Technical Services Manager (3588)

Job summary

Are you a pensions expert with a background in technical management?

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) administer public sector pensions to over 600,000 members in 4 major schemes, delivered across an operational area of over 200 colleagues. The Technical Services remit is to centralise the operational controls that oversee pensions, data, and payroll delivery in partnership with colleagues from Policy, Risk, Audit, and Governance. The Technical Services team will support operational colleagues in understanding current and future requirements, and articulating process and system demands to meet those requirements.

As the Manager of Pensions Technical Controls, you will lead and manage a team responsible for the development, maintenance, and assurance of complex Excel-based calculation tools that underpin critical pensions, data, and payroll operations. Operating within a highly regulated and complex environment, you will provide strategic direction and oversight to ensure these tools are accurate, compliant, and aligned with policy objectives, risk parameters, audit preparedness, and governance requirements. This role demands strong leadership to drive calculator innovation, embed technical controls, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Job description

• Operational Leadership: Manage and lead a team of specialists, ensuring clear objectives, performance management, and professional development to deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Calculator Asset Management: Oversee the maintenance of a comprehensive register of all internal and online calculation tools, with a primary focus on Excel-based calculators.
• Maintenance & Defect Resolution: Direct and coordinate routine maintenance and defect remediation activities to safeguard accuracy and functionality of Excel calculators.
• Risk & Impact Assessment: Lead evaluations of the robustness and compliance of calculation tools, identifying emerging risks and informing mitigation strategies.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive the development and implementation of an improvement roadmap for Excel-based calculators, embedding best practices and fostering innovation.
• Assurance & Compliance: Ensure assurance activities are effectively executed so all calculators meet regulatory standards and operational requirements.
• Release Management: Implement and oversee a structured release process to guarantee that only approved and accurate versions of Excel calculators are deployed.

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. Technical / Professional Skills:

• Operational leadership and management - Working.

You can find out more about the skills required, here. Experience:

1. Lead Criterium - Strong ability to design, test, and implement robust calculation solutions that ensure accuracy, compliance, and operational efficiency.
2. Proven extensive expertise in developing and maintaining complex Excel-based calculation tools, ideally within a pensions environment or a regulated financial services setting.

Behaviours:

• Communicating & Influencing - Level 3
• Working Together - Level 3
• Delivering at Pace - Level 3
• Making effective decisions - Level 3

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

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £47,730, Scottish Government contributes £13,827 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 online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement of no more than 750 words which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above.

In the event of a high number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted on the Lead Criterium Experience 1 as listed above.

Candidates who pass the initial sift will have their applications fully assessed against all remaining Experience, Technical & Behaviours criteria listed in the Success Profile above.

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 interview and job related simulation. Assessments are scheduled for w/c 5th May 2026, however this may be subject to change.

Interview and assessment are expected to take place in person on site at SPPA, 7 Tweedside Park, Tweedbank, Galashiels, TD1 3TE.

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.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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

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 : Fiona Turner
• Email : Fiona.Turner@gov.scot

Recruitment team

• Email : scottishgovernmentrecruitment@gov.scot