Specialist Lead (Dental)

NHS National Services Scotland; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent national health service in Scotland is seeking a highly motivated Specialist Lead to enhance dental education and training. This role involves collaborating with key stakeholders to develop pre-registration qualifications and advancing educational provisions for dental technicians. The ideal candidate will be a registered Dental Technician or Clinical Dental Technician with leadership experience in education. This position offers flexible and remote working options, contributing to the advancement of dental professional development within NHS Scotland.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Generous NHS pension scheme

Annual leave of 27 days

NHS discounts

Qualifications

• Registered member of the General Dental Council as a Dental Technician or Clinical Dental Technician.
• Specialist knowledge across work procedures within their field.
• Experience in designing and delivering education.

Responsibilities

• Provide expertise for developing pre-registration training qualifications.
• Collaborate with stakeholders for educational provision.
• Support development of post-registration education and training opportunities.

Skills

Registered member of the General Dental Council

Experience in education roles

Excellent leadership and management skills

Ability to develop relationships

Creative problem-solving skills

Digital and organisational skills

Education

GDC registration as Dental Technician or Clinical Dental Technician

Job description

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

Work Pattern: Fixed term, Time, 0.2 WTE - 7.4 hours per week – (working hours will reduce from 1.4.26 – Agenda for change reduced working 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

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is the national health board with statutory responsibilities to effect sustainable change through workforce development, education and training across the health and social care system in Scotland, while working at UK level with partner organisations.

The Dental Directorate is responsible for the management, funding and provision of Postgraduate Education for Dentists and Dental Care Professionals within Scotland and pre-registration for Dental Nurses and Orthodontic Therapists. Postgraduate Education is provided for practitioners within the General Dental Service, Public Dental Service and the Hospital Dental Service. The Directorate is responsible for overseeing the provision of Foundation Training for new dental graduates, and CPD courses for general dental practitioners and the dental care professionals. In addition to this the Directorate oversees the dental training grades in the Hospital service and is responsible for the management of Dental ACT (Additional Costs of Teaching) and student outreach funds.

The DCP workstream provides pre-registration Dental Nurse and Orthodontic Therapy training programmes towards eligibility to register with the General Dental Council (GDC). In addition, the workstream provides a wide range of online and blended learning programmes that support the professional and skills development of registered Dental Nurses, Dental Receptionists and Dental Practice Managers. Our ‘earn as you learn’ models of education provision lead to the achievement of qualifications awarded by Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), Skills Development Scotland (SDS), and the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh (RCSEd). Utilising digital technologies, our blended learning programmes provide a flexible and sustainable approach for our learners and their employers across Scotland.

The dental directorate is currently working in partnership with key stakeholders to review pre-registration education and training provision for dental technicians to ensure provision of education meets the current and future needs of the dental workforce within NHS Scotland.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a highly motivated and innovative GDC registered Dental Technician or Clinical Dental Technician to join the DCP Workstream in the role of a Specialist Lead to work in partnership with the Associate Postgraduate Dental Dean (DCP) and key stakeholders to review pre-registration education and training provision for dental technicians to ensure provision of education meets the current and future needs of the dental workforce within NHS Scotland.

The purpose of this post is to provide subject matter expertise to work collaboratively with stakeholders in the development of a new pre‑registration training qualification that aligns with the General Dental Council’s (GDC) Safe Practitioner Framework and meets the GDC’s Quality Assurance standards for new qualifications. In addition, the role will contribute to shaping a learner‑centred career pathway for dental technicians, supporting the development of post‑registration education and training opportunities.

This is an exciting opportunity to help accelerate the creation of future‑focused education provision and contribute to the long‑term development of the dental technology profession and overall enhancing career attraction. Therefore, there will be a requirement to travel to meet with internal and external stakeholders.

Do you want to play a key role in enhancing learning and development of the healthcare workforce across Scotland?

Do you enjoy collaborating with colleagues within a cohesive team?

Do you have a passion for supporting the development of others?

Do you enjoy working at pace and being adaptive to an ever‑changing environment?

Working within the Dental Care Professional Workstream, you will have the opportunity to share your professional knowledge skills and experience, to contribute to the future delivery of education, training and assessment of dental care professionals, and make a direct influence and impact on the provision of safe and effective direct patient care.

Does this sound like you?

What We Love to See

• Registered member of the General Dental Council as a Dental Technician or Clinical Dental Technician
• Specialist knowledge across the range of work procedures and practices within their field of work/area of practice.
• Experience within an education role, in designing and delivering education and conducting the assessment of learning
• Knowledge and understanding of different qualification frameworks, and understanding of quality assurance systems of professional and accrediting regulators and awarding bodies
• Experience in the design and quality assurance of educational programmes
• Excellent leadership, management, communication, interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Ability to develop and build highly effective working relationships
• Ability to manage internal and external stakeholders across different levels of seniority
• Ability to use initiative, creativity and innovation to complex problem solving.
• Excellent digital, organisational and administrative skills
• Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessary
• Ability to work with minimal supervision; to plan and prioritise own workloads, and that of your team; and to meet deadlines

Benefits Which Matter

• 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 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.

It’s not essential to be in an Specialist Lead role right now. 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 Caroline Taylor, Associate Postgraduate Dental Dean (DCP) [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 which will include delivery of a presentation will take place on 7th January 2026. 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, 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 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 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 licensed 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 sponsored BEFORE 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]