Digital Workforce Specialist Lead – Building Digital, Data and Leadership Capability Programme

NHS Scotland; Tan Office Green; Remote; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A national health service organization is seeking a Digital Workforce Specialist Lead to spearhead Scotland’s ambition in digital transformation. The role involves leading initiatives that enhance digital capabilities across health and social care, and collaborating with various stakeholders to shape a future-ready workforce. Applicants should have proven expertise in digital leadership and a passion for innovative solutions in a fast-paced environment.

Benefits

Generous NHS pension scheme

Annual incremental salary progression

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Proven expertise in digital, data, and digital leadership resource design.
• Ability to lead national learning initiatives.
• Experience of working across the whole sector at a national level.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of national digital learning pathways.
• Build communities of practice across organizations.
• Shape and create digital leadership learning resources.

Skills

Digital leadership capability development

Strong networking skills

Experience in digital resource design

Knowledge of AI and cyber security

Tools

M365 tools

Power BI

Job description

Flexible Location: Based throughout Scotland, NES is a remote friendly employer supporting office, home and hybrid working. We are happy to talk about how you want to work.

Work Pattern: Full time 37 hours per week

Fixed term or Secondment**

• For NHS applicants, an NHS secondment will be offered in the first instance. For non-NHS applicants, a fixed-term or secondment would be considered.
  
  

You must have eligibility and entitlement to work in the UK which is required to be maintained throughout your period of employment.

Who We Are

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) plays a critical role in supporting the health and care sector to have the right people, in the right place at the right time through education, training and workforce development. People are the lifeblood of the NHS and social care; NES is right at the heart of ensuring a future supply. We’re also central to delivering digital solutions which enable improvement in service to Scottish citizens and support our workforce to deliver it.

The People & Culture Directorate works at a national level to support the delivery of NES’s strategic plan and is a key partner to the delivery of Scottish Government priorities for the health and social care workforce. It also provides a comprehensive People and Organisational Development strategy and service for the people who work for NES and externally to NHSScotland in the recruitment of medical and dental trainees and other vocational trainee groups.

The Digitally Enabled Workforce (DEW) team at NHS Education for Scotland is a high-impact, award-winning team working remotely across the UK. Commissioned by Scottish Government and COSLA, we deliver on national priorities from Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Strategy, the Health and Social Care Data Strategy, the Care in the Digital Age Delivery Plan and the recently published Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework.

The DEW team lead on bold, innovative digital transformation across health and social care by providing and developing innovative resources, building digital, data, and digital leadership capabilities, learning networks and shaping future-ready services. Our work is fast-paced and purpose-driven, with multiple national workstreams running in parallel.

DEW thrive on what they do, empowered to innovate, adapt, and demonstrate how teams should work in a digital age.

Find out more about the DEW team here: Digitally Enabled Workforce | Turas | Learn

The Opportunity

Can you work at pace and scale? The DEW team is looking for a forward-thinking Digital Workforce Specialist Lead to help drive Scotland’s national ambition to build digital, data, and digital leadership capabilities across health and social care. That covers NHS, Local Authorities, Health and Social Care Partnerships, Social Work, Social Care, Care and Support Providers, Housing, Third and Independent Sectors.

This is your opportunity to be at the forefront of digital transformation working with Scottish Government, COSLA, and partners to shape a future-ready workforce.

We’re Looking For Someone Who Is

• Innovative and strategic, with proven expertise in the development of digital, data, and digital leadership capabilities across all levels in an organisation and nationally.
• A confident, initiative-taking connector who thrives in a fast-paced, agile, innovative environment.
• Enthusiastic about making a difference and influencing how Scotland’s workforce learns and leads transformation.
• Experienced in developing learning resources in a virtual environment.
• Flexible with an innovative approach to solving problems and delivering streamlined solutions that make real impact.
• Not only bringing the right skills also possessing a strong alignment with our team’s values and working culture.
  
  

Does this sound like you?

Why This Role Matters

Joining the DEW team means stepping into a fast-paced, nationally recognised programme where the impact and reputation of our work truly matters. As the accountable delivery partner for Scottish Government and COSLA, we shape the digital, data, and digital leadership capabilities that will enable the digital future of Scotland’s health and social care workforce. This role is a critical part of the successful delivery of the programme. As this is a maternity cover position the successful candidate will be expected to step into the role with confidence and immediately apply their expertise.

