Educational Lead

NHS Ayrshire & Arran; West Virginia; Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 94,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

NHS pension scheme

Annual salary progression

Annual leave 27 days + public holidays

NHS discounts and more

Job summary

PSD Scotland is seeking an ambitious Educational Lead in Optometry to support the postgraduate education for Eye Care Practitioners across Scotland, delivering the CGS and CLVS training and supporting learners, assessors and placement providers.

You will work with Senior Educators and other team members to develop and deliver education, liaise with NHS Boards and stakeholders, and provide professional leadership for the optometric workforce. Flexible working and hybrid arrangements are available.

Qualifications

• Registered healthcare practitioner with a postgraduate qualification (e.g., MSc) in low vision and/or glaucoma.
• Extensive experience in community or hospital settings.
• Experience planning, delivering and managing training programmes including undergraduate.
• Strong communication skills and ability to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including at senior levels.
• Positive, proactive approach with honesty, integrity and compassion.
• Ability to work on own initiative, organise workload and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver postgraduate optometric education and training for PSD Scotland.
• Support learners, assessors and placement providers across CLVS and CGS entry requirements.
• Collaborate with Senior Educators and Educational Leads to drive programme delivery.
• Lead liaison with NHS Boards and relevant stakeholders to support inter-professional education.
• Provide professional leadership, advice and educational support within the optometric workforce.

Skills

Communication skills

Training delivery

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Initiative

Integrity

Time management

Education

MSc in low vision/glaucoma

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: Permanent, Full time or Part Time, 57 hours 36 minutes available.

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.

Optometry sits within the Dental Directorate and supports the provision of General Ophthalmic Services community eyecare practices across Scotland. It supports up-skilling of eyecare practitioners, to facilitate delivery of safe, effective eyecare to the population of Scotland.

Optometry strives to provide education that:

• Is patient focused and improves patient care
• Is high quality and effective
• Optometry team members want to, and can attend.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting period in eyecare education in Scotland, with the roll out of national eyecare services including the community glaucoma service (CGS) and the community low vision service (CLVS). These services require appropriately trained Eye Care Practitioners

We are looking for an ambitious, hard-working and very experienced educationalist/ practitioner who has the drive to support the post graduate qualifications for Eye Care Practitioners delivered by PSD Scotland. This team currently deliver our postgraduate qualification NESGAT to support entry into the Community Glaucoma Service (CGS) and will also develop and deliver the appropriate education to support Eye Care Practitioners for the upcoming Community Low Vision Service (CLVS). The post requires flexible working, which may involve some requirement for considerable travel and the requirement to attend evening and weekend events

The Educational Lead role is varied and provides a significant opportunity to support development and delivery of postgraduate optometric education and training in Scotland. The post holder, in the first instance, will support development and delivery of the training associated with the CLVS and CGS, supporting learners, assessors and placement providers across all aspects of the education required to enter CLVS and/or CGS. You will work in conjunction with the others in team including Senior Educators and Educational leads.

Do you want to deliver an optometric education programme based on national and local priority needs, ensuring liaison with other senior professionals within the healthcare team and relevant stakeholders?

Do you want to contribute specialist expertise to national and regional PSD Scotland initiatives?

Do you want to liaise with other groups and individuals employed in NHS Boards engaged in supporting postgraduate education to develop local opportunities for inter-professional learning?

Do you want to provide professional leadership, advice, education and support to colleagues, devising key activities in specialist area. This may be at local, national or UK wide level?

Do you want to support the future development of the optometric workforce?

Working within the PSD Scotland Optometry team you will have the opportunity to bring your unique skills and experience to the table, collaborating across multiple workstreams to effect real change within the optometry workforce in Scotland.

Does this sound like you?

What We Love To See

• A registered healthcare practitioner with a postgraduate qualification e.g. MSc, in low vision and/ or glaucoma, independent prescribing optometrist.
• Extensive experience in a community or hospital setting
• Experience of planning, delivering and management of training programmes including undergraduate.
• Highly developed professional communication skills and experience of facilitation, consultation and negotiation with a wide range of stakeholders including at a high level of seniority
• A positive and enthusiastic approach to the development of community optometry in Scotland
• 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 inan Educational Lead 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.

If you are considering applying and would like to discuss the opportunity, any adjustments or alternative work patterns, please contact Claire Black, Senior Educator, [e-mail]

Next Steps

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

In person OR online interviews (including a presentation will take place on Wednesday 21st October 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.

• 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.
• 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 websitehere.

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 foundhere.

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.

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]