The closing date for this job has now passed.

Job reference: 047647
Salary: Band 8C (£72,079 - £77,683)
Job closing date: 19/04/2021
Job Type: Administrative Services
Location: Flexible
Employment type: Fixed-term
Hours Per Week: 37.5
Job posted date: 16/03/2021
Employer (NHS Board): NHS Education for Scotland
Department: Digital

Job Advert

**** COVID-19 – Please note that during this time all interviews will be conducted remotely.  If successful you will also initially be working remotely in line with guidance from Scottish Government*** 


Fixed term/Secondment for two years  

*SLA or secondment only for NHS staff in the first instance* 

Base location: any NHS Education for Scotland office 


Who We Are

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is an education and training body and a special health board within NHS Scotland, with responsibility of developing and delivering education and training for the healthcare workforce in Scotland. 


NES Digital 

Develop and lead a programme of work and services that support the corporate functions that allow NES to work and deliver its strategic objectives.  

These responsibilities relate to the core functions of NES in the following areas. 

  • Development of a new, digital by default, technical environment and commensurate digital services to all NES stakeholders. 
  • Support and development of fit for purpose, corporate support systems and services to allow NES teams to deliver their strategic outcomes.  
  • Communication, support and leadership in all digital and technical disciplines. 
  • Impact assessment of new Digital Services and systems. 
  • Research and development of Digital services as appropriate. 



What you'll do

These will include but will not be limited to:  

  • Provide strategic leadership in relation to their field of expertise, applying highly specialised knowledge to design and delivery solutions for complex, integrated cloud-based services, ensuring security, efficiency, quality, resilience and performance.  
  • Leadership, line management of the NES Digital Delivery business unit ensuring excellence in all the complex, integrated and diverse services it delivers and supports.  Promote a culture of leading-edge practice to build capacity and capability.  
  • Lead the development of policy and strategic direction of the design and delivery of NES technology products and services, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and manage the transition of our technology developed as part of the pandemic response toward a business as usual state 
  • To   be   responsible   for   the   coordination,  design   and   delivery   of   information technology   &   service   resources   and   other   resources,   including   financial,   within the department. 
  • Initiate,  create  and  lead  workstreams  across  a  wide  range  of  disciplines  at  national  and regional  levels  for  priority  areas  relevant  to  the  field  of  expertise;  this  includes  the  design, development, quality assurance and impact assessment of  information  systems  and  services  used  across  NHS Scotland such  as  highly-scalable  cloud-based  web  applications  and  services . 
  • Define and constantly test and evaluate technical and delivery standards and methodologies that all NES technology products and services must adhere to, ensure the highest quality and the lowest possible development and support overheads.  
  • Identifying and leveraging opportunities within NHS Scotland, Scottish Government and the Care Sector along with peer networks which can aid delivery 


What you'll bring 

These will include but are not restricted to: 

  • Proven and demonstrable proponent of best practice and standards in leading technology product teams to successful delivery outcomes 
  • To provide evidence of leadership skills (specifically in technology product design and delivery methodologies required to produce national web applications and services in the public cloud) and ability to influence at all levels using self-management ability and analytical, prioritisation and judgement skills in order to influence digital education or health and social care services.  
  • The ability to function politically, analyse information, understand complex arguments, make judgements, reconcile competing demands and negotiate with and influence others are key skills. The postholder must be an excellent communicator and be able to demonstrate clear evidence of career success to date.  
  • Proven and demonstrable ability to function and support others within the context of a rapidly changing environment e.g. Digital industry. Experience in the role to a strategic level.  Experience of Digital service development/management of change. 
  • Track record in developing, commissioning, managing and evaluating development programmes/activities. 
  • Able to develop and utilise an extensive and complex professional network of contacts and relationships with stakeholders, partners and networks that may add value to delivery. 
  • Experience of initiating, conducting and coordinating research & Innovation.  
  • Evidence of expert knowledge within the Digital & Information Services speciality in leading product design, delivery and improvement 
  • The postholder must have the skills necessary to engage, develop, collaborate, negotiate and utilise an extensive and complex professional network of contacts and relationships with government agencies, funding bodies, professional regulatory bodies, other education providers and the service to deliver large scale and complex technology solutions in order to progress and add value to delivery 


Informal enquiries may be directed to David McColl, Chief Technology Officer (david.mccoll@nhs.scot) 

*Applicants who wish to apply on a secondment basis are strongly encouraged to discuss this with their current employer at the earliest opportunity. 


Unless otherwise stated the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date.  

Closing date: 19th April 2021 

Interview date from 26th April 2021 ​​​​​​​


If you have any queries regarding the application portal or the recruitment process, please contact us at: recruitment.hr@nes.scot.nhs.uk 

Take a look around the company https://jobs.scot.nhs.uk/