1007-301 Head of People & Organisational Development - F Grade - April 2025

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Job Description

Job Title: 1007-301 Head of People & Organisational Development | Grade: F | Vacancy Type: Permanent | Location: Any NatureScot office, home and hybrid working considered with frequent travel to Inverness | Hours: 35 | Salary: £59,219 rising to £68,025 - pay award pending effect from 1st April 2025 | Closing Date: Midnight, 20 April 2025 | Interview Date: w/c 05 May 2025

Job Purpose Summary

This is an incredible time to join NatureScot. We're in the last year of our current Corporate Plan 2022-26 - A Nature-Rich Future for All, and about to start planning for the next iteration of our strategic aspirations. Due to an internal promotion, we are looking for a strategic lead for our People and Organisational Development (P&OD) team, who can drive our ambition to protect and restore biodiversity in Scotland and inspire everyone to value our natural world.

The Head of People and OD will lead all aspects of people and organisational development to ensure our passion, inspiration and expertise can put nature at the heart of Scotland's future. Through strategic leadership of the P&OD function, you will drive our ability to motivate, develop and deploy our people resources to make an exceptional contribution to NatureScot's ambitions. We want to be an employer of choice, building an organisation where everyone feels safe, inspired, productive, and valued for their unique contributions.

The role comprises two key elements:

1. To lead NatureScot's P&OD service, fostering a high performing team, with an agile approach delivering operational and strategic services to a diverse and dispersed organisation. The ambition is to deliver an exceptional employee experience for all colleagues, taking a person-centred, service design approach. The team works collaboratively both internally with key stakeholders and customers and with our TU and wider public sector partners.
2. To lead the organisational development required to meet the ambitions of our new Corporate Plan. The aim is to improve organisational performance and resilience through developing our workforce and organisational culture ensuring it is both productive and enriching for all. This is being driven by our People Strategy and will be delivered by our ambitious People Programme.

The focus is on enhancing our individual and collective leadership and enabling a happy and resilient workforce. Priority programmes include talent attraction, retention and skills development underpinned by strategic workforce planning with a focus on improving performance and developing our organisation to become more efficient and effective. Employee wellbeing and engagement are vital components of our programme, which includes coaching, mentoring, and taking a community-based, collective approach.

The team you will lead plays a crucial part in NatureScot's strategic transformation agenda. The team is structured to empower leaders and managers and support them to develop and deliver high performance in their areas of responsibility. Building capacity and capability in a sustainable way is critical to our success. The role includes working collaboratively with colleagues across Scotland to embed innovative approaches to organisational development, particularly in relation to organisational performance across NatureScot.

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate strategic leadership, have a track record of managing HR/OD delivery, possess a strong commitment to quality services and continuous improvement, and have an outstanding ability to influence and enable change.

You will be a key member of the Business Services & Transformation leadership team, which includes the following range of functions: People & OD; Finance, Planning and Performance; External Funding; Technology & Digital Services; Information & Cyber Security; Workplaces Team, and part of NatureScot's extended leadership team.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

1. Lead the strategic design and development of our organisation, culture and people resources. This will include delivering new ways of working to create an agile, flexible organisation; transformation of our individual and collective leadership capability; and a focus on sustaining a resilient & diverse workforce.
2. Facilitate the Senior Leadership Team to drive the delivery of NatureScot's Corporate Plan outcomes through evaluation and implementation of NatureScot's OD framework & strategic workforce plan.
3. Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders and other public sector bodies, influencing and responding to NatureScot's strategic people ambitions, including identifying trends which will shape the delivery of people services.
4. Lead development of NatureScot's approach to attracting and retaining talent, including our reward system, terms & conditions of employment, performance management and employee development arrangements, to best suit the evolving needs of NatureScot.
5. Provide professional leadership, vision and direction for the People and OD function, ensuring the team has the expertise and skills needed to provide high quality, innovative and consistent operational services to meet the needs of NatureScot.
6. Ensure quality assured advice to NatureScot's Extended Leadership Team on all aspects of HR and organisational development, in line with changing employment legislation and in support of good practice, and positive employee relations.
7. Continuously explore options for increased efficiency of operational service delivery, including developing shared service arrangements where they support the organisational outcomes or are financially beneficial.

Skills (Please refer to these in your Supporting Statement)

Desirability: In-depth HR and OD experience at a senior level, including chartered CIPD membership and the skills to deliver high impact solutions which build on existing initiatives taking an iterative approach to transformational change.

Essential: A flexible, confident approach in leading and motivating people and OD teams in an ever-changing environment, including networking/influencing. Excellent knowledge and experience of employment law, HR best and emerging practice, strategic resourcing and talent management. Excellent knowledge and experience of OD techniques, ability to design and promote development programmes based on organisational needs. The ability to interpret the organisation's strategic workforce requirements to guide the formulation and implementation of policy. Experience of shaping, leading and delivering significant change projects/programmes in a unionised environment. Highly developed communication skills with the ability to build relationships across all levels to influence key stakeholders. Experience of budget management, service level agreements, shared services and continuous improvement with the ability to problem solve through analytical thought processes. A knowledge of Management Information systems and reporting tools and how to utilise these to create greater efficiency and organisational insights which are predictive and prescriptive.

Prerequisites

• Proof of right to work in UK, and be living in UK
• To undertake a Disclosure Scotland application.
• Although Gaelic language is not a prerequisite it is a desirable skill in support of our commitment to our Gaelic Language Plan.

Working for NatureScot

NatureScot offers some great benefits to reward and support you whilst you are working for us. Our benefits package includes the civil service pension scheme, a generous holiday leave allowance plus flexi time, and employee discount scheme. Visit the NatureScot website for further details including below:

• An environment with flexible working options
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% (7.35% employee contributions)
• 41.5 days of annual leave, with 5 fixed public holidays on St Andrews Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and 2nd January
• Equivalent of 2 days paid volunteering leave
• A focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• Job satisfaction from contributing proactively to the twinned nature and climate crisis
• Death in service benefits
• Cycle to work and electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes
• Access to an employee discounts scheme
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

Watch our video below to see what it's like working for nature:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb21KTPwMRc

NatureScot's Net Zero commitment

Whether working at home or in an office, or travelling to meetings and site visits, as a NatureScot you will contribute to our Net Zero plan, for example through positive carbon travel choices.

Application Process

Before applying for this post:

• Internal applicants should read the Self Service Guide (eRDMS A3155575)
• External applicants should read the Online Job Application Guide

If you have previously applied for a vacancy with NatureScot you must remove the supporting statement from your profile, before uploading a new version.

Interviews

NatureScot is an inclusive workplace. We will share interview questions for this vacancy prior to interviews as a way of supporting neurodiversity at NatureScot.

External candidates will be invited to interview if we are unable to recruit internally.

For Further Information: Marie Hernandez (Deputy Director Business Services and Transformation) on 07983 870235 or Jane Macdonald (Director Business Services and Transformation) via jane.macdonald@nature.scot

For information regarding the application process contact Recruitment@nature.scot

Nature is vital to us all, so it's important that NatureScot represents the people of Scotland. The more diverse our workforce is, the more effectively we can connect everyone with nature. We encourage applications from candidates of all ages and genders, people from ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community.