Job Description

This is an Expression of Interest (EOI) opportunity, available on a lateral move basis only. Applications are open to Core Scottish Government employees only.

Job Title - Head of Corporate Projects & Change

Business Area/Directorate - Corporate Operations Division

Location - VQ / AQ

Working Arrangement – Staff in roles compatible with hybrid working should aim to spend 40% of their contracted working time working in person at their contractual workplace. More information can be found within Hybrid Working Policy

Grade - C3

Advert type - Level transfer

Duration - Permanent

Eligibility - Expressions of interest are invited from substantive colleagues on level transfer from core SG only.

Sponsorship: Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

The technologies and services delivered by the Corporate Operations Directorate are critical to the effective running and management of the Scottish Government (SG) and the public bodies that share these services.

Corporate Operations delivers services that must be designed, built, implemented, deployed and embedded effectively. This requires structured project delivery and professional change management capability, as successful change depends on active planning, governance and engagement.

The Projects and Change function provides a coordinated capability for the delivery of approved corporate change priorities. The Head of Corporate Projects and Change leads this function and coordinates the prioritisation, shaping, scoping and delivery of complex corporate change activity within agreed governance and portfolio controls.

The function brings together C2-led capability across Portfolio Management, Programme Delivery, Analysis and Change Management. Core headcount is managed flexibly to reflect portfolio demand, with a permanent team providing sustainable and cost-effective internal capability. This is supplemented by contingent workers and suppliers where additional capacity or specialist expertise is required for specific projects.

The Head of Corporate Projects and Change coordinates an annual change portfolio of approximately £15m aligning funding and resources to corporate projects and programmes within agreed portfolio priorities, delegated authority and governance controls.

Reporting to the Director for Corporate Operations, the Head of Corporate Projects and Change is part of the Directorate’s senior leadership team, leading a defined Projects and Change function. The postholder coordinates multi-stakeholder IT and organisational change programmes within agreed priorities, governance arrangements and portfolio controls.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning, management and professional practice of the corporate projects and change portfolio, ensuring structure, rigour and consistent delivery standards are applied across approved activity.
• Lead the development and operation of the Portfolio Management Office, providing a clear view of prioritised projects and programmes, delivery roadmaps, dependencies, risks, benefits, costs and resource requirements.
• Coordinate the allocation of project funding, internal capability, contingent workers and supplier resources across approved projects and programmes, ensuring deployment is aligned to portfolio priorities, delivery risk, available funding and governance controls.
• Provide oversight and assurance across approved projects and programmes, ensuring delivery is managed in line with agreed objectives, governance arrangements, portfolio controls and delivery confidence and assurance requirements.
• Coordinate the assessment of corporate change demand, business analysis, user-centred design input and business case development, ensuring proposed activity is coherent, deliverable and aligned to agreed Directorate and DG Corporate priorities, affordability and delivery capacity.
• Work with architecture colleagues, other directorates and divisions to shape the change roadmap and establish project teams with the capability, capacity and governance needed to deliver agreed outcomes.
• Ensure effective implementation, adoption, benefits tracking and realisation, lessons learned and continuous improvement are embedded across the Projects and Change function to improve delivery confidence, consistency and value for money.

Qualifications

Professional qualifications or equivalent technical grounding in Project Management, Programme Management, Portfolio Management, Change Management, and Business Analysis.

Success Profile

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on. You should provide evidence of how you meet these in your statement.

Experience:

• Extensive experience of leading and delivering large-scale, complex programmes of work, ideally technology-enabled change, within agreed governance, assurance and reporting frameworks.
• Experience of operating with senior stakeholders, building effective engagement and providing clear advice, analysis and recommendations to support decision-making.
• Experience of operating at portfolio level, coordinating resources, priorities, risks and dependencies across multiple projects, demands and stakeholders.
• Previous experience in Architecture and Design, User-Centred Design, Process Analysis or related transformation disciplines would be ideal. The postholder is not expected to be a specialist in all areas, but must understand the contribution each discipline makes to effective project and change delivery so this requirement is desired but not strictly necessary.
• Ideally, experience of working with third-party software vendors, SaaS products and supplier delivery arrangements, ensuring supplier activity is aligned to agreed project outcomes, governance and delivery controls.

Behaviours:

• Seeing the big picture - Level 4
• Leadership - Level 4

Technical:

The postholder is not expected to be a specialist in all areas, but must understand the contribution each discipline makes to effective project and change delivery:

• Professional qualifications or equivalent technical grounding in Project Management, Programme Management, Portfolio Management, Change Management, and Business Analysis.
• Previous experience in Architecture and Design, User-Centred Design, Process Analysis or related transformation disciplines would be ideal, but in line with the statement above, not strictly necessary.
• Broad understanding of how modern technology, digital services and corporate systems can be applied to business problems, operational improvement and successful organisational change.

Working pattern

This post is a full-time role, but we welcome applications from staff with different working patterns, proposed working patterns will be assessed against the business requirements for this post.

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role, including Flexi-leave. Scottish Government staff in hybrid-compatible roles should aim to work in-person 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location.

How to Apply

Please submit a CV and Expression of Interest (maximum 1,500 words) outlining your suitability for the role, relevant skills and experience, and what you would bring to the team. Please align this to how you meet the behaviours, experience and technical skills listed in the Success Profile above.

Vacancies close at 23:59pm on Sunday 27 September.

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 informal discussion.

Discussion dates are tbc.

For any questions relating to your expression of interest please contact brian.reid2@gov.scot

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

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service observing the Civil Service Code and 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.

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, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

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 information

Find 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.

Apply before: 27/09/2026 (23:59). This role is open to substantive core SG staff only.