Chief Executive

The Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) is the voice of an iconic global brand, which brings major economic and social benefits to Scotland, especially for rural and island communities. Scottish Salmon is the UK’s number one food export. The sector produces more than £1 billion of healthy, nutritional food each year. Its annual exports are worth more than £600m and it supports 10,000 jobs across the supply chain. Salmon is a proud Scottish success story – an outstanding example of a ‘good food’, produced to the highest standards with the lowest carbon footprint in farming.

The SSPO plays a central role in representing its members on political, regulatory, and environmental matters in Scotland, the UK, EU and across international markets. It now seeks to appoint an outstanding Chief Executive who will take the sector forward to further sustainable growth as the UK and global economies emerge from Covid-19. The new CEO will be required to lead the sector through a time of unprecedented change. Working with an experienced, established board and a passionate team at the SSPO, the new CEO will be expected to seize the opportunity for the sector and develop it successfully for the benefit of all its stakeholders.

The CEO will have key responsibility for caring for and growing the social licence of the sector. She/he will be expected to build on a “Team Scotland” approach to growing the sector as part of the green based recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. At the centre of this will be delivering on an ambitious vision for Scottish Salmon which further reduces its environmental impact; creates more jobs; increases investment in Scotland’s rural communities; and positions the brand in the mainstream of a healthy, nutritious, environmentally responsible way of feeding the world. This means working in partnership with the Scottish and UK Governments, local communities, regulators and a range of other stakeholders to bring about change and deliver for Scotland on the global stage.

Key elements of the role will include:

• Passionate and effective advocacy for the brand of Scottish Salmon.
• Creating the environment which allows ambitious and sustainable growth.
• Delivering complex change at pace in a world of many stakeholders.
• Nurturing the reputation and social licence of the sector.
• Further developing the community agenda in rural and island Scotland.
• Leading world class relationships with Governments and regulators.
• Working with angling communities to help them develop a science and evidence-based approach to addressing the decline of wild salmon in Scotland’s rivers.
• Providing effective and empathetic leadership to the team at the SSPO to ensure that they deliver value for their members.

A full candidate brochure is available to download here.

To discuss the role please contact Ailsa Sutherland or Jamie Brown at FWB Park Brown on 0131 539 7087 or email your CV to fwb@fwbparkbrown.com.