Scrutiny Officer

Environmental Standards Scotland’s (ESS) role is to monitor, investigate and secure public authorities’ compliance with environmental law in Scotland. We also scrutinise the effectiveness of environmental law and policy in Scotland and how it is implemented and applied. In our investigative and analytical reports, we may also identify instances where we consider there to be gaps in environmental protection legislation. ESS is an independent non‑ministerial office, accountable to the Scottish Parliament and overseen by a non‑executive board. It is part of the Scottish Administration and its employees are civil servants.

Our Strategy 2026‑2031 sets out how we will work as an organisation to deliver our vision that ‘by holding public authorities to account, we will ensure that Scotland’s people and nature benefit from a high‑quality, healthy environment through improved compliance with and better implementation of effective environmental law’. ESS’ role is expanding to take on two new roles:

• scrutinising the Scottish Government’s delivery against the new statutory biodiversity and nature restoration targets which will be set under the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026
• scrutinising local authorities’ reporting against climate change duties as set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009

To deliver these duties and to manage this significant organisational change, ESS will be recruiting new posts over the next twelve months to establish a new team within the organisation to lead the development of work to deliver these roles, alongside related corporate services requirements.

We are recruiting for two Scrutiny Officers into the New Scrutiny Duties Development Department. Together, these two roles will support the work of the department to:

• scrutinise local authorities’ reporting against climate change duties as set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009
• scrutinise the Scottish Government’s delivery against the new statutory biodiversity and nature restoration targets which will be set under the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026

Key duties and responsibilities include:

• contribute to the wider work of the department around areas such as evidence gathering, policy scrutiny, reporting outcomes etc.
• support the implementation of policies, working practices and controls for both sets of new duties
• support both scrutiny teams in managing and planning workload and tasks through good programme management
• ongoing monitoring and evaluation of wider relevant developments in policy, regulatory and legislative practice
• support the development and implementation of an external outreach programme with the ESS communications team, helping to promote understanding of the organisation and its new scrutiny functions with relevant stakeholders
• working with the ESS data analysis team, support the effective use of data by providing required data management and analysis that helps strengthens our evidence base
• contribute to the production of external reports and briefings to effectively communicate the work of the department
• manage departmental dashboards and PMI’s
• ensure information management procedures are maintained, and good record management is followed throughout the department
• support ESS’ wider organisational work as required

Person specification:

• experience of working in a team at pace to deliver high-quality products or service
• excellent communication and influencing skills with the ability to establish strong working relations with a range of internal and senior external stakeholders
• excellent organisational and prioritisation skills with the ability to work independently to deliver at pace, without sacrificing quality
• Ability to undertake detailed analysis using a range of evidence and information to produce meaningful insights and to support recommendations for improving regulatory and/or operational performance
• Strong interpersonal, networking and team-working skills, with proven experience of managing internal and external relationships, creating positive networks and maintaining trust and credibility
• Experience of quantitative analysis and data management to support decision making
• Excellent written and oral communications skills, with experience of drafting and editing reports and producing advice for a range of audiences
• Experience of working in a scrutiny-focused organisation (for example: inspection, audit, regulatory, or evaluation)
• An understanding of the climate and/or nature policy environment in Scotland
• Experience of working in environmental science, law, policy or regulation
• Experience and skills utilising scientific and data analysis to inform policy development and delivery

Qualifications Required:

• A minimum of two years’ experience working in a policy or scrutiny support function

Behaviours We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing