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On 1 April 2026, NSS and NES became one national organisation, focused on continuity today and a stronger, more connected service for tomorrow.
As part of this transformation, NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) have joined to form a new organisation: Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland). This new organisation will play a pivotal role in supporting the renewal and ensuring the long-term sustainability of health and care services across Scotland.
Flexible Location: PSD Scotland is a remote-friendly employer with staff based throughout Scotland. We support office-based and hybrid working arrangements. We welcome conversations about alternative working patterns—please get in touch during the application process to discuss.
Work Pattern: Permanent, Full time 36 hours per week
You must have eligibility and entitlement to work in the UK which is required to be maintained throughout your period of employment.
Who We Are
PSD Scotland unites expertise from NES and NSS in a way that will allow us to accelerate national programmes to support the NHS to deliver better care, now and in the future.
We support staff with education and training, provide the tools and data that improve services, and run vital national functions such as procurement, logistics and blood, tissue and cell services.
The core function of the NMAHP Directorate is to design, deliver and support high quality education, training and workforce development for nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, healthcare chaplains and support workers. We also work across wider professional groups and disciplines, often in partnership with other organisations and agencies, to support key policy imperatives for health and social care. Our goal is to ensure we have a skilled, confident and capable health and social care workforce to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.
The NMAHP Directorate is made up of the following programmes of work:
- Workforce Education and Career Development
- Practice Education and Pre-registration
- Public Health
- Women, Children, Young People and Families
- Mental Health and Wellbeing
The Opportunity
This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic, fast paced and innovative team, delivering a complex multi-faceted programme of work and to lead and contribute to a variety of education and training activities being delivered by the team and Directorate.
Reporting to the Head of Programme, you will be responsible for the successful delivery of the NMAHP Practice Education and pre-registration programme.
Do you want to make a difference to the everyday lives of the health and social care workforce?
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Do you enjoy rising to the challenge in a fast paced, complex and political environment?
Do you enjoy collaborating with stakeholders to co-develop innovative solutions?
Do you have a passion for programme management and policy development?
Working within the PEPR team, you will contribute towards a culture of high performance, learning and self-development, creating a supportive environment where everyone is empowered to do their best. You will have a nurturing style, contributing to the values and behaviour of PSDS as an organisation, with the ability to influence and develop relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
Does this sound like you?
What We Love To See
Principal Educators offer a broad range of skills and experience, if you can offer some or all of these, we’d love you to apply:
- A strong background and understanding of the delivery and performance enhancement/ quality assurance of NMAHP pre-registration programmes
- Experience of NMAHP educational programme leadership
- Experience of working in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders from health, social care, education, independent and third sectors including further and higher education institutions, Scottish Government, regulators and strategic service leads in health and social care.
- Experience of working in an academic or practice education setting
- Ability to build highly effective working relationships internally and externally
- Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessary
- Ability to work on own initiative, to organise and prioritise own workloads, to meet strict deadlines
Benefits Which Matter
As a valued employee of NHS Scotland, you can enjoy an extensive range of benefits including:
- Life-work balance - with opportunities for flexible working and hybrid working
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Annual incremental salary progression (up to the maximum of the salary band) plus annual NHS salary scale review
- Annual Leave - 27 Days increasing in line with service plus 8 days public holiday
- NHS discounts and more
Diversity and Inclusion
Developing a successful national service for Scotland means considering the diverse needs, perspectives, and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland. We are focused on hiring the very best talent and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. Our aim to ensure that everyone is treated fairly, with respect, and has a positive recruitment experience—regardless of the outcome.
We welcome applications from all under-represented groups, including racially minoritised people and disabled people. It is not essential to be in Principal Educator role right now—you may be returning from a career break (e.g., maternity, paternity, caring) or coming from another field. Your experiences can bring a fresh perspective to our work.
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If you are considering applying and would like to discuss the opportunity, any adjustments or alternative work patterns, please contact Dr Barbara O’Donnell, Interim Associate Director NMAHP, Barbara.odonnell@nhs.scot.
Next Steps
All applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail.
In person OR online interviews (including a presentation) will take place on 31 August 2026 - 03 September 2026. The presentation details will be sent to candidates selected for interview.
For further information please refer to the Job Information Pack below.
Unless otherwise stated the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date. Please note, CVs will not be accepted.
Please be advised that if you are successful in being offered the role following the recruitment process, you will be expected to attend the office prior to your start date to complete face-to-face pre-employment checks. If you require any adjustments to support this, please let us know.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.
As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.
For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found here.
It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form.
If you have any queries regarding the NHS Scotland National Recruitment Portal or the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to contact our recruitment partners, the East Region Recruitment Service, at: EoS.ERRS@nhs.scot
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