Business Support Officer

Starting salary: £27,519
Contract type: Fixed term contract until 10 December 2026
Grade: 2
Location: Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH (with hybrid working)
Working Hours: Monday - Friday, 35 hours per week
Interviews: To be held on Week Commencing 10 November 2025

As the Business Support Officer, you will provide vital, high-level administrative support to three Heads of Service in Cultural Assets Directorate. The duties include taking the lead in managing various administrative tasks on their behalf to allow them to fulfil their core objectives. There will be an expectation to work using your own initiative. Occasional cover support to other department heads will be required on an ad hoc basis to cover periods of Annual Leave. 

For more information about the post and information about the team, please access the full job description for this post. Please note that if you don't have Office 365 installed on your device, this can be opened using your browser.

Benefits of joining us at Historic Environment Scotland

• Enrolment onto a Civil Service Pension scheme – 28% employer contribution
• 25 days annual leave, pro-rata (increasing to 30 days after 3 years public holidays
• Reimbursement for relevant professional subscriptions
• Support for further education and personal development
• Study leave for work related courses
• Flexible working hours (where appropriate)
• Free entry to all of our properties (with up to three guests)
• Free entry to English Heritage, Manx and Cadw properties

Key Responsibilities of this role

• Mailbox management – assist the Heads of Services in managing their emails and occasional paper correspondence. This will involve the handling and dissemination of highly confidential and miscellaneous requests for information.
• Maintaining and keeping action/ deadline trackers up to date.
• Diary management – manage  and prioritise the Heads of Services' schedules including organising internal and external meetings and travel arrangements. This will include setting up Teams calls / Zoom / Skype and/or booking rooms or venues and arranging hospitality when required. Researching and preparing itineraries for site visits is also required.
• Take minutes and note actions when required, draft agendas and disseminate support materials and papers as necessary. Liaise with staff and externals when required.
• Supporting the Heads of Services and their strategic teams with various Agile project management tasks.
• To provide full business support to the Heads of Services including drafting reports, letters, and articles where appropriate. This will include researching and collating information required for various requests and progress updates (including those sought by the Chief Executive's Office, Director, relevant teams, or Business Manager). 
• Lead on tasks or projects as required by the Heads of Services, such as organising conferences, or the Heads' attendance at external events.
• Arranging travel (within UK and abroad) and co-ordinating site visits, business trips, etc. and with booking accommodation.
• Undertake general administrative duties including collation of data, filing, responding to general queries from both within and outside the organisation. 
• Check and prepare presentations and papers as instructed.
• Finance – raising purchase orders, assisting with Travel & Subsistence and other financial reconciliation needs on behalf of Heads of Services.
• Answering calls and dealing with general enquiries.
• Provide assistance and support to Cultural Assets Directorate Business Support Manager (your Line Manager) and Heads of Cultural Assets with specific tasks and ad-hoc projects as and when requested.
• Providing admin support to other Heads of Service in the absence of their dedicated business support.
• Assist with organising the team's development day by sourcing ideas and making enquiries. Find and organise travel and accommodation for the team's development day.
• Managing the monument monitor inbox by uploading photos to PICAMS (Properties In Care Asset Management System) which are sent in. Forwarding issues at sites to the relevant site team responding to members of the public who have raised an issue or have an enquiry.

Key requirements of the role:

In order for you to be successful in this post, we will be looking for you to submit a cover letter which addresses how you can meet each of the essential and desirable criteria (in up to 1,200 words), using examples of where you have demonstrated these criteria previously. Please ensure that you provide real life examples for each of the criteria to be considered for this post. You can use examples of how you have met this criteria from your work life, home life, education or volunteer experience. Please read our CV and Cover Letter Guidance first before completing, as you will only be eligible for selection if you use examples of how you meet the essential and desirable criteria.

Essential:

• High-level business/ administration support/ secretarial skills.
• Ability to collate, analyse and disseminate information at speed.
• Ability to prioritise tasks and meet tight deadlines.
• Pro-active approach to looking ahead, addressing issues, and suggesting solutions.
• Close attention to detail.
• Strong teamwork ethic with the ability to work alone or with minimal supervision.
• Effective communication skills, with attention to clarity and accuracy and confident in working with numbers.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office & Outlook. 

Find out more about desirable skills and experience in our full job description.

We are dedicated to building a workforce which is reflective of diversity within Scotland. We warmly welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, gender or gender identity, religious beliefs, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or neurodiversity. In support of our Gaelic Language Plan, we welcome applications from Gaelic speakers.

We want every candidate to have the best chance to succeed during the recruitment process. If you require your application in an alternative format, please reach out to us via email at  or call our Head Office at and speak to a member of our People Team.

Please note that, at this time, we are unfortunately unable to provide sponsorship as part of the recruitment process, therefore you must have current right to work in the UK to be considered for a post.

To submit your application online, please read our 'How to Apply' followed by 'Apply Now' button to begin your application.