Job Description

Are you an HR professional who thrives on influencing senior leaders and shaping organisational strategy?

Our HR Business Partnering team is a small team of strategic HR advisors working with and influencing senior business leaders and their teams to drive sustained improvements in all aspects of HR including workforce planning, organisation design, team and individual performance, talent management, inclusion and working practices. HRBPs operate at a strategic level and are part of the business leadership team, working closely with SCS colleagues, aligned to a specific DG family.

You will working closely with leadership teams and colleagues to lead and facilitate the provision of professional HR support from across the people directorate, and if necessary, from other sources of corporate support in SG and / or external providers. You will also have the opportunity to support wider HR projects to improve HR services across the organisation.

Responsibilities

• Partnering, supporting and consulting to senior business leaders in all aspects of people management, including people strategies , workforce planning, inclusion, talent, capacity, capability and recruitment.
• Be willing to work towards Chartered Membership of the CIPD.
• Creating and delivering measurable HR interventions and change programmes.
• Feeding business insights back into the wider HR function to inform corporate strategy and priorities.
• Identifying/addressing continuous improvement opportunities.
• Building effective stakeholder relationships within the business, wider HR, and stakeholders (e.g. Trade Unions).
• Able to use a range of OD&D methods and processes to design and shape operating models, systems and structures to meet current and emerging business needs.
• Coaching leaders through workforce planning processes to assess future needs, and shape integrated strategies to address short and longer terms gaps and capability.
• Integrating people data into workforce planning approaches to inform people practices and wider business planning.
• Working with leaders to evaluate and improve management practices and behaviours to create a culture of trust and better employee experience.
• Understanding and coaching senior leaders on how to interpret and apply key HR policies and employment law in a range of situations, managing risk in ways that balances business and employee needs and expectations.

Success Profile:

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on.

Experience

• Building and managing relationships and partnerships.
• Building capability.
• Applying employment law or employee relations principles to business issues.
• Driving change through digital technology.

Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing (Level 4)
• Changing and improving (Level 4)
• Making Effective Decisions (Level 4)

You can find out more about Success Profiles here: Success Profiles

How to apply:

Apply online, providing a CV and supporting statement (of no more than 1000 words) providing evidence of how you meet the behaviours and experience listed in the Success Profile above. Both the CV and the supporting statement provided will be assessed against the criteria for the role.

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.

Eligibility

Applications are invited from colleagues on lateral transfer and promotion.

Skilled Worker 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.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and Written Analysis.

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 17 August 2026 however this may be subject to change.

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.

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 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Location

This role is based in Saughton House, Edinburgh. Travel to other offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow will be required to support stakeholders.

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 23:59 on Wednesday 22 July 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).