Work-Based Learning Quality Adviser

We are recruiting a permanent full time Work Based Learning Quality Adviser.

As a Work‑based Learning Quality Adviser, you’ll play a key role in shaping the quality of vocational education across Scotland. Working with Scottish Government‑funded learning providers, you’ll help ensure learners and employers receive high‑quality, meaningful experiences that make a real difference. You’ll support providers to reflect on, evaluate and continuously improve their delivery—offering expert advice and guidance to help them meet, and go beyond, national quality standards. This is a role where your expertise directly influences outcomes.

Working independently and flexibly, you’ll manage your own workload while delivering robust assessments and high‑quality project outputs. You’ll engage confidently with a wide range of stakeholders, from senior leaders to front‑line staff, building strong relationships and influencing positive change. Clear written and verbal communication skills are essential, enabling you to produce insightful reports and provide practical, actionable feedback.

With a strong commitment to continuous improvement, you’ll help shape the future of vocational education in Scotland, adapting to an evolving strategic landscape and contributing to system‑wide improvement. Your work will include leading continuous improvement projects, collaborating with colleagues and external partners, contributing to reviews of Modern Apprenticeship frameworks, and leading thematic quality reviews. As a trusted adviser, you’ll coach and support providers and internal colleagues to strengthen their understanding of quality requirements.

You’ll bring relevant experience of quality assurance—ideally within a vocational education and training setting—along with an understanding of the wider context in which the Quality Assurance team operates within National Training Programmes (NTP) and Skills Development Scotland. Experience supporting learning providers to enhance their continuous improvement practices would be particularly valuable.

About SDS: Skills Development Scotland is the national skills agency. Our ambition is to drive productivity and inclusive growth through investment in skills, enabling businesses and people to achieve their potential. Through the sharing of expertise, intelligence, and extensive partnership working, we enable the development and delivery of innovative solutions to Scotland’s skills and labour market challenges.

This is even more important given the current economic climate and recessionary outlook.

Values:

• We put the needs of our customers at the heart of all we do.
• We make use of our combined strengths and expertise to deliver the best outcomes.
• We demonstrate self‑motivation, personal responsibility, and respect.
• We continually improve to achieve excellence.

SDS is an award‑winning equal opportunities and fair work employer. Our values and culture are owned and driven by our colleagues and show our commitment to our customers – the people of Scotland. Our employees enjoy a wide variety of progressive benefits and working practices. We prioritise employee engagement, wellbeing, and development, making us a great place to work.

This role can be located at any of our SDS locations, although occasional travel to Glasgow offices will be required. SDS is working to a hybrid working model, therefore the successful applicant is expected to work from both home and an SDS workplace on a regular basis.

At SDS we are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. If you’ve got the right skills for the job, we want to hear from you. We encourage applications from the right candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, belief or race. To support our ambitions our application process is anonymised. Therefore, while we want to know about your relevant skills and experience, please avoid disclosing any identifying characteristics.

The closing date to submit your application is Thursday 5th March 2026. Interviews are due to be scheduled as soon as possible thereafter. More information on the interview format will be made available if you are invited to interview.

If this opportunity excites you and you would like to discuss the role in more detail to help you decide if it is right for you, please contact Michael McHugh at michael.mchugh@sds.co.uk or 0141 468 7008.