Scottish Government
Strategic Relationships Policy Officer
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Job Title - Strategic Relationships Policy Officer
Business Area/Directorate - Directorate for Business and Better Regulation
Location - Atlantic Quay / St Andrews House
Working Arrangement – Staff in roles compatible with hybrid working should aim to spend 40% of their contracted working time working in person at their contractual workplace. More information can be found within Hybrid Working Policy [https://scotsconnect.sharepoint.com/sites/saltireredirect?siteId=mylifeandcareer&pageId=8c5a454f-11b6-4349-a97e-96ba6acf3f51&pageParams=working-in-person-hybrid-working]
Grade - B2
Advert type - Level Transfer
Duration - Permanent
Eligibility - Expressions of interest are invited from substantive colleagues on level transfer from Core SG only.
Sponsorship: Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.
Overview
Do you have excellent attention to detail and the confidence to advise and engage with colleagues and stakeholders, including Ministers, at all levels? The Directorate for Business and Better Regulation is a Directorate within DG Economy. We work with colleagues across the Scottish Government and its agencies to improve policy and project delivery and its impact upon the business environment in Scotland.
We recognise that business engagement is key to successful delivery of policy outcomes. And that improved business relationships are essential to the sustainable and purposeful economic growth that is required to deliver all public policy objectives. We support colleagues to deliver enduring culture change, for the benefit of Scotland as a whole.
We are a small directorate with a strong team ethos. We aspire to work as efficiently as possible, with clear purpose and priorities. We are productive, with a focus on outcomes. We are a great place to work, with opportunities to progress and support each other to develop our skills and deliver our objectives. We hold ourselves, and one another, to the highest standards in our work and in our conduct.
The Strategic Relationships Unit is part of the Business Relationships Division. The unit engages with business organisations, industry bodies and business leaders regularly on a cross-sectoral basis on the strategic priorities for Scotland. We work closely with our stakeholders to ensure ministerial or senior official engagement is meaningful and targeted to the right audience at the right time.
This Policy Officer role will specifically support the unit in the relationship management of the main business organisations, including leading on producing briefing and supporting meetings/events on the day as and when appropriate. You will also be responsible for providing initial drafts of briefs for meetings and events, as well as draft replies to Ministerial correspondence and Parliamentary Questions.
Key Responsibilities
- Providing effective support for Ministerial engagements including drafting the briefing and speeches as well as supporting on the day when appropriate – Please note that travel may occasionally be required. In line with the Scottish Government’s Information Management Strategy, you will be responsible in drafting an appropriate record of any meetings and seek clearance via the private office and store in the relevant file in eRDM.
- Providing effective support to Ministers activities, including drafting responses to Ministerial correspondence, Parliamentary Questions (PQ’s), First Ministers Questions (FMQ’s) and FoIs.
- Leading the secretariat function for meetings between officials and stakeholders. This includes drafting agendas, commissioning meeting papers from relevant policy areas, including working with UK Government officials, and drafting minutes to ensure an accurate record and taking forward actions arising from the meeting.
- Support the wider unit as needed, contributing to intelligence gathering and ensuring work trackers are accurate and up to date and offering support as and when required to cover other ad hoc duties.
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Responsibilities
Success Profile
Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on.
Experience
- Experience of drafting clear, concise and accurate briefing materials, speeches, correspondence, Parliamentary Questions, FOI responses and meeting records for senior stakeholders.
- Ability to build effective relationships and coordinate contributions from a range of internal and external stakeholders, including policy teams, private offices and partner organisations.
- Ability to understand and operate within a politically sensitive environment, exercising sound judgement when handling complex or high-profile issues.
- Experience of organising meetings, preparing agendas and papers, drafting minutes, tracking actions and managing competing priorities to tight deadlines.
Behaviours
- Communicating & Influencing – Level 3
- Delivering at Pace – Level 3
- Changing & Improving – Level 3
- Making Effective Decisions – Level 3
You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Behaviour levels - Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot [https://www.gov.scot/publications/success-profiles-candidate-guide/pages/behaviour-levels/]
Working pattern
This post is a full-time role, but we welcome applications from staff with different working patterns, proposed working patterns will be assessed against the business requirements for this post.
Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role, including Flexi-leave. Scottish Government staff in hybrid-compatible roles should aim to work in-person 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location.
Further Information
If you have specific questions about the role, please contact Gillian.Brown2@gov.scot
How to Apply
Please submit an Expression of Interest (maximum 750 words) outlining your suitability for the role, relevant skills and experience, and what you would bring to the team. Please align this to how you meet the behaviours, experience and technical skills listed in the Success Profile above.
Vacancies close at 23:59pm on Wednesday 7 October.
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 [https://www.gov.scot/publications/recruitment-candidate-guide/pages/use-of-ai-tools/] for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.
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Selection Process
Applications will be reviewed by panel. Shortlisted candidates who are considered to have the skills and experience will be invited to interview with the hiring manager and another panel member. The panel will recommend the candidate considered most suitable for the post.
Interviews are expected to be scheduled for w/c 19th October, however, this is subject to change.
Recruitment Principles
As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles [https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/document/02a-recruitment-principles-april-2018-final/?d102_cookies_enabled=all] and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.
About us
The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.
Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service [https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/about-us/] observing the Civil Service Code and working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.
We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer [https://www.jobs.gov.scot/what-we-offer].
As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules [https://www.gov.scot/publications/recruitment-candidate-guide/pages/nationality-requirements/].
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 [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-baseline-personnel-security-standard], or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide [https://www.gov.scot/publications/recruitment-candidate-guide/pages/pre-employment-checks/].
Equality statement
We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation. Find out more about our commitment to diversity [https://www.jobs.gov.scot/an-inclusive-organisation] and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments [https://www.jobs.gov.scot/requesting-adjustments-2] for anyone who needs them.
Further information
Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website [https://www.jobs.gov.scot/].
Read our Candidate Guide [https://www.gov.scot/publications/recruitment-candidate-guide/pages/introduction/] for further information on our recruitment and application processes.
Apply before: 07/10
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