Assistant Director, Governance and Planning

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 347905**Salary**:

- £61,626 - £72,684- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Other- SFC Grade M1**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- Chief Executive’s Office**Type of role**:

- Senior leadership**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Homeworking**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Central EdinburghAbout the job

**Job summary**:
SFC is seeking an experienced Assistant Director, Governance and Planning to lead on corporate governance and planning, ensuring that the SFC adheres to the high standards expected in the public sector. This role is essential to the good governance of SFC and will provide leadership and direction across all aspects of corporate governance and planning. It will maintain and continuously improve our corporate governance arrangements and our approach to strategic and delivery planning. It will also have oversight of programmes of work which may arise should the organisation expand its remit to play a more significant role in skills provision and intervention to secure quality tertiary education outcomes, following the publication of the Scottish Government’s Purpose and Principles1 and its Reform agenda.

This role is essential to the delivery of the SFC’s objectives and will have oversight of:

- Corporate governance, ensuring SFC continues to maintain and continuously improve corporate governance arrangements.
- The Strategic and Delivery plans and provide leadership and visibility of project and programme progress, dependencies, risks and issues, assuring that these are in line with strategic objectives.

You will work closely with our Executive Team and senior leadership team to ensure our plans support our strategic objectives.

The role will require the ability to exercise good judgment in supporting the Deputy Director, Governance and Planning deliver their role. It will involve collaborating with senior leaders and partnership working with colleagues in Finance and HR to ensure that all activities are strategically connected and aligned with our budgets and people resources. A keen understanding of the strategic context within which SFC is working will be key to success in this role.

**Job description**:
**Key Responsibilities**:

- Lead the Corporate Governance and Planning function for SFC. This includes supporting continuous improvement within our governance function, overseeing the Strategic and Delivery plan and monitoring progress against them, working with the Chief Executive, Directors and other senior staff and colleagues.
- Ensure that SFC business is conducted in compliance with all relevant legislation and regulation in an efficient and effective way, and report to the Executive Team, Audit and Compliance Committee and Board where necessary. This will include monitoring developments in legislation and regulation that are relevant to SFC.
- Oversee programmes of work which support the organisation expand its remit to play a more significant role in skills provision and intervention to secure quality tertiary education.
- Oversee the SFC’s risk management framework and implementation, including drafting reports to the Executive Team, Audit and Compliance Committee and Board where necessary.
- Ensure that all appropriate corporate governance policies, procedures and assurances are in place that balance legislative requirements and organisational need.
- Lead the development of SFC’s annual Delivery Plan (including supporting quarterly reporting), which aims to deliver the objectives as set out in Strategic Plan 2022-27, and in due course lead the development of a new Strategic Plan. Support quarterly reporting against these plans.
- Lead the implementation of project and programme governance including appropriate planning and monitoring tools to support the planning process. This could include developing measures of success (KPIs) or balanced score cards so that we can demonstrate progress and ensure all we do supports our strategic objectives.
- Lead the development of organisational wide learning and development for project management, implementing best practice approaches.
- Working in partnership with the Deputy Director of External Affairs to support the drafting of the relevant elements of the Annual Report and Accounts, working with colleagues across SFC.
- Lead the SFC’s complaints policy and implementation, including co-ordinating and responding to complaints.
- Support the Deputy Director, Governance and Planning by providing timely and accurate advice on all aspects of corporate governance and strategic and delivery planning.

**Person specification**:
**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**:

- An excellent unders