Head of IT Services in Edinburgh

This is a Temporary Promotion Opportunity for 6 months. Reporting to the director of “Strategy, Delivery and Digital Transformation”, this is an exciting interim role that consolidates the management of technical teams and presents opportunities to deliver tangible business benefits.

The Head of IT Services will lead the delivery, performance and continual improvement of IT services across the National Records of Scotland (NRS), ensuring services are secure, reliable, resilient and user focused. Providing leadership across IT Service Management, Database, Applications and Infrastructure services, you will drive operational excellence, service performance and continuous improvement across the organisation. You will provide leadership and direction for major IT initiatives that support business operations and service resilience, including technology refresh, platform upgrades and infrastructure modernisation activities. Working closely with cyber security, digital and business colleagues, you will ensure successful delivery, effective risk management and value for money, while maintaining high-performing services that support organisational priorities.

A permanent “Head of IT Services” will be recruited in January 2027.

• Lead the day-to-day delivery, performance and continuous improvement of IT services across Service Management, Data, Applications and Infrastructure.
• Ensure IT services meet agreed service levels, operational standards, user needs and organisational priorities.
• Set the strategy and operating model for IT Service Management, ensuring clear ownership of incidents, problems, changes, releases, requests, assets, configuration and service transition processes.
• Lead, shape and develop multidisciplinary teams, building capability, accountability and a culture of continuous improvement while fostering strong operational performance.
• Provide innovative ways of working to achieve desired outcomes, build stakeholder consensus around proposed approaches and champion operational management across the wider community.
• Act as a recognised expert and advocate for proposed approaches, continuously reflecting on team performance, constructively challenging ways of working and cascading industry best practice to improve processes and delivery.
• Demonstrate advanced understanding of design, technology and data principles, applying these within your service area, while identifying and implementing solutions for assisted digital services and the DDaT roles required to support them.
• Contribute to business cases, service improvement plans and technology roadmaps, ensuring investment decisions are informed by operational needs, user requirements, affordability and organisational priorities, while developing benefits across the portfolio.
• Apply experience across multiple stages of the product lifecycle, understanding the financial cost and value delivered per sprint, working closely with Agile delivery operations and recognising when to progress, pause or stop activity based on deliverables and stakeholder needs.
• Build effective relationships with operational delivery leaders, planning and engaging appropriate stakeholders at each project stage, anticipating risks, managing escalations for major operational issues and making operations more efficient.
• Develop a long-term vision and objectives, understand how individual problems fit within the wider organisational context, articulate complex challenges clearly, build problem-solving capability in others and maintain a disciplined focus on what is most important and relevant.

Success profiles are specific to each job, and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on.

• Adapting to delivery methodologies - Expert
• Applying user-centred insights - Expert
• Financial ownership - Expert
• Governance and assurance - Expert
• Leading performance and benefits - Expert
• Life cycle management – Practitioner
• Operational management - Expert
• Stakeholder relationship management - Expert
• Strategic ownership - Expert

You can find out more about the skills required, here: Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework.

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• Senior IT operations and service management leadership.
• Significant experience leading complex IT operations and service management functions, including incident, problem, change, release, asset, configuration, service transition and service reporting practices.
• Leadership across multidisciplinary technology teams.
• Proven ability to lead and develop teams across Service Management, Data, Applications and/or Infrastructure, creating clear accountabilities, improving capability and embedding a culture of service ownership and continual improvement.
• Strong technical understanding across modern IT environments, with experience managing service performance, operational risk, major incidents, resilience, suppliers and close working relationships with Cyber Security Operations.
• Strong ability to influence senior stakeholders, manage suppliers and budgets, translate technical issues into business impact, and use service data, user insight and performance reporting to drive measurable service improvements.

Managing a Quality Service – Level 4.

This role is a Temporary Promotion Opportunity for 6 months. Our standard hours are 35 hours per week, and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role, including Flexi-leave.

This post is based in Edinburgh although as with most areas across the organisation, hybrid working is the current arrangement. Given the operational nature of this role, you will be expected to work on-site at least 40% of the time.

Please apply online, providing a CV and supporting statement (of no more than 750 words) providing evidence of how you demonstrate the Success Profiles noted above. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified, applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

Please note that the post is only open to individuals who have satisfactorily completed their probationary period. Applicants must discuss their intention to apply with their current line manager to help ensure early release and balance with current duties.

Vacancies close at 11:59pm on 26th July 2026.

The selection process will be short and light touch. Candidates who are considered to have the skills and experience will be invited to an in-person interview with the recruiting manager and another panel member. They will recommend the candidate considered most suitable for the opportunity. Interviews dates are to be decided.

Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

If you have specific questions about the role, please contact kathleen.greer@nrscotland.gov.uk.

About us: National Records of Scotland (NRS) is Scotland’s record keeper. Our purpose is to collect, preserve and produce information about Scotland's people and history and make it available to inform current and future generations. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles. NRS is a Non-Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government and our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland. We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits.