Specialist Lead – Healthcare Science

Flexible Location: Based throughout Scotland, NES is a remote friendly employer supporting office and hybrid working. We’re happy to talk about how you want to work. Work Pattern: Fixed Term, Full Time, 37 hours per weekFixed-term or Secondment** ending 31 March 2026For NHS applicants, an NHS secondment will be offered in the first instance. For non-NHS applicants, a fixed-term or secondment would be considered. You must have eligibility and entitlement to work in the UK which is required to be maintained throughout your period of employment.

Who We AreNHS Education for Scotland (NES) is the national health board with statutory responsibilities to effect sustainable change through workforce development, education and training across the health and social care system in Scotland, while working at UK level with partner organisations. The Medical Directorate is responsible to the NES Board and through the Board to Scottish Government for the commissioning and delivery of postgraduate medical education in Scotland. This training is delivered in general practices and health boards to standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC). The Medical Directorate hosts the NES Healthcare Science workstream.

Its primary function is to: Ensure that the education and lifelong learning needs of clinical professionals covered by healthcare science serving NHS Scotland are effectively met Ensure that all aspects of NES strategy relevant to these professions are met Ensure that multi-disciplinary aspects of NES have a robust contribution from the Directorate, and in certain cases, are led by the Directorate NES Healthcare Science has a specific role in training commissions (to best secure the postgraduate scientist workforce), generic CPD and in the quality assurance of NHS training for scientific staff.

The healthcare science team are responsible for leading the education and workforce development in Healthcare Science across Scotland. This includes supporting inclusive career pathways, widening access, attraction and retention through people-focused partnerships and performance-driven practice. The OpportunityWe are looking for two enthusiastic and self-motivated individuals to join our dynamic HCS team to build effective relationships with key stakeholders to support the development of a postgraduate education and career framework.

Working as a Senior Educator as part of the HCS team within the Medical Directorate, you will have the opportunity to work in partnership with a range of HCS stakeholders to lead this important initiative. The post holder will be someone with extensive experience of leading work at a strategic level and delivering on national projects/programmes of work. They will have exceptional interpersonal, communication and leadership skills and a commitment to delivering high quality services in support of the HCS workforce.

They will have extensive experience of working with a wide range of stakeholders, able to listen, understand and communicate complex information from a range of sources.

What You’ll DoLeading the development of the education and career framework to successfully deliver on the outcomes of the Scottish Government commission Leading and working with key HCS stakeholders to ensure that education requirements, competencies and skills for each of the HCS specialties are documented Crafting briefing documents, background papers, reports, and relevant materials for stakeholder engagementEstablishing and maintaining connections with the Scottish Government to align with evolving strategic initiatives in healthcare science Do you enjoy making a difference, influencing improved ways of working and sharing of innovative ideas?Do you enjoy working at pace and being adaptive?Do you enjoy leading on and collaborating with a wide range of partners at all levels, communicating a shared vision and sense of purpose?Do you want to play a key role in making a difference to the role, career and educational development of HCS?Working within the HCS team you will have the opportunity to bring your unique skills and experience to the table, collaborating and working with a broad range of HCS stakeholders to lead on and develop a robust education and career framework for all Level 2-4 HCSDoes this sound like you?What We Love To SeeSpecialist leads offer a broad range of skills and experience, if you can offer some or all of these, we’d love you to apply:

Substantial experience in Healthcare Science with a focus on education Significant experience of leading, working on and delivering national projects/initiativesSignificant experience in supporting workforce, role and career developmentExperience of working flexibly in complex/sensitive environments with multiple stakeholders where the parameters of the job are not necessarily clearly defined and consensus agreement is required>Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessaryAbility to work on own initiative, to organise and prioritise own workloads, to meet strict deadlinesBenefits Which MatterAs a valued employee of NHS Scotland, you can enjoy an extensive range of benefits including:

Life-work balance - with opportunities for flexible working and hybrid workingGenerous NHS pension scheme Annual incremental salary progression (up to the maximum of the salary band) plus annual NHS salary scale review Annual Leave - 27 Days increasing in line with service plus 8 days public holiday NHS discounts and moreDiversity and InclusionDeveloping a successful national service for Scotland is impossible without ensuring we consider the diverse needs, perspectives and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland in our work.

We are focused on hiring the very best talent available for NES, and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and aim to ensure everyone is treated fairly, with respect and has a positive recruitment experience regardless of the outcome. It’s not essential to be in a specialist lead role right now. You may be returning from a career break (e. g. maternity, paternity, caring for others) or returning after working in another field. Your experiences elsewhere can bring a fresh perspective to our work.

If you are considering applying and feel it would be helpful to discuss this initially, please contact Sarah Smith, Associate Director- sarah. smith8@nhs. scotNext StepsNHS candidates will be considered firstly on a secondment basis, and so are strongly encouraged to discuss this with their current NHS employer at the earliest opportunity, ideally prior to application. Our recruitment process is currently 100% remote and if successful you would initially work remotely, working from our offices as operationally required. All applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. Online interviews will take place on 22 September 2025.

For further information please refer to the Job Information Pack below. Unless otherwise stated the deadline for applications is 23: 59 hours on the closing date. Please note, CVs will not be accepted. To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service. As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK.

It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV. UK website. For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa.

However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found. It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsoredBEFORE submitting your application form.

If you have any queries regarding the NHS Scotland National Recruitment Portal or the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to contact our recruitment partners, the East Region Recruitment Service, at: EoS. ERRS@nhs. scot