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Head of New Scrutiny Duties Development
About the job
ESS’ role is expanding to take on two new roles:
- scrutinising the Scottish Government’s delivery against the new statutory biodiversity and nature restoration targets which will be set under the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026
- scrutinising local authorities’ reporting against climate change duties as set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009
To deliver these duties and to manage this significant organisational change, ESS will be recruiting new posts over the next twelve months to establish a new team within the organisation to lead the development of work to deliver these two new roles.
Job description
This postholder will be part of ESS’ executive team (ET) and will report directly to the chief executive. The postholder will be responsible for leading and overseeing the establishment of a new team to develop and deliver ESS’ approach to the two new scrutiny roles listed above.
The role will be for two years.
Application
Further information on the job role and interview process can be found here.
Applications should be submitted through Civil Service Jobs: Head of New Scrutiny Duties Development – Civil Service Jobs – GOV.UK
Applications should be submitted before 11:55pm on Sunday 12th April 2026
Principal Operations Manager
About the job
This newly created post will sit within ESS’ Corporate Services and Communications Team (CSC) and will provide support to all levels of the organisation including the CEO and Board.
Job description
The CSC team (nine people) has a wide range of responsibilities including: finance; human resources (HR); payroll, procurement; governance; information technology and security; communications; and legal provision.
This role requires significant experience across multiple areas of operational delivery, alongside strong leadership and stakeholder engagement skills and an excellent understanding of risk management.
It is critical to the success of this wide-ranging post that the postholder can work proactively with colleagues and third-party service providers, be creative, take the initiative and problem solve.
Application
Further information on the job role and interview process can be found here.
Applications should be submitted through Civil Service Jobs: Principal Operations Manager – Civil Service Jobs – GOV.UK
Applications should be submitted before 11:55pm on Sunday 19th April 2026