Chief Executive of Foods Standards Scotland

Job summary

Job Description

Are you a strategic leader with the ability to inspire, influence, and deliver impact at the highest level?

Applications are invited for this Senior Civil Service post as Chief Executive of Food Standards Scotland (FSS). This is a unique opportunity to take a leadership role in an organisation that protects consumers and shapes Scotland’s food environment.

Your application should provide a clear and concise account of the responsibilities you’ve held, highlighting key outcomes and successes. Please include evidence of the skills, experience, and expertise you would bring to this appointment.

Since its establishment in April 2015, Food Standards Scotland has delivered regulation and independent advice on food and animal feed safety and standards, food labelling, and public health nutrition. As Chief Executive, you will play a pivotal role in delivering consumer protection and improving public health.

Our mission is to protect the public from health risks associated with food consumption, improve diets to support good health, and safeguard consumer interests in relation to food. FSS operates as a body corporate governed by a Board of eight members appointed by Scottish Ministers. We have a unique position in government working independently of Ministers and industry to provide impartial advice based on robust science and data.

Our remit spans the entire food chain, ensuring food safety and promoting healthier eating. Our vision is clear: a safe authentic, and healthier food environment that Scotland can trust.

We will publish our Strategy 2026–31 on 11th February 2026, setting out how we will continue to adapt to a rapidly changing social, technological, and geopolitical landscape. Since our founding, FSS has evolved significantly, and we need to remain responsive, dynamic, and ready to act quickly.

Job description

Responsibilities

• Provide strong corporate leadership, supporting and developing a confident, cohesive workforce to deliver strategic outcomes and priorities.

• Lead change management and oversee major projects to ensure continuous improvement in consumer protection standards.

• Report to the FSS Chair and act as Accountable Officer for the organisation, with delegated responsibility from the Board for effective operations.

• Manage an annual budget of approximately £24 million and a diverse workforce of around 300 staff.

• Maintain FSS’s credibility and reputation in Scotland, the UK, EU, and internationally.

• Develop and sustain strategic relationships with key stakeholders, including consumer representatives, food business organisations including retail, public health bodies, and government departments (Scottish Government, UK Food Standards Agency, DEFRA, Department of Health, and devolved administrations).

• Ensure effective working relationships across all levels within FSS and with external partners.

• Keep the Board informed on performance and key issues, support strategy development, and implement Board decisions.

• Lead prevention and management of food-related incidents or crises (e.g., BSE, horsemeat substitution, E. coli outbreaks), including stakeholder and media communications.

• Uphold FSS’s core principles of consumer focus, openness, transparency, and independence in all activities.

• Communicate confidently with stakeholders at all levels through various media channels.

• Align FSS with Scottish Government’s purpose and contribute to public service reform while safeguarding FSS’s independence.

• Commit to personal and organisational learning and development through coaching, mentoring, and participation in development activities.

Person specification

Success Profile

It is essential that you can provide evidence in your application of the professional experience and skills required for this role. In addition, candidates applying for roles with the government agencies and public bodies in Scotland are assessed in line with the Success Profiles framework that is used across the Civil Service. This means that as well as evidencing the professional experience and skills you will also be expected to evidence behaviours at the level required for this Senior Civil Service role.

Experience

• Demonstrated leadership of highly skilled professional teams, providing strategic direction, driving organisational change at pace, and delivering Board‑agreed priorities during periods of stability, significant transformation, and crisis.

• Proven ability to communicate with clarity, credibility, and pragmatism — including with Ministers, the Board, external partners, and media — ensuring effective internal and external engagement through complex and sensitive issues.

• Strong track record of working effectively with a Board, embracing and utilising organisational independence while navigating civil service conventions, governance requirements, and complex programme delivery environments.

• Ability to rapidly assess situations, manage complex programmes, applying sound decision‑making and professional expertise to lead an organisation through change.

Behaviours:

You are expected to provide evidence of the following behaviours at Level 6.

• Leadership

• Developing Self and Others

• Seeing the Bigger Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

• Changing and Improving

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £111,916, Scottish Government contributes £32,422 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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

How to apply

Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 1500 words) that directly address the Experience criteria listed in the Success Profile above. General or unrelated statements will not be accepted and may result in your application being sifted out. Please ensure that your statement clearly demonstrates how you meet the specified experience requirements.

During the interview and assessment process we will test your skills and experience as well as Behaviors aligned to this 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.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of a stakeholder and staff panel.

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 13 April, however this may be subject to change.

The Final Interview Panel will take place w/c 20 April in person at St Andrews House, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG. Interviews will be chaired by Elizabeth Walmsley Civil Service Commissioner. The other panel Members are:

• Heather Kelman – FSS Chair

• Caroline Lamb – DG Health & Social Care

• Alban Denton – FSS Deputy Chair
• Sam Ghibaldan – Chief Executive, Consumer Scotland

For full details of the role and responsibilities of the Civil Service Commission, please refer to the Civil Service Recruitment Principles in ourcandidate guidance

About us

We are Scotland’s public sector food body. Established as a non-ministerial office to protect the health and wellbeing of consumers through three statutory objectives set under the Food (Scotland) Act 2015: to protect the public from risks to health which may arise in connection with the consumption of food, to improve the extent to which members of the public have diets which are conducive to good health, and to protect the other interests of consumers in relation to food.

As a body corporate, FSS is governed by a Board of 8 people appointed by the Scottish Ministers. Our remit covers all aspects of the food chain that impacts public health. Collaboration is key to our work.

We deliver official controls for meat, eggs, wine and animal feed and, working in partnership with the 32 local authorities in Scotland, we regulate and monitor all parts of the food chain to enforce food hygiene and standards across the country. We have recently launched a transformational change programme (SAFER) focused on redesign through digital transformation, stronger national coordination and learning from international best practice.

Since EU exit, our role includes functions and decisions that previously rested at European level, delivered in close partnership with the Food Standards Agency. We are jointly responsible for the process for granting market authorisations for the sale of certain food and feed products in Great Britain.

Our role in dietary health policy is focused on building the knowledge and evidence base to support and inform Ministers, delivery partners and consumers about diets that will support achievement of the Scottish Dietary Goals.

For more information, please visit our website The home of food and feed safety and healthy eating , Food Standards Scotland

Benefits

If the post is offered on a fixed term appointment basis, the salary will be in the range of £111,916 - £121,143, depending on your skills and experience. Alongside your salary, Scottish Government offers an employer contribution of 28.97% towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

If the post is offered on a secondment basis, the salary will be based on existing terms and conditions between the Scottish Government and your current employer.

Working pattern

Our standard hours are 37 hours per week, and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role. Although our head office is in Aberdeen, Food Standards Scotland adopts a hybrid working approach but there will be a requirement for you to be in the Aberdeen Office a minimum of two days per week.

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.

In addition to the standard pre-employment checks, this vacancy will also require all candidates to obtain National Security Vetting (NSV) at Security Check (SC) clearance level. This type of check normally includes meeting a minimum UK residency period, which for SC level is 5 years.

Further information about NSV checks can be found on the UK Government website - National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK

Equality statement

We are committed to equality and inclusion; 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

Please see our landing page for more details.

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.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : Caroline Lamb
• Email : DGHSC@gov.scot

Recruitment team

• Email : Scsresourcing@gov.scot

Further information

https://fa-evxn-saasfaukgovprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1001/job/3238/?utm_medium=jobboard&utm_source=CivilServiceJobs