Head of Planning, Performance and Insight

UHI; Inverness; Hybrid; GBP 61,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

42 days annual leave pro rata

Pension scheme

Flexible working

Sick pay

Discounts

EV charging

LinkedIn Learning

Long-service awards

Job summary

The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is seeking a Head of Planning, Performance and Insight in Inverness with hybrid working. This newly created role will lead strategic planning, performance frameworks and institutional insight to support evidence-informed decision-making across the UHI Partnership.

You will work closely with the Director of Planning, People and Culture and the Chief Operating Officer to develop planning frameworks, provide strategic analysis for senior leaders and

Qualifications

• Significant experience in strategic planning, organisational performance or related field.
• Experience supporting senior leaders through high-quality strategic analysis and evidence-informed advice.
• Ability to build trusted relationships and influence across organisational boundaries.
• Excellent analytical, communication and organisational skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear strategic insight.
• A passion for improving organisational effectiveness and enabling better strategic decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the University's approach to strategic planning, organisational performance and institutional insight.
• Develop planning and performance frameworks and provide strategic analysis for senior leaders.
• Build trusted relationships with colleagues across the University and Academic Partners to ensure collaborative, value-adding arrangements.
• Support the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Planning, People and Culture to drive transformation.

Skills

Strategic planning

Organisational performance

Stakeholder engagement

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Education

Job description

UHI is the United Kingdom’s leading integrated university encompassing both further and higher education. We are more than a college and more than a traditional university: a diverse, flexible partnership, rooted in our communities and driven by their needs. Our network of colleges, specialist teaching centres and internationally recognised research institutes delivers supported, flexible learning from access level to PhD.

To support our work we are recruiting to the following role:

Head of Planning, Performance and Insight

Salary range £61,000 - £65,000 pa pro rata Duration Permanent Working hours Full-time (35hrs per week) Location Inverness/Hybrid Closing Date 04 October 2026

Help shape the future of one of the UK's most distinctive university partnerships.

The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is entering a significant period of transformation as it develops a new operating model to strengthen one of the UK's most distinctive tertiary education partnerships.

We are creating a new Planning, Performance and Insight function to strengthen the University's strategic planning capability, improve organisational understanding and support evidence-informed decision-making across the UHI Partnership.

This newly created role offers an exceptional opportunity for an experienced strategic planning professional to establish a function that will help shape the University's future.

Working closely with the Director of Planning, People and Culture and the Chief Operating Officer, you will coordinate the University's approach to strategic planning, organisational performance and institutional insight. You will develop planning and performance frameworks, provide strategic analysis for senior leaders, and build trusted relationships with colleagues across the University and Academic Partners to ensure that planning and performance arrangements are collaborative, proportionate and demonstrably add value.

Role

Success in this role will depend as much on your ability to build trust and influence through professional credibility as it will on your technical expertise. We are looking for someone who can demonstrate:

• Significant experience in strategic planning, organisational performance, organisational effectiveness or a closely related field, ideally within education or the public sector.
• Experience of supporting senior leaders through high-quality strategic analysis and evidence-informed advice.
• The ability to build trusted relationships and influence across organisational boundaries where success depends on collaboration rather than formal authority.
• Excellent analytical, communication and organisational skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear strategic insight.
• A passion for improving organisational effectiveness and enabling better strategic decision-making.

This is a rare opportunity to help shape the future of a university partnership that transforms lives and communities across the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Perthshire.

If you are motivated by creating new capability, improving organisational effectiveness and helping senior leaders make confident, evidence-informed decisions, we would be delighted to hear from you.

This is more than a Head of Service appointment. It is an opportunity to establish a new strategic capability at the heart of the University and to help shape the future of one of the UK's most distinctive university partnerships.

Interviews

Will be held in Inverness on 05 November 2026.

• Job description
• Person specification
• Further information
• Guidance notes for candidates
• Summary of terms and conditions of employment

UHI Employee Benefits

At UHI, we offer a supportive, flexible and rewarding place to work, with a range of benefits including:

• 42 days’ annual leave (pro rata)
• Attractive pension scheme and options for additional contributions
• Flexible working and family-friendly policies
• Occupational sick pay and an Employee Assistance Programme (incl. spousal support)
• High-street and online retail discounts
• 10% off Highlife Highland memberships
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Contribution towards DSE prescription glasses
• Free parking and EV charging (where available)
• LinkedIn Learning access for ongoing professional development
• Long-service awards and active social events

If you have any queries about the application process please contact the HR Office at [e-mail].