Head of Delivery and Performance Transformation

Job summary

Do you want to shape how Scotland measures what truly matters and turn strategy into results across government?

This is a high-impact leadership role at the heart of government, offering a unique opportunity to shape strategic direction and drive organisational coherence. As Head of Delivery and Performance Transformation, you will lead the design and implementation of data-driven delivery, performance and accountability systems for the Scottish Government. You will collaborate across the organisation and the wider public sector to align these systems with the National Performance Framework and the Public Service Reform Strategy contributing to a coherent and consistent approach to accountability across public services in Scotland.

The Strategy and Delivery Directorate (SDD) supports Ministers and senior leaders in setting Scotland’s strategic direction. We provide insight, analysis, and delivery support to help shape policy and respond to emerging challenges. This role sits at the centre of that effort, working with stakeholders across Scottish Government and wider public services to develop delivery, performance and assurance systems that improve consistency, transparency and accountability.

Job description

• Engage regularly with stakeholders across Scottish Government, local government, public bodies and community-planning partnerships to co-design approaches to performance, assurance and delivery.
• Utilise strong working relationships with local government, the third sector and delivery partners to share expertise, understand operational realities and strengthen the link between national priorities and local implementation.
• Coordinate activity that improves accountability across multi-level government and complex systems, ensuring alignment between national policy, local delivery bodies and external partners.
• Lead the development and embedding of intelligence-led performance and accountability mechanisms that demonstrate a clear link between policy development and measurable delivery outcomes.
• Work with teams across the Strategy and Delivery Directorate to develop delivery and performance dashboards and reporting tools that support transparent and outcome focused decision making.
• Ensure performance and accountability frameworks become a practical and widely understood tool for policy teams, embedding delivery thinking at the start of policy development.
• Support wider organisational capability building around delivery, performance and assurance to embed best practice into policy development and implementation.
• Engage with Ministers, Senior Civil Servants and external leaders ensuring, alignment between policy ambition and delivery feasibility.
• Undertake line management responsibilities.

Person specification

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

• Extensive experience developing intelligence-led tracking frameworks, combining quantitative data with local insight, to monitor national and local policy delivery outcomes.
• Working across multi-level government including local authorities, delivery bodies and the third sector to align delivery, performance and assurance systems.
• Leadership of high-profile complex systems, transforming culture and structures to deliver meaningful, measurable outcomes.

Behaviours:

• Changing and Improving- level 4
• Leadership- level 4
• Communicating and Influencing- level 4
• Seeing the Big Picture- level 4

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

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £77,460, Scottish Government contributes £22,440 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

Apply via the link provided and complete the application process (CV and Cover Letter)

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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.

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

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 : alice.mergler@gov.scot
• Email : alice.mergler@gov.scot

Recruitment team

• Email : alice.mergler@gov.scot