Public Health Scotland has now been operating for more than 18 months, and we continue to make progress in protecting and improving the health and wellbeing of people across Scotland. The joint sponsorship of the Scottish Government and Local Government is enabling us to give greater support to the wider public sector and other agencies that support communities. Our new body provides system leadership, supporting and enabling action to tackle the health inequalities that persist in many of our communities.

We are looking for Executive Directorate Managers to work as part of a new team dedicated to the provision of strategic support to the Chair, Chief Executive, and Directors of Public Health Scotland. The Executive Directorate Managers will each work with a specific Directorate within Public Health Scotland, i.e., either Data Driven Innovation, Clinical and Protecting Health, Place and Wellbeing, or Strategy, Governance and Performance. You will work as part of a close team, each able to support different directorates interchangeably.

Your role will be to provide strategic policy support to the Director to drive forward the delivery of the PHS Strategy. You will provide both your Director and Directorate senior team with dedicated policy, planning and analysis capacity, to support the delivery of key strategic and operational priorities, at both an organisational level and in relation to their respective national commitments.

Working closely with the Executive & Board Lead, you will independently manage associated projects, prepare reports and briefings for senior stakeholders, and co-ordinate work of a wide-ranging nature to assist your Director in their accountable roles. You will collaborate with subject specialists across your directorate to develop effective strategic level briefings both for your director, and also contributing to briefings for the Chair and Chief Executive. You will be expected to respond proactively to incoming business, and work at pace in a challenging environment with conflicting demands on your time.

You will drive forward effective cross-organisational working by maximising opportunities for collaboration and ensuring that strategic links are made between relevant areas of work across the organisation. You will be able to demonstrate your ability to manage the multiple demands of the post with clarity and skill in order to ensure that results are achieved to a high standard and to time. You will have experience of dealing with a high volume of high stakes matters simultaneously, prioritising competing demands, and negotiating effectively with colleagues across the organisation. You will be skilled in dealing with tricky and sensitive situations, and in managing issues that impact on business-critical work of the organisation.

You will be educated to degree level or equivalent, with extensive relevant experience.

Location and Working Pattern

The post is based in either Gyle Square, Edinburgh or Meridian Court, Glasgow, though you will largely be working from home initially. Applicants on any working pattern are welcome to apply for this post.

Due to our national response to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic there will be an expectation for weekend and/or out of hours working.