Brand and Content Manager

Job summary

About the team

Scottish Forestry is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government responsible for forestry policy regulatory and support functions.

The Corporate Affairs and Communications Branch is split into two main teams. The Corporate Affairs team covers Ministerial liaison, Parliamentary business, FOIs, correspondence, corporate governance and services the key management boards. The Communications team handles internal and external communications, media, social media, strategic communications, brand, publications, Gaelic Language Plan and the website. As both teams are relatively small there is a lot of interaction across work areas.

Currently the Corporate Affairs and Communications team, where the Brand and Content Manager sits, operates a hybrid working pattern with a requirement to attend Saughton House for key meetings and collaborate with others. The role involves working with colleagues across Scotland and supports Ministers on forestry publicity visits at times, therefore some travel will be required.

Job description

What you will do

Scottish Forestry is at the heart of protecting, expanding and promoting Scotland’s forests and woodlands. We’re looking for a talented Brand and Content Manager to help tell the story of Scottish Forestry and the vital role forestry plays in Scotland’s environment, communities and economy.

As part of a small, friendly, and collaborative Communications team, you will be the lead point of contact for all brand, design, publications, and visual content development. You will work closely with internal colleagues and act as the primary liaison between Scottish Forestry and our design agency, ensuring high‑quality outputs that meet our needs, reflect our brand, and stay within budget and timelines.

If you have a passion for brand management, design, and visual storytelling and can translate brand guidelines into impactful, engaging materials this role offers an exciting opportunity to make a real impact, supporting sustainable forestry and elevating one of Scotland’s most important environmental stories.

Main Duties

• Act as Scottish Forestry brand lead, responsible for implementing the updated brand guidelines, and ensuring consistent, high-quality application across all SF materials.
• Lead maintenance of a suite of publication and design templates (inc. presentations, social media assets, corporate materials) using professional design expertise to enable staff and increase efficiency across the agency.
• Develop and own SF style guide which align with the updated brand guidelines.
• Provide expert advice to senior leadership and subject matter experts on brand, design, and publication matters, acting as the agency’s internal specialist.
• Serve as lead liaison with external design agency, ensuring clear briefs, effective communication, alignment to brand and delivery within budget and timescales.
• Deliver high quality inhouse graphic design support for appropriate projects which align to SF brand and meet agency priorities.
• Lead establishment and implementation of a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system for effective storage and retrieval of visual and design assets, working with Digital Business Partner.
• Work with the wider Communications and Media team to develop key content for priority areas and channels such as Woodland Creation, website, bringing expert judgement and self-directed working.
• Support the Head of Corporate Communications in procuring and mobilising a new design agency contract.
• Manage and monitor design project pipelines, maintaining agency oversight, enduring prioritisation and reporting progress to senior managers as required.
• Lead delivery of brand and publication commitments set out in the Scottish Forestry Gaelic Language Plan, ensuring all outputs meet required standard.
• Review and rebrand historic Forestry Commission publications, applying updated brand principles.

Person specification

Success Profile

The Success Profile below set outs the essential and desirable elements that make up the vacant position - you’ll be expected to demonstrate how you meet the Experience and Technical criteria at application and/or interview stage. Any Behaviours will be assessed at interview stage.

Experience

Essential:

• Proven experience in brand management, design coordination, or content development.
• Strong understanding of brand guidelines and the ability to be autonomous in applying them consistently across publications, digital content, and corporate materials.
• Experience briefing and managing external suppliers (e.g. designers, photographers, videographers) to deliver high‑quality outputs on time and within budget.
• Excellent written and visual communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear, engaging content for a range of channels.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, with strong organisational skills including workflow coordination, version control, and ensuring high‑quality outputs are delivered to tight deadlines with minimal supervision.

Desirable:

• Track record of developing templates, toolkits, and brand resources that help colleagues create consistent and time‑efficient content.
• Experience establishing or managing a Digital Asset Management system or similar structured content library.
• Some hands‑on graphic design capability, particularly for simple assets and internal publications.
• Experience supporting or collaborating with communications and media teams, particularly on visual storytelling or content planning.
• Experience coordinating photography or video shoots, including logistics, briefing, and rights management.
• Experience working in the public sector, or with public‑facing bodies, with an understanding of accessibility, transparency, and governance commitments.

Technical

Essential:

• Appropriate professional qualification in marketing, communications, brand management, or a related field, or university degree, with demonstrable experience applying specialist knowledge in a brand and content management environment.

Desirable:

• Proficiency in Canva and other design tools such as Adobe Creative Cloud (e.g. Photoshop, InDesign)
• Experience using content management or Digital Asset Management systems (SharePoint, DAM platforms).
• Understanding of accessibility standards for publications and digital content.
• Familiarity with video editing or photography tools (e.g. Clipchamp and Canva) at a basic level.
• Awareness of public-sector brand, communications, or linguistic requirements, including Gaelic commitments where relevant.
• Competent use of Microsoft Office/365, particularly PowerPoint and Word for publication formatting.

Behaviours

On the application form you’ll find four free text boxes to provide your behaviour responses. Please note, you’re only required to provide evidence against the below behaviours on your application. This means that if less than four behaviours are noted, you can leave the relevant free text(s) box blank on your application.

Behaviour 1 and Lead Criteria: Communicating and Influencing

Behaviour 2: Managing a Quality Service

Behaviour 3: Delivering at Pace

Driving licence

This role requires you to have a full UK driving licence, however, we are willing to consider any proposals that would allow you to do the job by other means.

Travel

As this role involves working with colleagues across the region, there will be regular travel involved which may include overnight stays away from home.

What we offer you

If successful, you will be entitled to a wide range of benefits, the detail of which can be found here.

Additional information

We believe it’s important to create an inclusive and supportive work culture, and we welcome applications from everyone, regardless of background.

It’s important you complete the entire application form (where relevant) in sufficient detail – this will give you the best chance of being invited for interview and/or assessment. Where a vacancy attracts a higher number of applications, only ‘Behaviour 1 - lead criteria’ will be assessed at sift stage. However, it is still important that you complete the entire application form in sufficient detail, as there is no way of knowing that a vacancy will have a high number of applications.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,711, Scottish Forestry contributes £13,242 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements 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, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

For more details on our selection process, please see Success profiles for candidates , Scottish Forestry.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : sfrecruitment@forestry.gov.scot
• Email : sfrecruitment@forestry.gov.scot

Recruitment team

• Email : sfrecruitment@forestry.gov.scot