About the role

Provides strategic leadership for the Scottish Funding Council’s data and digital services function. Focused on product vision, data strategy, and investment priorities across integrated disciplines.

Responsibilities

Set and own the strategic direction for SFC’s data and digital services, acting as the senior product owner for the portfolio.
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.
Lead Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Service Delivery as an integrated function.
Lead workforce planning across the function.
Coach and develop the Assistant Director leadership layer.
Lead, develop, and performance manage a multidisciplinary team spanning delivery, engineering, and analytics.
Champion a data literate culture across SFC.
Represent SFC’s data and digital interests at senior level with various stakeholders.

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.
Strong understanding of the data lifecycle from collection through engineering, analysis, and insight.
Proven stakeholder management at senior and cross organisational level.
Experience of leading organisational transitions or major change programmes.
Ability to build and develop high performing teams, including coaching senior managers, shaping team structures, and fostering a collaborative work culture across organisational boundaries.

Normal full-time hours of work are 35 per week. We will consider flexible working arrangements. A 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. With its low member contribution rates and generous employer contributions, this gives you a secure, inflation-proof pension for life.
Support for continuous professional development.
Support for health and wellbeing, including generous occupational sick pay, free access to confidential advice and support through our Employee Assistance Programme.
We provide support to SFC employees with Volunteering Days.
Support for travel to and from work, including a salary sacrifice cycle loan scheme, cycle storage and shower facilities, an interest-free loan for bus or rail season tickets and free office car parking for employees on a first-come basis.