Job Description

Can you write meaningful, accessible reports? If so, we want to hear from you.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission is a small, independent public body with 28 staff. We produce independent, robust forecasts and assessments to improve the transparency and scrutiny of the Scottish Budget.

As governance manager, you’ll make sure the Scottish Fiscal Commission is compliant, accountable and efficient. Being so wee means that we’re close to our planning and our reporting so you’ll work closely with our Chief Executive and senior management team. You can see the plans, reports and minutes you’ll be delivering at Introduction | Scottish Fiscal Commission.Responsibilities

• Lead our corporate and annual reporting and audit processes so that we are transparent and accountable, including writing formal reports.
• Provide secretariat and support for our Board and our Audit and Risk Committee (both at least 5 times per year), preparing papers and making sure the Board and Committee are effective and efficient. You will also support the recruitment and induction of our Commissioners.
• Make sure our internal controls and our policies are being followed, are up to date and are compliant with public sector standards.
• Organise our business planning, including preparing our annual business plan.
• Help us to manage risk well, and report on our risks and how we are managing them.
• Double check our spending reports each month.
• Oversee our records management and reply to our Freedom of Information requests.
• Line manage and support our Finance and Information Officer.
• Periodically review the shared services we receive to make sure they provide best value for our needs.
  

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

• Adaptability to change - working level
  -

  With an openness to innovation and change, OPD works to continually improve and set high standards for service provision to its stakeholders (again check this word out). Is flexible in accepting and evolving to change. Learns and adapts quickly to new skills including innovation and digitalisation of services to support improved outcomes.

  
  -Supports team to see change positively and to continuously improve the team’s capability, performance and service delivery.

  
  - Sources and analyses a range of evidence, insights and data to identify areas for improvement activity, and sets measurable service improvement plans.

  
  - Explores options to apply technology and digital processes to improve service accessibility and delivery for customers.

• Data and insight – working level
  -Uses data and insight effectively to monitor operational performance and to inform problem solving, decision making, considering benefits and risks to service delivery.
  -Able to source, validate and analyse a range of relevant information and data (using data tools like Excel) and then present it to inform decision making.
  - Uses data to regularly evaluate delivery performance (e.g. dashboards) and to highlight trends or risks which could impact service delivery or stakeholders.
  - Ensures team handles data securely and manages data security in line with all legal and organisational requirements.
  

You can find out more about the skills required here: ODP Competency framework | Pathways
Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing - Level 3 (lead criteria)
• Seeing the Big Picture - Level 3

You can find out more about Success Profiles here: Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot Candidates will have their applications assessed against all criteria. If a large number of applications are received an initial sift will be conducted on the Lead Criteria highlighted above. Candidates who pass the initial sift will have their applications fully assessed against all remaining criteria.
How to applyApply 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 interview and written analysis exercise. Assessments are scheduled for 5-12 May,however this may be subject to change.

Recruitment Principles

As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principlesand we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.

What does the Scottish Fiscal Commission do?
We produce independent, robust forecasts and assessments to improve the transparency and scrutiny of the Scottish Budget. We are independent of the Scottish Government and we give the answers to questions like:

• How much money will the Scottish Government get from taxes?
• How much will social security payments cost?
• What will climate change and ageing population mean for public finances?
• Which spending decisions now could build up into huge costs in future?
  

Our deep, impartial scrutiny and clear explanations bring transparency to the Scottish Government’s financial decisions. Find out more about us at: Staff Vacancies | Scottish Fiscal Commission

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, so we follow the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment and we mirror the Scottish Government employment terms and conditions. You can find out more about those on the Scottish Government's careers website

Working pattern and Location

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week, but we also support part-time working - 4/5 of our senior managers are part-time. Please do apply if you'd prefer to work part-time. If the top candidate is part-time we will adjust duties accordingly.

We offer flexible working hours between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Friday.

We offer hybrid working. Our office is in central Edinburgh (EH1 3DE) and generally you can choose whether to work there or from home. You would be expected to attend the office in person sometimes to build strong working relationships with the rest of the team, support in-person meetings or events, or for all-staff days, all-team days or specific training events. We anticipate this would be around once or twice a week. If you have specific questions please contact us.

Security checksSuccessful 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, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide
Equality statementWe are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.
Find out how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them. We also take part in Scottish Government's diversity schemes and staff networks. Reserve List
We will hold a reserve list for 12 months.
Further information

The Scottish Government provides our HR service and their Candidate Guide gives further information on the recruitment and application processes.

Apply before 23:59 on 27th April 2026.