At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead transformation projects that modernise and digitise services for Scotland.
- Company: Join the Scottish Government and make a real impact on public services.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, flexible working, and a generous pension scheme.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities for personal growth and development.
- Why this job: Be at the forefront of change, shaping the future of public services.
- Qualifications: Professional qualifications in project management and extensive leadership experience required.
The predicted salary is between 80172 - 92533 £ per year.
Location: Edinburgh, UK
Salary: 80,172 - 92,533 per year
Employment: Full time
Category: Project Management
Posted: 2026-08-07
Valid to: 2026-08-21
Employer: Scottish Government
Job summary
Are you looking for an opportunity to drive portfolio delivery and champion new ways of working? The “Head of Transformation & Portfolio Delivery” will lead the delivery of an ambitious, organisation-wide transformation portfolio at the National Records of Scotland (NRS), shaping how services are modernised, digitised and delivered for the people of Scotland. This is a high-impact leadership role at the heart of strategy, driving prioritisation, governance and outcomes across complex change. You will lead multidisciplinary teams and influence at senior levels to ensure change delivers real public value. This is an opportunity to make a lasting difference; transforming services, strengthening capability, and helping NRS stay fit for the future.
Responsibilities
- Lead and oversee NRS's transformation portfolio, ensuring programmes and projects align with strategic priorities, capacity, budgets, and organisational objectives.
- Accountable for portfolio delivery performance, proactively managing risks, dependencies, priorities, and delivery outcomes.
- Establish and continuously improve portfolio governance, assurance, reporting, and delivery management frameworks across the organisation.
- Drive strategic prioritisation and investment decisions, ensuring delivery activity supports organisational outcomes, public value, and service user needs.
- Lead benefits realisation and continuous improvement, embedding outcome-focused delivery, evidence-based decision-making, and lessons learned.
- Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, partners, suppliers, and governance bodies, providing influence, challenge, and clear communication.
- Lead and develop the Innovation & Transformation function, the Delivery Management function and the Portfolio Management Office, building organization-wide capability, digital skills, and high-performing teams.
- Oversee portfolio financial planning ensuring value-for-money delivery across major transformation initiatives.
Person specification
Qualifications
- A professional level qualification, such as Axelos’ Management of Portfolios (Practitioner) qualification or equivalent.
- APM’s PMQ or Axelos’ P3O qualifications would also be considered relevant.
Experience
- Applicants for this role are expected to be experienced transformation or portfolio delivery leaders, with a proven track record of operating at enterprise scale and taking accountability for delivering multiple complex changes in demanding environments.
- Extensive experience defining and managing a portfolio of complex projects using Agile, Waterfall and hybrid methods, ensuring proportionate assurance and continuous improvement.
- Significant experience leading a team of delivery and change specialists, ensuring projects deliver the best possible outcomes.
- A proven track record of influencing and negotiating with senior stakeholders and clearly communicating complex portfolio analysis and recommendations to drive strategic alignment and action.
- Experience leading transformational change encompassing culture, ways-of-working and organisation and operating model changes.
Behaviours
- Communicating and influencing
- Seeing the big picture
- Delivering at pace
Technical skills
- Planning and scheduling - Practitioner
- Governance - Expert
- Benefits management - Expert
- Frameworks and methodologies - Expert
- Stakeholder engagement - Practitioner
- Asset allocation - Practitioner
- Risk and issue management – Practitioner
- Digital and data - Practitioner
Benefits
- Alongside your salary of 80,172, Scottish Government contributes 23,225 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- Nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- Individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements.
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities.
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact: Name: Michael O’Loughlin Email: DirectorDigital@nrscotland.gov.uk Recruitment team Email: scottishgovernmentrecruitment@gov.scot
Head of Transformation and Portfolio Delivery in Midlothian employer: THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
As a Lead Technical Architect within the Corporate Operations Directorate, you will be part of a dynamic team dedicated to driving digital transformation and enhancing the efficiency of the Scottish Government. Our inclusive work culture fosters collaboration and innovation, providing ample opportunities for professional growth and development. With a focus on people-centred decision-making and a commitment to making a positive impact, this role offers a unique chance to contribute to meaningful change in Scotland while enjoying flexible working arrangements and a supportive environment.
