Charity registered in Scotland SC031893
Top job! Chief Executive Officer
- Full time
- Circa £50,000
- Hybrid: Edinburgh with flexible arrangements
- Closing 5th March 2026
Disability Equality Scotland (DES) is a membership organisation representing a broad and diverse community across Scotland. Through engagement, consultation and influencing activity, DES ensures disabled people’s voices shape policy and practice at national level.
The organisation works collaboratively across sectors and is recognised as a constructive and influential voice within Scotland’s disability landscape.
The role
Disability Equality Scotland (DES) is entering an exciting new phase and is seeking an ambitious and strategic Chief Executive Officer to build on the organisation’s significant progress and national influence.
Over recent years, DES has strengthened its position as one of Scotland’s leading disability organisations, with a strong and engaged membership base, established partnerships and secure funding in place. The organisation is now looking for a confident and connected leader who can shape its next stage of development and further amplify its voice at a national level.
Reporting directly to the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive will provide strategic leadership across the organisation, ensuring strong governance, financial stewardship and continued impact.
The Opportunity
This is a high-profile leadership role with responsibility for:
- Providing clear strategic direction and delivering the organisation’s vision and business plans
- Acting as principal ambassador and spokesperson for DES
- Influencing policy and building constructive relationships with Scottish Government, partners, funders and stakeholders
- Leading a senior management team and fostering a culture of professionalism, inclusion and accountability
- Ensuring robust financial management across a circa £500k turnover organisation
- Supporting a period of organisational development and structural refinement
- Working closely with the Board to ensure strong governance, compliance and risk management
DES is in a stable financial position, with secured funding in place for the current and forthcoming year. This provides a strong platform from which the next CEO can focus on strategic growth, innovation and long-term sustainability.
The Person
The Board is seeking a credible and inspiring leader who can operate confidently at a national level.
You will bring:
- Significant senior leadership experience within a charity, not-for-profit or aligned environment
- A strong track record of working effectively with a Board
- Strategic thinking combined with the ability to deliver operationally
- Financial literacy and experience of organisational budget oversight
- Experience influencing policy and engaging constructively with government and sector partners
- Excellent public speaking and communication skills
- A collaborative mindset – someone who sees partnership, not competition, as key to progress
- A clear commitment to advancing disability equality in Scotland
Knowledge of Scottish policy development, equality and human rights legislation, accessibility principles and community engagement will be highly valuable.
Lived experience of disability is particularly welcomed (although not essential), as is experience within membership-based organisations.
Commitment to Accessibility and Inclusion
DES is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and actively welcomes applications from disabled people and individuals from all backgrounds. We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is accessible. Adjustments are available at every stage, please advise us of any requirements.
We encourage applications from all sectors, reflecting our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equality.
Operations Team Lead
- Full time
- £31,500
- Hybrid: Primarily from office (working in central Edinburgh), with occasional home working. Other travel may be required to occasional events, in other parts of Scotland.
- Closing 23rd February 2026
Disability Equality Scotland seeks to recruit a passionate, skilled and dedicated new team member - Operations Team Lead.
This is a time of immense challenge, change, renewal, and opportunity. Working with DES, you’ll play a vital role in the future of the organisation, championing the rights for disabled people across Scotland.
The Operations Team Lead will have experience of working in operations, finance, HR, and have strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Through co-ordinating and providing comprehensive administrative, operational, and financial support, the post holder will ensure that DES operates efficiently, adheres to sound financial practices, and maintains our reputation as a responsible and financially prudent organisation.
They will work across two key areas:
- Office and HR Management
- Finance, budgets, and reporting
This new role would suit someone with administration, HR and finance experience who is naturally very well-organised, able to build strong relationships, enjoys working with lots of partners, and is committed to the equality and participation of disabled people. The successful applicant will also have an eye for detail and be able to quickly respond to new opportunities and challenges.
You’ll be part of the small operations team so you’ll need to be a great communicator, enthusiastic, proactive and willing to be flexible when things change.
Being right at the heart of what we do, you’ll understand how a small charity functions and the importance of strong administrative and financial processes as a backbone to success. You’ll help provide the glue that holds different projects together, enabling it to be greater than the sum of its parts.
From taking minutes at meetings, helping deliver our engagement to our members and to making sure invoices are paid on time - this is a varied and rewarding role and we are looking for someone keen to be a key part of the Scottish Independent Living Movement and get stuck into everything it involves!
For the full job description and person specification of this role please download from information below or contact us on Tel: 0141 370 0968.
If you wish to discuss anything in regard to accessibility or if you require alternative formats, please contact our recruitment team by email at recruitment@disabilityequality.scot or by telephone on 0141 370 0968.
Equal opportunities
We are committed to being disability confident and an employer of choice irrespective of race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, or pregnancy and maternity. The ethical and business case of ensuring that our workforce is representative of wider society is at the heart of what we do. When we are recruiting, disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview. We make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and during employment.