Programme Officer

NHS Scotland; Scotland; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

NHS pension

Annual pay progression

27 days leave + 8 holidays

NHS discounts

Job summary

NHS Scotland is seeking a proactive Programme Officer to provide operational and business management support within the Medical Directorate Support Workstream. This role involves daily oversight, staff coordination and delivering professional, responsive services to the Executive Medical Director’s Office.

You will work across the Medical Directorate and wider organisation to plan priorities, brief senior leaders, and ensure timely, high-quality outputs in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience of providing high-level programme, business or operational support within a complex organisation, including supporting senior leaders and managing competing priorities
• Experience of coordinating business support functions, ensuring the delivery of a professional, responsive and efficient service across a team or department.
• Extensive experience of preparing high‑quality briefing papers, reports, presentations and correspondence for senior leaders, translating complex information into concise and actionable outputs
• Ability to confidently lead and coordinate activities across multiple workstreams, ensuring actions are progressed and delivered within agreed timescales.
• Experience of working collaboratively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, building effective working relationships and influencing positive outcomes
• Proven experience of line managing, developing and motivating staff, supporting individuals and teams.
• Strong organisational and programme management skills, with the ability to plan, prioritise and manage a varied workload while meeting challenging deadlines.
• Highly effective communication skills, with the ability to present information clearly and professionally for a range of audiences, both verbally and in writing.
• Excellent attention to detail and a commitment to producing accurate, high‑quality work
• Ability to work independently using sound judgement, whilst also contributing effectively as part of a collaborative team
• Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessary
• Ability to work on own initiative, to organise and prioritise own workloads, to meet strict deadlines

Responsibilities

• Provide vital operational and business management support to the Executive Medical Director’s Office and the broader Medical Directorate Support Workstream.
• Direct oversight of essential daily functions, staff management, and coordinating and overseeing the business support provided to the Executive Medical Director.
• Support the planning and delivery of key priorities and ensure the Executive Medical Director is appropriately briefed and supported.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the Medical Directorate and wider organisation to drive improvements and policy implementation.

Skills

Programme management

Staff management

Stakeholder engagement

Briefing & reports

Leadership

Organisation

Communication

Attention to detail

Independent working

Job description

On 1 April 2026, NSS and NES became one national organisation, focused on continuity today and a stronger, more connected service for tomorrow.

As part of this transformation, NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) have joined to form a new organisation: Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland). This new organisation will play a pivotal role in supporting the renewal and ensuring the long‑term sustainability of health and care services across Scotland.

Flexible Location: PSD Scotland is a remote‑friendly employer with staff based throughout Scotland. We support office‑based and hybrid working arrangements. We welcome conversations about alternative working patterns—please get in touch during the application process to discuss.

Work Pattern: Fixed Term, Full Time, 36 hours per week

Fixed-term or Secondment** for 12 months

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

PSD Scotland unites expertise from NES and NSS in a way that will allow us to accelerate national programmes to support the NHS to deliver better care, now and in the future.

We support staff with education and training, provide the tools and data that improve services, and run vital national functions such as procurement, logistics and blood, tissue and cell services.

The Medical Directorate is responsible to the Public Services Delivery Scotland Board and through the Board to Scottish Government for the commissioning and delivery of postgraduate medical education in Scotland. The role of the Directorate is to oversee training, manage the trainee’s progress through the training programme and ensure the training is delivered to GMC standards.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a motivated and dedicated individual to join our skilled and adaptable team as a Programme Officer, providing vital operational and business management support to the Executive Medical Director’s Office and the broader Medical Directorate Support Workstream. The role includes direct oversight of essential daily functions, staff management, and coordinating and overseeing the business support provided to the Executive Medical Director to ensure a high‑quality, professional and responsive service across the office. Working closely with colleagues across the Medical Directorate and wider organisation, you will support the planning and delivery of key priorities and help ensure the Executive Medical Director is appropriately briefed and supported.

Do you thrive in a fast paced, ever‑changing environment and enjoy adapting to new challenges?

Do you possess strong organisation and leadership skills?

Do you excel at building strong relationships and working collaboratively with stakeholders?

Do you enjoy problem solving, identifying solutions and seeing them to completion?

Do you have a passion for influencing and improving ways of working?

Working within the Medical Directorate Support team you will have the opportunity to implement real change and be part of developing the workforce within NHS Scotland’s specialist educational board

Does this sound like you?

What We Love to See

• Proven experience of providing high-level programme, business or operational support within a complex organisation, including supporting senior leaders and managing competing priorities
• Experience of coordinating business support functions, ensuring the delivery of a professional, responsive and efficient service across a team or department.
• Extensive experience of preparing high‑quality briefing papers, reports, presentations and correspondence for senior leaders, translating complex information into concise and actionable outputs
• Ability to confidently lead and coordinate activities across multiple workstreams, ensuring actions are progressed and delivered within agreed timescales.
• Experience of working collaboratively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, building effective working relationships and influencing positive outcomes
• Proven experience of line managing, developing and motivating staff, supporting individuals and teams.
• Strong organisational and programme management skills, with the ability to plan, prioritise and manage a varied workload while meeting challenging deadlines.
• Highly effective communication skills, with the ability to present information clearly and professionally for a range of audiences, both verbally and in writing.
• Excellent attention to detail and a commitment to producing accurate, high‑quality work
• Ability to work independently using sound judgement, whilst also contributing effectively as part of a collaborative team >
• Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessary
• Ability to work on own initiative, to organise and prioritise own workloads, to meet strict deadlines

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 hybrid 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 means considering the diverse needs, perspectives, and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland. We are focused on hiring the very best talent and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. Our aim to ensure that everyone is treated fairly, with respect, and has a positive recruitment experience—regardless of the outcome.

We welcome applications from all under‑represented groups, including racially minoritised people and disabled people. It is not essential to be in a Programme Officer role right now—you may be returning from a career break (e.g., maternity, paternity, caring) or coming from another field. Your experiences can bring a fresh perspective to our work.

Next Steps

**NHS candidates will be considered firstly on a secondment basis, and so are strongly encouraged to discuss this with their current NHS employer at the earliest opportunity, ideally prior to application.

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

online interviews will take place on 21st- 23rd October 2026.

Unless otherwise stated the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date. Please note, CVs will not be accepted.

1. Please be advised that if you are successful in being offered the role following the recruitment process, you will be expected to attend the office prior to your start date to complete face‑to‑face pre‑employment checks. If you require any adjustments to support this, please let us know.
2. 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 willcheck 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 website here.

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 found here.

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 sponsoredBEFOREsubmitting your application form.