Corporate Support and Correspondence Officer

Scottish Forestry; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Scottish Forestry is seeking a dedicated individual to join their Executive Office Team. The successful candidate will support key governance tasks, manage correspondence, and ensure compliance with legislation. This role requires strong organisational and communication skills, as well as the ability to work collaboratively across teams. If you are detail-oriented and enjoy problem-solving, this position offers an opportunity to contribute to important forestry initiatives in Scotland.

Qualifications

• Experience coordinating responses to FOI and EIR requests.
• Ability to manage workloads and communicate effectively.
• Knowledge of complaints handling procedures.

Responsibilities

• Support the development of the Complaints Handling Procedure.
• Coordinate responses to Ministerial correspondence.
• Provide secretariat assistance to SF Boards/Committees.

Skills

Organisational Skills

Communication

Analytical Skills

Problem Solving

IT Skills

Education

HNC Level

Job description

Edinburgh, Scotland, EH12 5HD

Job Summary

Scottish Forestry is the Scottish Government agency responsible for forestry policy, support and regulations, grants incentives, technical forestry advice and new cross border arrangements. Scotland has 1.4m hectares of forests that we regulate, support and promote. We also lead on the delivery of woodland creation targets. Our staff are split between our National Office functions and five Conservancy offices that lead the local delivery of our functions.

The Scottish Forestry (SF) Executive Office Team covers three different areas as follows:

Secretariat and Governance Support

We work closely with Private Offices, Directorate support and colleagues in Scottish Forestry to coordinate, allocate and monitor Scottish Forestry’s corporate work. We provide coordination for Ministerial contact and liaise with departments across Scottish Government. We provide PA support to the CEO, as well as administration support for events as required.

Corporate Planning, Governance And Responsibilities

We provide expertise on our corporate responsibilities as an executive agency, and work with colleagues across SF to deliver these and be compliant. We support our governance structure and manage the corporate planning infrastructure and processes. We provide information and advice on Data Protection and Open Information, working towards full compliance. We oversee the organisation’s approach to risk management.

Media and Corporate Communications

The Scottish Forestry Media Corporate Communications team is responsible for engaging and inspiring our people, customers, partners and stakeholders to connect with who we are, what we do, and why it matters to Scotland. Our team look after key areas including media relations, internal communications, brand, management of corporate publications and the Scottish Forestry website.

Job Description

What you will do

The successful candidate will support the delivery of key areas of work within the Executive Office Team, under the direction of the Corporate Support Manager. This will include supporting the development and implementation of the Complaints Handling Procedure across the Agency; coordinating and compiling responses to complex complaints; and developing an approach to managing compliments/positive correspondence received to be rolled out Scottish Forestry wide. The role will also include supporting the wider Executive Office Team by coordinating responses to Ministerial correspondence, FOIs and EIRs, and providing secretariat assistance to the SF Boards/Committees and CEO during busy periods.

You will liaise with internal stakeholders at all levels, from pay band 6b to pay band 1, to gather necessary information for responses. You will review responses to ensure clarity and compliance with relevant legislation. You will advise colleagues on the processes and procedures in relation to FOI / EIR legislation and complaints handling.

You will have a varied role, supporting change and improvement, you will collaborate with colleagues on projects related corporate governance and case handling, as well as undertaking team tasks and helping contribute to the achievement of our objectives within the annual Business Plan. The role requires someone who has a keen eye for detail, enjoys problem solving and strives for constant improvements to ensure provision of a high quality service.

Line management forms part of this role.

What You Will Do

The successful candidate will support the delivery of key areas of work within the Executive Office Team, under the direction of the Corporate Support Manager. This will include supporting the development and implementation of the Complaints Handling Procedure across the Agency; coordinating and compiling responses to complex complaints; and developing an approach to managing compliments/positive correspondence received to be rolled out Scottish Forestry wide. The role will also include supporting the wider Executive Office Team by coordinating responses to Ministerial correspondence, FOIs and EIRs, and providing secretariat assistance to the SF Boards/Committees and CEO during busy periods.

You will liaise with internal stakeholders at all levels, from pay band 6b to pay band 1, to gather necessary information for responses. You will review responses to ensure clarity and compliance with relevant legislation. You will advise colleagues on the processes and procedures in relation to FOI / EIR legislation and complaints handling.

You will have a varied role, supporting change and improvement, you will collaborate with colleagues on projects related corporate governance and case handling, as well as undertaking team tasks and helping contribute to the achievement of our objectives within the annual Business Plan. The role requires someone who has a keen eye for detail, enjoys problem solving and strives for constant improvements to ensure provision of a high quality service.

Line management forms part of this role.

Person specification

Essential

Experience

• Knowledge and experience of coordinating responses to Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulation requests
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise challenging workloads and find efficient ways of managing work
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present and communicate ideas and information in a clear and positive way
• Strong ability to work as part of a team and with a wide range of colleagues on a broad spectrum of topics.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to organise and collate information from a variety of sources to support decision making
• Self-starter, able to identify gaps and come up with solutions
• Strong demonstrable IT skills, in particular the use of Microsoft applications and other digital tools
  
  

Desirable

• Educated to at least HNC level, or equivalent
• Previous experience of working within a public sector corporate/policy team setting
• Previous experience of coordinating responses to ministerial correspondence and correspondence from the general public
• Experience of using case management systems or planning tools
• Previous experience of providing PA/Secretarial support to senior officials
• Knowledge and experience of working with corporate planning tools such as risk registers or team plans
• Strong knowledge and experience of coordinating responses to complex complaints and implementation of Complaints Handling Procedures, including knowledge of the SPSO legislative requirements and expectations for public sector in relation to complaints
  
  

Selection process details

Please see our recruitment portal for further details.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact

• Name : Louise Maclean
• Email : [e-mail]
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : [e-mail]