Temporary Directorate Business Manager (Grade E2)

Application Deadline: 31 May 2026

Department: Corporate Services

Employment Type: Fixed Term - Full Time

Location: Edinburgh - Hybrid

Compensation: £40,965 to £48,243. Civil Service Pension with Employer Contribution of 28.97%. Flexible Working Hours. Hybrid Working.

Our ambition is for Scotland to be the best place in the world to learn, educate, research and innovate, so that all of our nation can flourish. Our purpose is to create and sustain a world-leading system of tertiary education, research and innovation that changes lives for the better, enriches society and supports sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

In this role you will provide a high-quality business management function for the directorate and lead the provision of Business Support to the Director and Deputy Directors. You will lead on co-ordination and implementation of directorate planning, operating processes and business improvement, and serve as a driver and enabler for cross-directorate working and cooperation. We expect that this role will end in February 2027.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the management of the Director’s business and support the PA to ensure effective flow of information.
• Support the Directorate Senior Team with strategic planning and oversee reporting against corporate compliance requirements related to the Business Managers’ responsibilities, including risk management and other activities required by the annual business cycle.
• Report regularly to the Director and directorate Senior Team on operational and strategic performance against a range of measures.
• Work collaboratively and proactively with SFC’s Senior Business Manager and Business Management Network to align processes, share ideas and good practice, coordinate deadlines, feed into corporate business planning and information sharing, and identify/facilitate opportunities for closer cross-directorate working.
• Oversee and ensure the flow of information and smooth running of operations within the directorate.
• Develop clear and robust processes for the handling of day-to-day work across the directorate and contribute to business process improvement for the wider organisation.
• Lead on the planning of the directorate’s delivery of high quality, timely papers for Board, committee and group meetings.
• Manage workflows within the directorate to feed into corporate deadlines and maximise opportunities for cross-directorate working.
• Lead on horizon scanning/forward planning to identify deadlines for consultations and other external business, upcoming papers that will require development and sign-off, and wider internal or external business that will require briefing.
• Lead the establishment of proportionate directorate administration systems and processes that will produce management information.
• Develop and implement an appropriate approach to records management ensuring full compliance with SFC’s corporate policies.
• Support and provide guidance to colleagues within the directorate to operate within these processes.
• Work with Finance to monitor directorate budgets and input to annual budget preparation responses to key financial activities.
• Provide support to financial processes within the directorate.
• Deliver a high-quality, comprehensive secretariat service for committees and groups as required.
• Provide leadership and line management support to colleagues as required.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

It is important through your CV / Cover Letter that you give evidence of proven experience of each of the following essential criteria:

ESSENTIAL SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience of leading or working as a part of a high-quality team working as a PA, Executive Assistant, Business Manager, Team Coordinator or equivalent background.
• Experience of using IT systems – such as MS Teams, trackers, shared mailboxes – to streamline and make more effective the flow of business within and between business areas.
• Proven ability to analyse, understand and respond to complex issues in an appropriate manner, demonstrating good judgement in a politicised environment.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills, with the ability to form effective relationships at all levels to generate confidence, respect, collaborative working with an openness to change.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, and the ability to produce high quality written work independently.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to respond to a diverse and changing workload while maintaining a high degree of attention to detail.
• A resilient, positive, and flexible approach.

DESIRABLE SKILLS:

• Experience of working in or closely with public sector organisations.
• Experience of supporting or managing projects and working with departmental running costs budgets.
• Ability to work at pace, using a range of skills to secure momentum, change and positive outcomes.
• A good track record of collaborating with others to streamline processes, and the ability to lead on the design and delivery of continuous business improvement.
• Understanding of SFC’s strategic corporate priorities, and ability to use this wider awareness to represent their directorate’s interests in corporate forums and meetings.
• Good awareness of compliance and corporate reporting responsibilities, for example Information Governance requirements and corporate performance monitoring.

Terms and Benefits

• Normal full-time hours of work are 35 per week.
• Flexi-time system is in operation.
• Annual leave entitlement of 30 days pro-rata, plus public and privilege holiday entitlement of 13 days pro-rata.
• A flexible approach to hybrid working, giving you flexibility to work from home anywhere in the UK for some of the time while also maintaining regular in-person contact with colleagues.
• Annual pay review: approved within the framework of the Scottish Government’s Public Sector Pay Policy and negotiated with our recognised trade union, Unite.
• Eligibility to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
• Support for continuous professional development.
• Support for health and wellbeing, including generous occupational sick pay and access to occupational health support.
• Support for travel to and from work.