Temporary Senior Policy Officer (Grade E3)

Scottish Funding Council; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

30 days annual leave

Civil Service Pension

Annual pay review

Job summary

Scottish Funding Council in Edinburgh invites applications for Temporary Senior Policy Officer (Grade E3). The role supports Tackling Child Poverty funding and other strategic skills policy areas, delivering policy and delivery support with internal and external stakeholders.

This fixed-term, full-time post is hybrid, with a 35-hour week, and provides Civil Service Pension contributions and flexible working hours. The appointment is expected to end July 2027.

Qualifications

• Proven policy development or implementation experience.
• Ability to research, analyse and respond to complex issues.
• Strong organisational and programme management abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; explain complex information clearly.
• Experience engaging with internal and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop SFC operational policy for strategic skills programmes.
• Prioritise policy and delivery implications to meet objectives.
• Identify and manage risks affecting policy delivery.
• Lead engagement with stakeholders and represent SFC externally.
• Provide briefings to Deputy Director Skills and governance boards.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Stakeholder engagement

Policy analysis

Oral & written communication

Policy development

Education

Degree level education (SCQF level 9) or equivalent

Job description

Temporary Senior Policy Officer (Grade E3)

Application Deadline: 22 November 2026

Department: Strategic Transformation & Skills

Employment Type: Fixed Term - Full Time

Location: Edinburgh - Hybrid

Compensation: Grade E3 £49,938 to £58,134. Civil Service Pension with Employer Contribution of 28.97%. Flexible Working Hours. Hybrid Working.

Description

Our ambition is for Scotland to be the best place in the world to learn, educate, research and innovate, so that all of our nation can flourish.

Our purpose is to create and sustain a world-leading system of tertiary education, research and innovation that changes lives for the better, enriches society and supports sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

The purpose of this role is to support the implementation of the Tackling Child Poverty funding project and other strategic skills policy areas.

The post will provide policy and delivery support, working with internal and external stakeholders to support effective implementation.

We expect that this role will end in July 2027.

Key Responsibilities

• Working as part of a team, contribute to the development of SFC operational policy in relation to the implementation of strategic skills policy programmes.
• Prioritise policy and delivery implications for SFC and support delivery to ensure implementation meets SFC's strategic objectives.
• Actively identify and manage problems, risks and issues which may affect the successful delivery of key policy functions.
• Lead engagement and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Provide briefings, advice and guidance to Deputy Director Skills and Coherent Provision, senior leaders, governance boards and Scottish Government.
• Represent SFC at external meetings, conferences and other events, including giving presentations, chairing and facilitating discussions when required.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

It is important through your CV / Cover Letter that you give evidence of proven experience of each of the following essential criteria:

Essential:

• Strong interpersonal skills, including experience of representation and building/developing and maintaining work relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to foster a culture of trust, co-operation and team working to ensure projects are delivered to scope and time.
• Proven ability to research analyse, understand and respond to complex issues appropriately, demonstrating good judgement.
• Ability to explain complex information to audiences with varying degrees of expertise. High-level oral and written communication skills.
• Strong policy development or implementation experience.
• Strong organisational and programme management abilities to cope with diverse and changing workload in a politicised environment.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in a public body, college or university sector, or within education and skills policy.
• Degree level education (SCQF level 9) or equivalent experience.

Terms and Benefits

• Normal full-time hours of work are 35 per week. We will consider flexible working arrangements. A flexi-time system is in operation.
• Annual leave entitlement of 30 days pro-rata, plus public and privilege holiday entitlement of 13 days pro-rata.
• A flexible approach to hybrid working, giving you flexibility to work from home anywhere in the UK for some of the time while also maintaining regular in-person contact with colleagues.
• Annual pay review: approved within the framework of the Scottish Government's Public Sector Pay Policy and negotiated with our recognised trade union, Unite. Salaries are reviewed annually in April for employees who commence employment prior to 1 October in the preceding year.
• Eligibility to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme. With its low member contribution rates and generous employer contributions, this gives you a secure, inflation-proof pension for life with no investment uncertainty. Details of contribution rates together with further details of the pension benefits are available on the Civil Service Pensions website. There is also the option of a Partnership pension account.
• Support for continuous professional development: as a part of SFC, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive support for continuous learning and professional development. Civil Service-Learning curriculum has thoughtfully designed to cater to various learning preferences, allowing employees to engage in a manner that best suits their needs. All our educational resources are conveniently accessible through the CSL website.
• Support for health and wellbeing, including generous occupational sick pay, free access to confidential advice and support through our 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, Special Leave (paid and unpaid), a contribution to learning outside work through our Lifelong Learning Fund, free winter flu vaccination, and access to occupational health support.
• We provide support to SFC employees with Volunteering Days.
• Support for travel to and from work, including a salary sacrifice cycle loan scheme, cycle storage and shower facilities, an interest-free loan for bus or rail season tickets and free office car parking for employees on a first-come basis.
• Although most salaried roles are advertised as full time positions (35 hours a week), we are happy to discuss part-time or compressed hours to suit a candidates circumstances. We also operate a flexible working scheme to work around a candidate's other commitments such as caring responsibilities. We will consider secondment applications for most salaried fixed-term or temporary positions and in many cases also for salaried permanent positions. If you are interested in applying on a secondment basis and this option is not explicitly mentioned in the job advert, please contact [e-mail] for further information.