrable understanding of the current Scottish political and Government operating environment.
Terms and Benefits
· Normal full-time hours of work are 35 per week. We will consider flexible working arrangements. A flexi-time system is in operation.
· Annual leave entitlement of 30 days pro-rata, plus public and privilege holiday entitlement of 13 days pro-rata.
· A flexible approach to hybrid working, giving you flexibility to work from home anywhere in the UK for some of the time while also maintaining regular in-person contact with colleagues.
· Annual pay review: approved within the framework of the Scottish Government’s Public Sector Pay Policy and negotiated with our recognised trade union, Unite. Salaries are reviewed annually in April for employees who commence employment prior to 1 October in the preceding year.
· Eligibility to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme. With its low member contribution rates and generous employer contributions, this gives you a secure, inflation-proof pension for life with no investment uncertainty. Details of contribution rates together with further details of the pension benefits are available on the Civil Service Pensions website. There is also the option of a Partnership pension account.
· Support for continuous professional development: as a part of SFC, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive support for continuous learning and professional development. Civil Service-Learning curriculum has thoughtfully designed to cater to various learning preferences, allowing employees to engage in a manner that best suits their needs. All our educational resources are conveniently accessible through the CSL website.
· Support for health and wellbeing, including generous occupational sick pay, free access to confidential advice and support through our 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, Special Leave (paid and unpaid), a contribution to learning outside work through our Lifelong Learning Fund, free winter flu vaccination, and access to occupational health support.
· We provide support to SFC employees with Volunteering Days.
· Support for travel to and from work, including a salary sacrifice cycle loan scheme, cycle storage and shower facilities, an interest-free loan for bus or rail season tickets and free office car parking for employees on a first-come basis.
Although most salaried roles are advertised as full time positions (35 hours a week), we are happy to discuss part-time or compressed hours to suit a candidates circumstances. We also operate a flexible working scheme to work around a candidate's other commitments such as caring responsibilities.
We will consider secondment applications for most salaried fixed-term or temporary positions and in many cases also for salaried permanent positions. If you are interested in applying on a secondment basis and this option is not explicitly mentioned in the job advert, please contact recruitment@sfc.ac.uk for further information.
We are the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, more commonly known as the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
We are Scotland’s tertiary education and research authority and our purpose is to sustain a world-leading system of tertiary education, research and innovation that enables students to flourish, changes lives for the better, and supports social, economic and environmental wellbeing and prosperity.
We do this by investing around £2 billion of public money to deliver:
* Tertiary learning and teaching.
* Skills and apprenticeships.
* Student support and participation.
* Research, innovation and knowledge exchange.
* Data collection and dissemination.
* National quality assurance and enhancement processes.
* Capital and digital infrastructure for the sector.
* Strategic change, responsive provision and research priorities.
As a non-departmental public body established by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005, we are directly accountable to Scottish Government Ministers and the Scottish Parliament. We work across many government portfolios and are sponsored by the Lifelong Learning Directorate.
We hold colleges, universities and other funded bodies to account for their delivery of required outcomes. We are also the statistical authority for colleges, and work closely with the UK-wide Higher Education Statistical Authority (HESA), to provide data and statistics for government, decision-makers, and the wider public.
We work in partnership with a wide range of partners and bodies, including those we fund, across all aspects of our remit.
General information for applicants for SFC roles
You must already be eligible to work in the UK to apply for these roles. SFC do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skills Worker License and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.
We are pleased to support applications from everyone regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, socio-economic background, gender, sexual orientation, sex, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, as well as those who have skills in Scottish Gaelic or British Sign Language, who have the right skills for the job.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and actively encourage interviews through the scheme.
Further information about SFC is available on our website Scottish Funding Council home page (sfc.ac.uk). Additional information about our recruitment process can be found at Recruitment Information and Tips | Scottish Funding Council Careers (sfc.ac.uk).