Senior Policy Officer – Outcomes and Engagement

Senior Policy Officer – Outcomes and Engagement (Grade E3)

Application Deadline: 28 April 2025

Department: Access, Learning and Outcomes

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Edinburgh - Hybrid

Compensation: E3 Grade £46,392 - £54,003. Civil Service Pension. Flexible Working Hours. Hybrid Working.

Description

Across a portfolio of college regions and/or higher education institutions, you will:

1. Lead on the engagement with these institutions including regular liaison on the delivery of the Outcomes Framework through the assurance process.
2. Manage key relationships with and between internal and external stakeholders, including working with teams across SFC to understand, access and use data and evidence to monitor and assess institutional delivery of key outcomes and associated risk as part of SFC's assurance process.
3. Provide written and oral briefings, advice and guidance to SFC Board and Committees, SFC senior staff and SG Ministers and officials.
4. Work closely with colleagues to contribute to the development of SFC operational policy.

Key Responsibilities

• Working as part of a team, lead engagement across a portfolio of colleges and universities, including regular engagement on the delivery of the designated priorities in the Outcomes Framework through the Assurance Model process.
• Maintain current knowledge on a portfolio of institutions and use this information to monitor college and university contributions towards SFC's Outcomes Framework and to brief colleagues, officials and Ministers.
• Work with teams across SFC on a range of topics relevant to your portfolio of institutions, including monitoring and evaluating data and evidence to inform the assessment of institutional risk, and helping to identify/facilitate priority changes and developments and work to ensure their delivery. As part of the assurance process, bring together SFC teams for institutional case conferences.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of SFC operational policy areas and present policy and strategy papers at committee and board level.
• Represent SFC at external meetings, conferences and other events, including giving presentations, chairing and facilitating discussions when required.

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

• Strong interpersonal skills, including experience of representation and negotiation.
• Proven ability to analyse, understand and respond to complex issues in an appropriate manner, demonstrating good judgement.
• Strong organisational and project management abilities to cope with diverse and changing workload in a politicised environment.
• Ability to interpret, analyse and explain complex information to audiences with varying degrees of expertise.
• Ability to think and act strategically.
• High-level oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage and develop staff.
• Good IT skills.
• Strong policy development or implementation experience.
• Degree level education (SCQF level 9) or equivalent experience.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the further and/or higher education sector.
• A good understanding of the current Scottish political and government environment.
• Some experience of dealing with financial/funding information.
• Experience of working with external stakeholders.

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 26.5 days pro-rata, rising to 30 days pro-rata after 2 years' continuous service. 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 candidate's 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.

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