Job Advert
Flexible Location: Based throughout Scotland, NES is a remote friendly employer supporting office and hybrid working. We’re happy to talk about how you want to work.
Work Pattern: Permanent, Part Time, 29.6 hours per week
(29 hours and 36 minutes)
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
NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is the national health board with statutory responsibilities to effect sustainable change through workforce development, education and training across the health and social care system in Scotland, while working at UK level with partner organisations.
The Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals (NMAHP) Directorate works to support the education training and continuing professional development of nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, health and social care chaplains and healthcare support workers. The Directorate is also responsible for providing education, training and workforce development across wider professional groups and disciplines, often in partnership with other agencies, to support key policy drivers.
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:
- NMAHP Workforce Education and Career Development
- Practice Education and Pre-registration
- Public Health
- Women, Children, Young People and Families
- Mental Health and Wellbeing
The Opportunity
We’re looking for an enthusiastic and self-motivated person who has extensive experience working in both mental health and education roles. As a Principal Educator in our Mental Health and Wellbeing programme you’ll draw on your leadership capability, knowledge, skills and to lead the design and delivery of a portfolio of education initiatives and projects. These will support workforce education and development across health, care and other public sectors and also support a wider audience which may include, for example, carers, volunteers and communities. You’ll need technical knowledge and skills, but equally important will be the ability to apply and adapt these in response to the overarching strategic objectives of the organisation and the needs of our learners and stakeholders. It’s about giving our learners, educators and partners the tools, skills and information they need to deliver impact and value for the people of Scotland
The Mental Health and Wellbeing programme delivers education and workforce development opportunities focused on mental health, learning disability, neurodiversity, dementia, suicide prevention and spiritual care. As an experienced Allied Health Professional or Mental Health Nurse (registered with relevant regulatory body) you’ll hold a flexible portfolio, providing leadership and delivering across these existing workstreams. You’ll also negotiate new mental health education and workforce development initiatives for a wide audience as required.
Do you have a proven record of working collaboratively with colleagues across professions, agencies and sectors to support national education and development initiatives?
Do you enjoy working at pace and being adaptive in an ever-changing environment?
Do you thrive on being proactive, creating opportunities and managing education projects to meet identified learning need?
Do you bring leadership thinking and behaviours that inspires confidence and supports teams to deliver?
Do you Do you want to use your digital knowledge and skills to create exciting and innovative learning and development resources?
Do you enjoy working flexibly, transitioning across projects and workstreams as needed?
Working within the NMAHP Mental Health and Wellbeing team you will have the opportunity to bring your unique skills and experience to the table, collaborating across multiple workstreams within NES and further afield to deliver high quality education and development opportunities that make a positive difference
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:
- Registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council or the Health and Care Professions Council,
- Master’s degree or equivalent experience.
- A nationally recognised education qualification.
- Extensive experience working with people with mental health problems.
- Experience supporting national policies and initiatives that drive the education and development of the health, care, and wider workforce at all career levels.
- Clear understanding of the political and social environment across health and care, particularly relating to mental health and health inequalities.
- Experience of working with a range of partners from across professions, roles, agencies and sectors to develop and deliver projects and initiatives.
- Well-developed digital knowledge and skills, and experience in technology enhanced learning.
- Knowledge and understanding of a human rights-based approach to health and care and the policy context in Scotland
- Experience of working with families, carers and volunteers, and understanding of the issues that affect them
- Demonstrable leadership experience in a senior role in a relevant sector (e.g. health, social care, education)
- Extensive experience and understanding of how to work in ways that are inclusive of a range of different perspectives and engage a wide audience
- 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 is impossible without ensuring we consider the diverse needs, perspectives and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland in our work.
We are focused on hiring the very best talent available for NES, and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and aim to ensure everyone is treated fairly, with respect and has a positive recruitment experience – regardless of the outcome.
It’s not essential to be in a Principal Educator role right now. You may be returning from a career break (e.g. maternity, paternity, caring for others) or returning after working in another field. Your experiences elsewhere can bring a fresh perspective to our work.
If you are considering applying and feel it would be helpful to discuss this initially, please contact Audrey Taylor Audrey.taylor@nhs.scot
Next Steps
Our recruitment process is currently 100% remote and if successful you would initially work remotely, working from our offices as operationally required.
All applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail.
Online interviews (including a presentation) will take place on Tuesday 11th June 2025. The presentation topic 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.
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