Job Description

Are you the leader we are looking for to drive a high-impact Corporate Services function at a pivotal moment of change?

Disclosure Scotland (DS), an executive agency of the Scottish Government, is seeking a strategic leader to head our Corporate Services function and play a key role within our senior leadership team. As a critical part of Scotland’s public protection system, DS delivers criminal record checks, manages the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme, and makes decisions on behalf of Scottish Ministers about who should be barred from working with vulnerable groups - ensuring safeguarding remains at the centre of everything we do.

Reporting to the Deputy Chief Executive, you will lead a diverse portfolio of corporate services functions, delivering operational excellence and providing strategic leadership across Finance, People, Procurement, Governance, and Risk & Assurance. Your primary objective will be to create a high-performing, enabling corporate environment that drives organisational performance and ensures the successful delivery of our strategic goals.

Responsibilities:

• Leadership of the Corporate Services Directorate - engage staff, suppliers and stakeholders around a clear vision for the Directorate in alignment with customer and stakeholder needs.
• Delivery - deliver business excellence in Finance, People, Corporate and Programme Governance, Business Support, Procurement, Estates and Risk & Assurance functions.
• Performance oversight - drive a step-change in DS’s performance management and accountability to ensure the agency delivers its objectives and Scottish Ministers’ ambitions and priorities.
• Governance, Risk & Assurance - Oversee and streamline governance across DS to enable: agile decision making; management of risk and resilience; and assurance as well as compliance with all statutory responsibilities and financial regulations. Promote diversity and inclusion across the organisation.
• Transformation - co-ordinate the agency-wide strategic agenda towards a financially sustainable model, with a focus on commercial return on investment, data-driven decision making and continuous improvement for innovation and productivity.
• Strategy - develop and execute a robust Corporate Services strategy aligned with DS's aspirations enhancing operational effectiveness, meeting legal obligations, and delivering safeguarding services which are fit for purpose.
• Corporate Leadership - support the Chief Executive as a member of the DS Advisory Board, Audit and Risk Committee and Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to deliver DS’s business and corporate plans.

Qualifications

A relevant professional qualification or accreditation in a corporate service discipline (e.g. governance, accountancy, HR).

Please confirm in your CV that you hold the qualification required.

Success profile: Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on. Technical / Professional Skills:

• Connections and communication - Expert
• Data and insight - Expert

You can find out more about the skills required here: Core ODP Skills - Operational Delivery Profession

Experience

• Proven leadership skills in a fast paced Corporate Services environment, demonstrating the ability to mange a number of teams across multiple disciplines.
• A strong track record of leading high-performing teams through significant change, and of demonstrating forward-thinking and innovative delivery.

Behaviours:

• Seeing the big picture – Level 4
• Making effective decisions – Level 4

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here Behaviour levels - Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot

How to apply: Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 1000 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment. If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an in person interview and presentation Assessments are scheduled for w/c 22 June 2026 however this may be subject to change.
Apply before 23:59 on 31 May 2026. This post is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship Organisations only (external candidates and staff from UK Other Government Departments are not eligible to apply for this vacancy).
Recruitment Principles
As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases. About us

Disclosure Scotland (DS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, operating on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, to perform an important safeguarding role for the people of Scotland. The work of DS directly supports the Scottish Government’s National Outcomes for Children and Young People, Economy, Fair Work and Business, Communities and Human Rights. To contribute to these, DS is responsible for three primary services, managing and delivering the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme, Disclosure services, including processing applications for disclosure certificates and the National Barring Service for Scotland which combined, enable safer recruitment decisions to be made by employers, providing safer spaces for all of us when accessing services. These are exciting times for DS. We are transforming our business by continually improving our service offering to our customers and stakeholders.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules

Working pattern:Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role. From October 2025, the Scottish Government will require staff in hybrid-compatible roles to work in-person at least 2 days per week. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.
Security checks:Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, and read about the Government Vetting Charter, or about all the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide Internal candidates may need to gain higher security clearance than they currently hold if successful in their application. Equality statement:We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.  Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.
Further informationFind out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.