Success in this role depends on both technical expertise and the ability to work effectively as part of a supportive and high-performing team and outwardly connecting externally sector wide with our partners, stakeholder groups and users across multiple organisations representing the commission and delivery on a national level.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Leading the development and continuous improvement of national digital, data, and digital leadership learning pathways.
• Building communities of practice that span organisations, foster peer learning and accelerate digital transformation at scale across the sector.
• Development of resources for a diverse range of organisations to enable setting up and running effective digital champion networks.
• Shaping and creating digital, data and digital leadership learning resources through the lens of learners and national requirements.
• Facilitate the building of national networks, creating digital spaces to enable learning, sharing of best practice and facilitating dynamic interconnected working.
• Drive the adoption, evolution, and impact of the Digital and Data Capability Framework and Resource Hub nationally across the whole sector.
• Leading the national promotion and adoption of the Digital and Data Capability Framework Self-assessment Tool using national insights to inform and shape sector requirements.
• Proactively engaging and taking direction from our commissioners in Scottish Government and COSLA.
• Making connections across the UK and whole sector to avoid duplication of resources and enable co-design and sharing of approaches.
• Content discovery, analysing data to inform actions on utilisation of resources and their impact.
• Working with the DEW team and ensuring resources reach all learners.
• Delivering your workstream priorities within timescales and forward planning.
• Providing the relevant report updates as part of the programme governance.
• Contribute to a culture of innovation and agility.
  
  

What You’ll Bring

We’re looking for a dynamic, forward-thinking leader with:

• Proven expertise in digital, data, and digital leadership resource design and development for all levels of the workforce.
• A creative, confident, and self-motivated mindset with a passion for innovation.
• The ability to lead national learning initiatives and shape Scotland’s health and social care workforce.
• Strong networking skills to connect people, ideas, and opportunities.
• Experience of working across the whole sector at a national level.
• Working at pace managing overlapping priorities and evolving goals.
• Knowledge of AI, cyber security, information governance, and specialist areas of digital and technology to enable the design and evolution of specialist learning resources.
• Confidence engaging across boundaries with learners, stakeholders, and partners.
• Understanding and application of service and product design processes.
• Proficiency in M365 tools including Excel, Teams, SharePoint, Power BI, Power Automate, MS Lists, Copilot and other digital tools, reporting tools and systems.
• A self-led learning approach and enthusiasm for showcasing new digital tools and ways of working.
  
  

Benefits Which Matter

As a valued employee of NHS Scotland, you can enjoy an extensive range of benefits including:

• Life-work balance - with opportunities for flexible working and remote working
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Annual incremental salary progression (up to the maximum of the salary band) plus annual NHS salary scale review
• Annual Leave - 27 Days increasing in line with service plus 8 days public holiday
• NHS discounts and more
  
  

Diversity and Inclusion

Developing a successful national service for Scotland is impossible without ensuring we consider the diverse needs, perspectives, and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland in our work.

We are focused on hiring the very best talent available for NES and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and aim to ensure everyone is treated fairly, with respect and has a positive recruitment experience – regardless of the outcome.

You may be returning from a career break (e.g. maternity, paternity, caring for others) or returning after working in another field. Your experiences elsewhere can bring a fresh perspective to our work.

If you are considering applying and feel it would be helpful to discuss this initially, please contact Paula Baird Programme Lead Digitally Enabled Workforce [e-mail]

Next Steps

Our recruitment process is currently 100% remote and if successful you would initially work remotely, working from our offices as operationally required.

All applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail.

Online interviews (including a presentation) will take place between 3rd – 5th September 2025. The presentation topic will be sent to candidates selected for interview.

For further information please refer to the Job Information Pack below.

Unless otherwise stated the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date. Please note, CV’s will not be accepte

To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.

As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK websitehere.

For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be foundhere.

It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsoredBEFORE submitting your application form.

If you have any queries regarding the NHS Scotland National Recruitment Portal or the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to contact our recruitment partners, the East Region Recruitment Service, at: [e-mail]