Permanent Secretary inEdinburgh inEdinburgh PUBLISHED SAT 11 JAN 2025

Job Summary

The Permanent Secretary is the most senior civil servant in Scotland, accountable to the First Minister and his Cabinet. They are the principal policy adviser to the First Minister and Secretary to the Scottish Cabinet; leading the Scottish Government as it exercises the full range of devolved powers and duties set out in the Scotland Acts, most recently in 2, and allocating a budget of approximately £64 billion in 2024-25. The Permanent Secretary leads more than 9,000 staff within the core Scottish Government and has oversight of around 130 agencies. They should set a culture of collaborative leadership and teamwork across Scottish services and sectors so that the Scottish Government’s programme is delivered with energy, efficiency, creativity, and rigour.

The post holds very significant Principal Accountable Officer responsibilities, advising Ministers on the appropriate level of risk in setting budgets which depend on significant local and changeable tax raising powers (most significantly income tax, but with a range of other tax raising powers also devolved), and where there are sizeable demand-led pressures in services such as social security. As the Principal Accountable Officer, the Permanent Secretary is accountable to the Scottish Parliament for the propriety and regularity of Scottish Government finance and for the economic, efficient and effective use of resources.

For further information, please see the attached candidate pack.

Job Description

The Permanent Secretary also plays an important role, as a member of the wider group of Permanent Secretaries and the UK Cabinet Secretary’s Senior Team, in the collective professional leadership of the UK Civil Service. The role of the Permanent Secretary is:

• to provide high quality, impartial advice to the First Minister and the Scottish Cabinet;
• to ensure that the Scottish Programme for Government is delivered effectively and efficiently and with energy and impact;
• to provide strategic direction to the Scottish Government Civil Service, with leadership responsibility for the organisation and for its corporate strategic direction, priorities and results, in line with the “In the Service of Scotland” vision;
• to be an active member of the senior leadership of civil servants in the UK, contributing to the development of talent across the UK Civil Service and playing an active part in UK Civil Service corporate meetings and initiatives;
• to lead on policy stimulus and challenge;
• to be Principal Accountable Officer, accountable to the Scottish Parliament for Scottish Government expenditure; acting to ensure that effective systems and processes of financial accounting are in place, to ensure that resources are used as efficiently and effectively as possible to deliver Scottish Government aims;
• to be a role model for the ambition and values of the organisation, reinforcing and supporting a culture of inclusive leadership, diversity, continuous improvement, improved workforce capability and the drive for excellence;
• to oversee engagement and cooperation with the UK Government and with the other devolved administrations to deliver on the Scottish Government’s priorities, across both devolved and reserved policy areas;
• to provide encouragement to the wider public sector leadership cadre in Scotland to work collaboratively and across boundaries to deliver better outcomes for citizens;
• to lead an effective system of corporate governance, drawing in executive members and non-executive directors, that demonstrates collective strategic leadership and identifies and communicates a clear sense of purpose; and,
• to role model and make a visible commitment to the delivery of the Scottish Government’s vision and values and provide personal leadership to the wider Senior Civil Service management team (of around 300 people).
  
  

Person specification

Role

To help you succeed in this role, you must have a strong commitment to the UK Civil Service values of impartiality, honesty, integrity and objectivity, and you will need to demonstrate:

• exceptional leadership skills with a track record in collaborative leadership: motivating and developing a large, complex organisation to set a strong strategic direction, deliver results and continually improve its performance;
• a thorough understanding of the policy issues facing Scotland and of the constitutional and political context, combined with judgement, political awareness and a commitment to the delivery of reform and public policy for the country;
• the ability to advise Ministers on the development and delivery of public policy for Scotland, while respecting the boundaries between Ministers, special advisers and civil servants;
• experience and confidence in managing large and complex budgets and for maintaining strong, effective governance arrangements to drive efficiency and value for money; and,
• exceptional communication skills, sharp intellect and high personal impact to communicate clearly within the UK Civil Service and to command the trust and confidence of a wide range of partners and stakeholders in Scotland and beyond.
  
  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £170,000, Scottish Government contributes £49,249 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