Specialist Lead, Remote and Rural Health and Care Recruitment and Retention

NHS Scotland; England; Remote; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A national health board in Scotland seeks a Specialist Lead to enhance remote and rural healthcare. You will be responsible for implementing a Direct Support Model, collaborating with various stakeholders, and addressing workforce challenges to improve health and wellbeing outcomes. This is a remote-friendly role with opportunities for flexible working.

Benefits

Generous NHS pension scheme

Annual incremental salary progression

27 Days Annual Leave plus 8 public holidays

NHS discounts

Qualifications

• Experience in programme/project delivery in health, care or workforce development.
• Understanding of recruitment and retention challenges in remote and rural settings.
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams and sectors.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a Direct Support Model for remote and rural healthcare recruitment.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to co-design resources and approaches.
• Evaluate progress and capture learning for continuous improvement.

Skills

Programme management

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Communication

Resilience

Job description

Overview

Flexible Location: Based throughout Scotland, NES is a remote friendly employer supporting office and hybrid working. Regular presence at our offices throughout Scotland is a requirement of this role. We’re happy to talk about how you want to work.

Work Pattern: Fixed Term to 31 March 2026, full-time 37 hrs per week.

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.

We are leaders in remote, rural and island healthcare educational design, delivery and quality assurance and provide wide-ranging support for workforce development. We support national workforce planning and develop digital technologies that support innovation and transformation.

Our purpose is to drive change and improve the quality of care experienced by citizens across Scotland by ensuring that we have the right staff, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time. NES is integral to improving outcomes for people and in ensuring a skilled and capable workforce underpins the design and delivery of services. As an organisation, we recognise the significant contribution we can make to improving population health, reducing inequalities and economic development.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Specialist Lead to join our highly talented and growing team to help address some of the challenges within remote & rural communities.

The National Centre (The Centre) for Remote and Rural Health and Care was established by NES on behalf of the Scottish Government in 2023. As a valued member of our team, you will support the delivery of improved care for remote, rural and island communities across Scotland and reduce remote, rural and island health and wellbeing inequalities through focused work to improve the sustainability, capacity, and capability of remote, rural and island primary care and community-based workforce and service delivery.

The Centre supports the delivery of improved care and contributes to reducing remote, rural and island health and wellbeing inequalities, through focused work to improve the sustainability, and capacity of primary and community-based workforce and service delivery.

The Initial Phase 1 Of The Centre Has a Focus On Primary Care Services Up Until 31 March 2026. This Includes Community-based Health Services Provided By a Range Of Healthcare Professionals. This Work Is Organised Across Within Four Main Programme Themes

• Supporting and Developing the Remote, Rural and Island Healthcare Workforce for Improved Service User Access and Enhanced Multi-Disciplinary Team Working
• Building Sustainable Remote, Rural and Island Health and Care Services and Workforce, to support Improved Service User Access
• Building Rural Primary Care Knowledge and Data for Improved Health and Care, to support Reducing Rural Health Inequalities
• Sharing knowledge for Improved Remote, Rural and Island Health and Care

As a Specialist Lead You Will

• Have a critical awareness of knowledge in the field of programme management, health and care and preferably remote and rural healthcare.
• Be responsible for delivery of a Direct Support Model for remote and rural healthcare recruitment that has been designed and is to be collaboratively implemented by the NES National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care and the NES Centre for Workforce Supply.
• Work collaboratively with stakeholders across health, social care and communities to co-design resources and approaches tailored to remote, rural and island contexts.
• Contribute to continuous improvement by evaluating progress, capturing learning, and ensuring resources are evidence-based and responsive to stakeholder needs.
• Promote, monitor and maintain best practice in Health and Safety.
• Contribute to operational plans in line with NES Strategy, utilising National Policy documents, formulating and adjusting plans and liaising with key stakeholders throughout Scotland, as necessary.
• Investigate highly complex queries, aiding and advice as required
• Support with gathering knowledge and data from a wide range of sources.
• Ensure all necessary records are maintained

Do you have experience of programme and/or project delivery in a health, care or workforce development context?

Do you understand the unique challenges of recruitment and retention in remote, rural and island health and social care settings?

Do you have the ability to work collaboratively across teams, organisations and sectors to co-design practical solutions?

Do you possess strong skills in stakeholder engagement, analysis and producing actionable resources?

Do you have the motivation and resilience to drive forward a nationally important programme at pace?

Does this sound like you?

This role offers a unique opportunity to make a tangible impact on Scotland’s remote, rural and island health and care workforce. You will work at the heart of a national programme, collaborating with experts from the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care and the Centre for Workforce Supply, and with stakeholders across Scotland. The postholder will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the first stage of the Scottish Government’s Direct Support Model, gaining valuable national experience in programme leadership, workforce planning and community-engaged approaches.

What We Love To See

Specialist Leads bring a broad range of skills and experience. If you can offer some or all of these, we’d love you to apply:

• A track record of delivering programmes or projects in health, care or workforce development, ideally with remote, rural or island experience.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to collaborate across professional groups, organisations and communities.
• Experience of co-design or partnership working to develop practical solutions and resources.
• The ability to analyse complex information and turn it into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Confidence in leading conversations and building consensus among diverse stakeholders.
• Experience of managing plans, timelines and outcomes in a changing environment.
• Effective communication skills, able to translate complex issues into clear language for a wide range of audiences.
• An adaptable, solutions-focused approach, with the resilience to drive delivery at pace.
• Experience of contributing to evaluation, reporting and continuous improvement.

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.

It’s not essential to be working in a General Manager role, 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.

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 on the 15th of October 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 accepted.

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]