Engagement Advisor

Engagement Advisor - Service Change (Ref:
£41,608 - £50,702 (Band 6)
Part-time (22.2 hours per week)
Permanent
Edinburgh or Glasgow – hybrid working will apply for the foreseeable future (all roles require some routine travel for in-person meetings, site visits, workshops and events)
Healthcare Improvement Scotland is the national improvement agency for health and social care in Scotland. We are currently seeking an Engagement Advisor – Service Change to play a key role in shaping and embedding high-quality public engagement practices across health and care in Scotland.

We are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic, and positive individual to join the Community Engagement and Transformational Change Directorate's Engagement Practice Assurance Unit. As an Engagement Advisor in Service Change, the post-holder will be working with an experienced team of Engagement Advisors and undertaking advisory work in relation to the service change activities of health & care statutory bodies (territorial and special NHS boards, and integration authorities) within designated areas of Scotland (North, East or West), including the relevant regional planning group. This will include both providing expert advice and gathering intelligence.

This recruitment will strengthen the work programme and provide continued quality support and advice to NHS Boards/Partnerships undertaking service changes across the country. It will add value to the work of HIS as the organisation builds on its reputation for providing expert and quality advise and support to an ever-changing health and social care landscape.

Key activities for this role will be contributing to the planning and organisation of the Assurance of Engagement function's annual work programme aligned with the directorate's vision and operational plan.

Work collaboratively with the Operations Manager and Programme Managers across the directorate's engagement functions to ensure the post-holder has ready access to support from Project Officers as and when required to consistently gather and share local intelligence and community opinions relating to service change activity by health & care statutory bodies in their local areas, and administrative support from designated Administrative Officers.

The successful candidate will provide expert and authoritative support to health & Care statutory bodies and regional planning groups by informing their service change approach through robust stakeholder analysis, scoping existing evidence, and reviewing often complex and conflicting information submissions relating to the service change itself. This requires the post-holder to exercise judgement in assessing and making recommendations regarding the most effective approach for the statutory body to take that promotes public participation best practice.

Contribute to the on-going development and maintenance of appropriate service change policy, guidance ('Planning with People') and methodology in partnership with directorate staff, health & care statutory bodies, the Scottish Government, and other stakeholders, and ensure such policy and approaches are fully researched and based on practical application and evidence. This includes regular participation on national and regional working groups which propose changes to policy and guidance on service change across all health & care services. The post-holder is then responsible for updating the directorate's relevant service change project plans accordingly.

This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in a national programme that has a direct impact on healthcare across Scotland. If you require any further information or would like an informal chat about the post, please contact

Closing Date: Thursday 18 December 2025 at midnight
Interviews are anticipated to take place on Monday 12 January 2025 via MS Teams.
Please note: Recruitment enquiries will not be responded to between 25 December 2025 and 4 January 2026 as our offices will be closed.