Temporary Deputy Director Data & Digital Services in Edinburgh

To provide strategic leadership for the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) data and digital services function, owning the product vision, data strategy, and investment priorities across three integrated disciplines: Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Delivery. The role is accountable to the CIO for building and leading a cohesive function that connects data collection and engineering, through analysis and insight, to user-facing digital services, ensuring SFC’s data and digital capability delivers measurable value, supports evidence-based decision making, and evolves in line with Scotland’s public service agenda.

Key responsibilities

• Set and own the strategic direction for SFC’s data and digital services, acting as the senior product owner for the portfolio. Translate organisational priorities and the reform agenda into prioritised roadmaps, investment cases, and measurable outcomes for the CIO and Board.
• Own SFC’s data strategy, ensuring the approach to data collection, engineering, governance, and analytics is coherent, sustainable, and capable of supporting both operational needs and strategic insight.
• Ensure SFC’s data and digital capability underpins the organisation’s wider assurance obligations including OFAM, enhanced institutional scrutiny, and financial health monitoring. Provide strategic assurance to the CIO, Board, and Audit and Assurance Committee, maintaining governance aligned with SFC’s risk management framework.
• Lead Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Service Delivery as an integrated function with clear responsibilities, accountability and strategic outcomes.
• Lead workforce planning across the function, determining how permanent and fixed term resources are structured to maximise delivery capacity and build sustainable capability beyond transitional funding.
• Coach and develop the Assistant Director leadership layer, ensuring heads of function have the clarity of remit, capability, and support to deliver and to develop their own teams.
• Lead, develop, and performance manage a multidisciplinary team spanning delivery, engineering, and analytics, fostering an inclusive culture where professional development and constructive challenge are valued.
• Build strong working relationships across SFC’s directorates and the CIO’s wider leadership team, positioning data and digital services as central to organisational priorities including OFAM, institutional scrutiny, and funding model reform, while managing dependencies with infrastructure, support, and programme governance teams.
• Champion a data literate culture across SFC, building confidence in using analytics and digital tools to support decision making, and establishing the function’s reputation within the Scottish public sector.
• Represent SFC’s data and digital interests at senior level with Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland, colleges, universities, and sector bodies. Manage strategic supplier relationships, ensuring contracted outcomes and value for money.

Skills, qualifications and experience

Essential

• Senior leadership of a multidisciplinary data and digital function, with direct accountability for portfolio outcomes, budget management, and team performance across specialist disciplines.
• Experience of setting strategic direction for data services or digital products and translating that into prioritised roadmaps, investment cases, and measurable outcomes.
• Track record of integrating specialist teams into a coherent operating model, particularly connecting data and analytics capability to service delivery or business outcomes.
• Experience of operating at Board or senior governance level within a public sector, regulatory, or arm’s length body context, including preparing briefings and investment cases for non-technical audiences.
• Strong understanding of the data lifecycle from collection through engineering, analysis, and insight, with the ability to make informed strategic decisions about data platforms and analytical approaches.
• Proven stakeholder management at senior and cross-organisational level, including managing service dependencies and delivery partnerships in a politically sensitive environment.
• Experience of leading organisational transitions or major change programmes where continuity of service must be maintained alongside transformation.
• Ability to build and develop high performing teams, including coaching senior managers, shaping team structures, and fostering a collaborative working culture across organisational boundaries.

Desirable

• Experience within Scottish public sector, further or higher education, or skills and training funding contexts.
• Experience of building DDaT (Digital, Data and Technology) functions or capability frameworks, including defining roles, career pathways, and professional development approaches.
• Qualified or experienced in programme or portfolio management (such as MSP, MoP, or equivalent) or agile delivery leadership at scale.
• Experience of working alongside but not directly managing IT infrastructure and operations teams, with the ability to influence technology decisions that affect data and digital services without owning the infrastructure.