Chief People Officer

The Company
Scottish Enterprise (SE) is Scotland’s national economic development agency and a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. Our purpose is to help businesses innovate and scale to transform the economy. We are a key delivery partner for the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

SE focuses on activities that help Scottish businesses to better adapt and respond to economic opportunities and challenges. The goal is to create a more productive, resilient and competitive economy for Scotland. To achieve this, the organisation works to drive business innovation, build international competitiveness and encourage greater investment in companies and infrastructure. These are the areas in which SE can deliver the most value and help unlock Scotland’s vast economic potential.

The Role
The Chief People Officer, (CPO), leads the CPO Division, responsible for a range of corporate services in three main directorates:

1. People Directorate, which includes all aspects of HR such as front-line People Operations, Reward, People Development, Change as well as the HR transactional team and payroll function.; Legal; Procurement and Facilities Management; Health Safety and Environment including business continuity and Office Services including the office estate.
2. Corporate Affairs and Marketing Directorate, which includes Employee Communications, Marketing and Corporate Affairs.
3. Audit Directorate an internal audit shared services partnership service to five employers including Scottish Enterprise.

The role will be to lead the CPO Division to ensure SE services offer added value and contribute to the Corporate Plan, target business need and business improvement, are affordable and comply with Best Value and ensure organisational compliance and best practice. The role also has corporate responsibility for working collectively as a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to ensure their people are well-led, their organisation is well-run, and our culture reflects our values.

As part of ELT, reporting directly to the CEO, the Chief People Officer contributes to high quality leadership of SE across all corporate priorities, working closely with senior leaders, the CEO, the SE Board, and sister agencies.

The Successful Candidate

• Successful, relevant and recent HR experience, and preferably experience of leading other corporate services functions at an executive team level in large, geographically disparate, and complex organisation.
• Significant experience and a deep understanding of HR strategies and policies, organisational development, industrial and employee relations and defined benefit pension schemes. A health and safety leadership qualification is advantageous.
• Previous experience of dealing with the Scottish Government and NDPB leaders is advantageous but not essential.
• Strong and credible personal as well as functional leadership capability.
• Experience of successfully leading large, multi-functional, complex corporate services teams, including a corporate HR function.
• A demonstrable ability to influence internal customers, stakeholders, and peers at a senior level to secure change and positive outcomes.
• Ability to pitch successfully at Board level.
• Strong political acumen and policy antenna that maximises short and long-term approach to corporate services opportunities.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication (written and oral) and influencing skills, with proven ability to develop strong networks with senior decision makers and key stakeholders within a complex and challenging environment.

To apply, please send your CV to Jaclyn Needham, Director at FWB Park Brown at applications@fwbparkbrown.com.  For an initial confidential conversation please contact 0131 539 7087.