Chief Executive Officer

SFC is seeking an outstanding Chief Executive to lead the Scottish Funding Council with vision and impact. Responsible for over £1.9 billion of investment in colleges and universities, and team of 140 experts, the mission for this role is to secure a responsive, coherent system of tertiary education and skills, research and innovation; and, in doing so, enabling people from all backgrounds and throughout life to learn and flourish.
As our CEO you’ll be at the epicentre of tertiary education; a place where the sustainable future of colleges and universities and the Scottish Government’s reform agenda meet. Here, your talent and professionalism will drive the changes that will lead to a stronger, more prosperous Scotland.
Those changes will be built on the talent we have within SFC, the fantastic relationships we have with the Scottish university and college sectors, and our ability to bring together diverse interests.
This is an exciting time to join us and we hope you will be motivated by the potential of this uniquely exciting role.
We are a friendly welcoming team and are at our best when working inclusively and collaboratively. SFC explicitly welcomes applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to those with protected characteristics and those with non-traditional career paths., Set a culture of collaborative leadership and teamwork to deliver SFC’s mission and plans with creativity, pace, impact and rigour, and with a clear sense of purpose.
Provide high quality advice and guidance to SFC’s Board to support good governance, effective oversight and strategic direction-setting.
Take a key leadership role across the tertiary education, skills and research system, building trusted relationships with government, funded bodies, and a range of partners including employers and wider industry. This will include working across boundaries in a complex environment, in order to secure change, reform, impact and a more sustainable system for the future.
Secure SFC’s position as the expert, authoritative source of information, insight, advice and evidence to inform policy-making, funding and budget decisions, the development of funded bodies, performance reporting and system change across tertiary education, skills development, research and innovation.
Be a role model for the organisation’s ambition and values, to lead and inspire a culture of inclusive management, diversity, continuous improvement, good employee engagement and union relations, and workforce development.
Lead change and development within the organisation to shape and deliver the government’s reform ambitions, including the possibility of different powers, functions, responsibilities and structures.
Be the Accountable Officer, accountable to the Scottish Parliament and the Board for SFC’s expenditure, ensuring that effective governance, systems, processes and people are in place to demonstrate the effective stewardship of public funds and the impact of SFC’s investment in delivering national priorities and a highly functioning tertiary education and research system.
Ensure robust performance and risk management arrangements are in place that support the achievement of SFC’s aims and objectives and that facilitate comprehensive reporting to the Board, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament, and the wider public.

+ Leadership: you must be a confident and visible leader, with the ability to lead, motivate, build and develop an organisation with a significant budget and diverse range of functions, through a time of change, continually improving, delivering results, and with the capacity and capability to respond to new responsibilities. This includes the ability to plan and set a direction, and a track record of collaborative leadership with external stakeholders to deliver agreed outcomes; and compassionate, collegiate leadership within the organisation in line with SFC’s values and commitment to a culture of high performance, inclusion, diversity, empowerment and the promotion of staff wellbeing.
+ Resource management: experience of being responsible for a large budget or distributing significant funds, while demonstrating sound governance arrangements to secure accountability and best value for public investment.
+ Influence, authority and integrity: excellent communication skills in a range of contexts and mediums, smart, with good personal impact and integrity, and the ability to develop trusted relationships with a range of partners and stakeholders, and upholding the principles and practice of good governance and high ethical standards.
+ Judgement and political astuteness: the ability to advise the Board and the Scottish Government on the key elements of SFC’s mission and alignment with government priorities with sound judgement, the ability to deploy good evidence, and a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities.
+ Personal effectiveness and delivery: highly motivated to make a positive personal impact and secure results, able to handle a range of internal and external pressures, while acting as a role model and ambassador for the values of the organisation. This includes having the self-awareness and resilience needed to look after yourself and those you lead, in order to sustain effectiveness and delivery at a senior level in a political and complex environment.
+ Knowledge of the education and research context: strong understanding of the context in which Scottish further and higher education is operating and the role of education and research in driving social, cultural and economic benefits.
+ Deep personal commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion at all levels within the organisation and within the tertiary system more broadly., Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Alongside your salary of £128,000, Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council contributes £37,081 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
· Normal full-time hours of work are 35 per week. We will consider flexible working arrangements.
· Annual leave entitlement of 26.5 days pro-rata, rising to 30 days pro-rata after 2 years’ continuous service. Public and privilege holiday entitlement of 13 days pro-rata.
· Annual pay review: approved within the framework of the Scottish Government’s Public Sector Pay Policy.
· Eligibility to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme. With its low member contribution rates and generous employer contributions, this gives you a secure, inflation-proof pension for life with no investment uncertainty. Details of contribution rates together with further details of the pension benefits are available on the Civil Service Pensions website. There is also the option of a Partnership pension account.
· Support for continuous professional development: as a part of SFC, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive support for continuous learning and professional development. Civil Service-Learning curriculum has thoughtfully designed to cater to various learning preferences, allowing employees to engage in a manner that best suits their needs. All our educational resources are conveniently accessible through the CSL website.
· Support for health and wellbeing, including generous occupational sick pay, free access to confidential advice and support through our 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, Special Leave (paid and unpaid), a contribution to learning outside work through our Lifelong Learning Fund, free winter flu vaccination, and access to occupational health support.
· We provide support to SFC employees with Volunteering Days.
· Support for travel to and from work, including a salary sacrifice cycle loan scheme, cycle storage and shower facilities, an interest-free loan for bus or rail season tickets and free office car parking for employees on a first-come basis.