Chief People Officer

Job Description

The Scottish Government is seeking an exceptional Chief People Officer (CPO) to lead the vision, strategy and delivery of our people agenda.

This is a new unique, high‑impact and organisation‑wide leadership role. The CPO is a member of the Scottish Government Executive Team and is the most senior HR professional providing advice to the Permanent Secretary and the senior leadership team. This is an ideal opportunity for a strategic, innovative and people‑centred HR leader who can inspire transformation and build capability for the future with a focus on modernisation and delivery.

As our Chief People Officer, you will play a vital role in shaping and strengthening our workforce, developing our leaders and ensuring we remain a values‑driven, inclusive organisation where people can thrive.

You will be operating within a complex environment across a challenging landscape where the people agenda is under a degree of scrutiny and where actions, and decisions, taken by the CPO are highly visible. The Scottish Government currently has a workforce of around 9,000 FTE and responsibility for a budget of £67.9 billion.

A key priority for the CPO in 2026/27 will be supporting the organisation’s leaders who will themselves be serving a new Government that will have a new and refreshed set of priorities. Translating these Government priorities into tangible outcomes for the people function will be a key focus for the new CPO. As we head towards 2030, the organisation will need to be smaller, more efficient, flexible and capable of delivering cross-government priorities.

The CPO is supported by a People Directorate leadership team of Deputy Directors and a wider team of c280 people. The CPO also works closely with the new People Operations Director, who will have responsibility for the operational aspects of the people function (e.g. payroll, pensions, resourcing). Within Scottish Government through the CPO and new People Operations Director, we provide the full suite of HR services delivered in-house, including HR strategy and partnering, strategic workforce planning, talent, learning and development, employee relations and reward, HR policy and casework, resourcing, diversity and inclusion, people analytics and a significant transactional service centre which operates a payroll of circa £870m per annum.

The People Operations function also delivers shared service operations to a base of over 25k customers comprising core Scottish Government staff, and those in around 14 public bodies.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and strategic direction for the Scottish Government’s people agenda, advising the Permanent Secretary and senior leaders.
• Develop and deliver comprehensive strategic plans that ensures the organisation has the capability, capacity and culture required to deliver Government priorities, now and in the future.
• Lead the modernisation of the organisation, ensuring people policies, structures and services enable a smaller, more agile, efficient and integrated Civil Service by 2030.
• Lead workforce strategy and planning, using data, evidence and strategic workforce planning to shape future workforce models and support organisational reform.
• Oversee the full suite of HR services, ensuring high‑quality delivery across HR strategy, workforce planning, talent and leadership development, employee relations and reward, HR policy, casework, diversity and inclusion, people analytics; working closely with the People Operations director on overseeing the operational people function.
• Drive a values‑led culture that fosters inclusion, supports wellbeing, strengthens psychological safety and drives high performance.
• Strengthen leadership capability across the Civil Service through modern, approaches to leadership development, succession planning and talent management.
• Build trusted and influential relationships with senior leaders across the Scottish Government, and wider UK Government Departments, enabling alignment of people priorities with organisational objectives.
• Champion innovation, digital transformation and continuous improvement, ensuring that all HR services are modern, customer‑centred and compliant with relevant policies, legislation and Civil Service standards.
  
  

Qualifications

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Chartered FCIPD is a requirement of the role.

Proof Of Qualifications Will Be Checked Throughout The Process.

Success Profile

It is essential that you can provide evidence in your application of the professional experience and skills required for this role.

In addition, candidates applying for roles with the government agencies and public bodies in Scotland are assessed in line with the Success Profiles framework that is used across the Civil Service. This means that as well as evidencing the professional experience and skills you will also be expected to evidence behaviours at the level required for this Senior Civil Service role.

Experience

The ideal candidate will bring substantial strategic HR leadership experience, having led large, multi-specialist teams across People functions. They will have a proven ability to shape and deliver long-term people strategies/plans that support organisational goals, alongside a strong track record of driving major transformation programmes and guiding organisations through periods of significant change.

As an influential senior leader, they will be confident working with Executive Team, Boards and complex stakeholder groups, bringing political awareness, sound judgement and the ability to build trusted relationships.

Critically, they will be an inspiring and empowering leader across the organisation as well as for their own People Directorate team - able to set a compelling direction, develop capability and create a collaborative, high‑performance culture within the function.

Behaviours

You are expected to provide evidence of the following behaviours at Level 6.

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service
  
  

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours (publishing.service.gov.uk)

How To Apply

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Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 500 words) that directly addresses the Experience criteria listed in the Success Profile above. General or unrelated statements will not be accepted and may result in your application being sifted out. Please ensure your statement clearly demonstrates how you meet the specified experience requirements. You must also confirm that you hold the qualification at the required level.

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.

During the interview and assessment process we will test your skills and experience as well as behaviours aligned to this role.

If you are shortlisted, you will be provided with full details of the next stages of the selection and assessment process. This may include an individual psychological assessment, staff engagement exercise and peer discussion as well as a panel interview which may include a presentation or scenario.

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 28 September and 5 October, however this may be subject to change. Some of the assessments are likely to take place in person, further details will be provided for shortlisted candidates.

The Final Interview Panel will take place in person in Edinburgh and are currently scheduled for Monday 12 October. Interviews will be chaired by Liz Walmsley, Civil Service Commission.

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.

Interview Expenses

Any travel and subsistence expenses incurred during the selection process are the responsibility of the applicant.

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, 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.

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Working pattern

This role is Edinburgh based, our standard hours are 37 hours per week and hybrid-compatible roles should aim to work in-person 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location. Applicants should expect to spend significant time in-person at their contracted workplace and/or other settings to optimise their leadership functions. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

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). In addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy.

You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, and read about the Government Vetting Charter, or about all of the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

Internal candidates may need to gain higher security clearance than they currently hold if successful in their application.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £111,916, Scottish Government contributes £32,422 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%
  
  

Relocation

Relocation expenses of around £6,000 may be available if you have to move house to take up this appointment. Further details will be provided to the successful candidates, but you should not in any event commit yourself to any expenditure without prior discussion with the Scottish Government.

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 and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further information

Please see our landing page for more details: Chief People Officer

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.