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 - Workforce Planning & Organisational Development Lead

Business Area/Directorate - Social Security Directorate

Location - AQ / VQ

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 - B3

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.

Overview

The Workforce Planning & Organisational Development Lead shapes and delivers workforce planning and capability development across the Directorate, working closely with senior leaders, HR colleagues and teams to ensure decisions are data-driven, forward-looking and aligned to business priorities.

The role leads the development and embedding of robust workforce planning approaches, enabling effective organisational design and a more strategic, joined-up approach to resourcing and capability. Business priorities are translated into clear, deliverable workforce plans that support sustainable performance.

Strong analytical, strategic and influencing skills are essential to building effective relationships, providing credible challenge and supporting senior leaders to make informed decisions, while driving continuous improvement and ensuring governance requirements are met.

Key Responsibilities

Workforce Planning & Strategy

• Lead the organisation’s workforce planning approach, ensuring alignment with strategic and operational priorities.
• Develop workforce plans and forecasts, using data and insight to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Drive a shift from reactive recruitment to proactive planning and demand forecasting.
• Engaging with managers and leaders to analyse workforce data and identify trends or potential risk.
• Facilitating the collection of insights from multiple data sources such as succession planning, talent pipelines, and resource utilisation.
• Providing challenge and insight-driven recommendations that help the organisation shape its workforce strategies.

Organisational Design & Development

• Lead and support organisational design activity, ensuring structures enable delivery of business outcomes.
• Ensure workforce impacts of organisational change are understood and actively managed.
• Analysing organisational data and diagnostics to inform organisational effectiveness and engaging with key stakeholders to gather insights and support change.

Capability & Skills Planning

• Identify current and future capability needs, addressing skills gaps through targeted interventions.
• Support the development of career pathways, capability frameworks and succession plans
• Embed a longer-term, strategic approach to capability and skills development.

Strategic Resourcing Alignment

• Shape and implement strategic resourcing approaches that reflect workforce plans.
• Provide oversight and constructive challenge on workforce and recruitment activity to ensure alignment with workforce plans and value for money.
• Work collaboratively across HR, resourcing and finance to support a joined-up approach.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Build effective relationships with senior leaders, HR Business Partners and functional leads.
• Act as a trusted adviser, providing evidence-based insight and constructive challenge.
• Enable informed decision-making by translating complex workforce data into clear, accessible insight for senior stakeholders.

Insight, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Lead the development of workforce reporting and insight to support strategic decision-making.
• Design, develop and maintain workforce dashboards, data models and analytical products using Power BI.
• Manage the deployment, governance and maintenance of reporting solutions through Microsoft Fabric and Power BI.
• Investigate and resolve data quality, reporting and refresh issues, working with data owners to improve source-data integrity.
• Manage Power BI Apps, user access and audience permissions, ensuring reporting products are secure and accessible.
• Develop and embed tools, frameworks and processes that improve the consistency, quality and efficiency of workforce planning and organisational development activity.
• Drive continuous improvement across workforce planning, organisational development and resourcing practices.

If you don't already hold existing CIPD membership you would be expected to work towards qualification whilst in post

Success Profile

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of behaviours, experience and technical criteria (if applicable) that candidates will be assessed on. 

Technical Skills:

1. Analyse complex workforce data to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
2. Translate workforce intelligence into strategic recommendations.
3. Design, develop and maintain workforce planning reporting and analytical solutions using Power BI and Microsoft Fabric.

Experience:

• Significant experience of workforce planning and organisational development
• Advanced experience developing and maintaining Power BI dashboards and reporting solutions.
• Experience of Microsoft Fabric, Power BI deployment processes and reporting

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. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Further Information

Further information about this opportunity is available from SSD_WFP@gov.scot

How to Apply

Please submit an Expression of Interest (maximum 750 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 Friday 25 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.

Discussions are scheduled for w/c TBC.

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: 25/09/2026 (23:59). This role is open to substantive core SG staff only.