Principal Lead - Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CWI)

NHS Ayrshire & Arran; West Virginia; Hybrid; USD 106,000 - 146,000; Full time

Job summary

Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland) is seeking a proactive Principal Lead to join the Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CWI). You will shape the strategic direction, oversee operating model development, and drive national workforce planning initiatives in partnership with the Scottish Government and health/social care sectors.

You will engage multiple stakeholders, scope ambitious programmes, and lead business case development to enable evidence-based workforce planning across

Qualifications

• Experience in scoping and managing health workforce planning programmes.
• Knowledge of health workforce planning and programme management.
• Experience researching and co-creating policies, strategies, guidance, resources and tools.
• Experience building and facilitating communities of practice, roundtables and short-life working groups.
• Experience in analyzing health workforce data and presenting to stakeholders.
• Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion, with tact and persuasion.
• Ability to work on own initiative, prioritise workloads and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Lead the formation and strategic direction of the Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CWI).
• Scope and facilitate agreement on ambition, objectives and requirements for a sustainable long-term operating model.
• Lead the development of strategic, outline and final business cases as required.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to deliver high-profile national workforce planning programmes.

Skills

Workforce planning

Programme management

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Strategic thinking

Integrity and empathy

Initiative & deadline focus

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** until 31 March 2028

• 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.

Recognising the value and contribution of social care, PSD Scotland has established a new Social Care and Communities Directorate as a dedicated corporate function. The work of the Social Care and Communities Directorate builds on and expands the existing education, training, workforce development and workforce data and technology provided by PSD Scotland to the social care sector.

The Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CWI) is a new team that sits within the Social Care and Communities Directorate of PSD Scotland. Commissioned by the Scottish Government, as one of the key actions in the National Workforce Planning Improvement Framework, it aims to support strategic workforce planning across the system.

The Centre for Workforce Intelligence will provide structured planning and support at national and local levels, including translating national workforce strategy into tools, actionable intelligence and operational guidance to enable effective, evidence‑based workforce planning. It will strengthen national coordination, improve data quality and support scenario modelling, feeding valuable workforce intelligence into national decision making. It will explore unexplained variation and support integration of workforce, service and financial planning.

The Centre for Workforce Intelligence will strive to be a “single source of truth”, delivering workforce insights but also educational resources, tools and guidance to further the skills development of workforce planners, therefore strengthening workforce planning capability across the system.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced Principal Lead to join the newly established Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CWI) team.

Reporting to the Head of Programme, you will be responsible for managing the formation and strategic direction of the CWI. This includes scoping and facilitating agreement around the ambition, objectives and requirements for a sustainable long‑term operating model and leading the development of strategic, outline and final business cases if required.

Do you want to help shape the future of workforce planning in Scotland?

Do you enjoy rising to the challenge in a fast paced, complex and political environment?

Do you enjoy collaborating with lots of stakeholders to co‑develop, complex and innovative programmes of work?

Do you have a passion for workforce planning, programme management and using data?

Do you want to use your workforce planning knowledge and skills to improve the sustainability of the healthcare workforce?

Working within the Centre for Workforce Intelligence you will have the opportunity to be part of a high profile national programme that will help shape the future of workforce planning in Scotland, supporting real change within the system and making a difference to people’s every day working lives.

Does this sound like you?

What We Love To See

Principal Leadsoffer a broad range of skills and experience, if you can offer some or all of these, we’d love you to apply:

• Experience in successfully scoping, establishing and managing health workforce planning/improvement programmes of work
• Highly developed specialist knowledge in the areas of health workforce planning/workforce strategy and programme management, underpinned by theory and experience of working in the health and/or social care sector (clinical or non-clinical)
• Experience in researching and co‑creating high quality, best practice, workforce planning or improvement policies, strategies, guidance, resources and tools
• Experience of building and facilitating communities of practice, roundtables and short life working.
• Experience in critically analysing and presenting complex health workforce data and strategy to a range of stakeholders
• 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

• 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 Principal Leadrole 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 Andrea Kwek, Head of Programme, Centre for Workforce Supply, [e-mail].

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.

In person OR online interviews including a presentation will take place on Monday 14th December 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]