Job detail for Chief Executive Office Business Manager

Do you enjoy working in a fast-paced environment where no two days are the same? This is an opportunity to work at the heart of Social Security Scotland, supporting senior leaders to deliver key organisational priorities.

The Chief Executive Office Business Support Team provides direct support to the Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer and Director for Digital, Delivery and Change, helping to co-ordinate business activity and maintain effective relationships across Social Security Scotland and the wider Scottish Government. The team ensures that Executive Team business is managed efficiently and that senior leaders are supported to focus on delivering organisational objectives and Ministerial commitments.

As a Business Manager, you will provide proactive business support, co-ordinating competing demands, meetings and commissions in a fast-paced environment. You will work closely with colleagues across the organisation to plan and track key actions, manage stakeholder relationships, prepare briefing and meeting materials, and ensure that business is delivered efficiently and effectively. The focus of the role is to provide high-quality business support activity that enables Directors to make informed decisions, supporting the successful delivery of organisational priorities.

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• Supporting Directors with the day-to-day delivery of their work through leading and overseeing the strategic management of their mailbox and diary.
• Responsible for forward look of diary commitments and commission of relevant briefings, updates or pre-meets in advance of meetings.
• Act as an ‘intelligence filter’ on information flows maintaining a high and consistent level of awareness and understanding of the organisational priorities and rapidly changing local environment.
• Proactive monitoring of folders in shared mailboxes and liaising directly with business areas to ensure all work programmes, requests for information, commissions and deadlines are met.
• Liaising with Director General Communities and External Affairs, Permanent Secretary and Ministerial Private Office on diary availability and sharing of information ahead of meetings.
• Actively build excellent working relationships with colleagues across the organisation and Scottish Government to communicate and collaborate credibly to support successful delivery of organisational objectives.
• To engage, communicate and collaborate credibly with a range of teams across the organisation to ensure standards and processes are clearly understood and adhered to, providing assistance and advice where required.
• Responsibility for planning and delivery of internal visits relevant to the Directors business area or overall organisational objectives.

Success Profiles

We use an assessment framework called ‘Success Profiles’ which lists the elements we test and provides detailed descriptions of each. Find out more about the framework here.

For this post, the following Success Profile elements will be assessed:

Experience

• Experience of planning, organising and prioritising high-volume workloads for senior leaders to meet challenging deadlines and complex stakeholder requirements, with the ability to work flexibly and adapt to a changing environment in order to fulfil the duties of the role.

• An excellent communicator who can build strong working relationships across Social Security Scotland, working effectively with specialist teams and senior leaders, while confidently influencing and constructively challenging.

Behaviours

• Seeing the Big Picture (Level 3)
• Delivering at Pace (Level 3)
• Communicating and Influencing (Level 3)
• Managing a Quality Service (Level 3)

You can find out more about Success Profiles here.

Technical/Professional Skills:

• Data and Insight (Level - Working)

You can find out more about the skills required, here: Core ODP Skills - Operational Delivery Profession

How to Apply

Apply online, you must provide a CV and a Supporting Statement (of no more than 1000 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the Success Profiles above. Be sure to provide specific examples of work that you’ve done that showcase your relevant experience. Both the CV and the Supporting Statement provided will be assessed against the criteria for the role.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and presentation.

We aim to provide feedback on request. However, if we receive a large number of applications it may not be possible for us to provide specific feedback on your application. We will provide feedback on request to candidates who attend an interview/assessment.

Expected Timeline (Subject to change)

Sift - commences 7th October 2026

Interview - week commencing 19th October 2026

Location - Interview via Teams

Reserve List

In the event that there are more successful candidates than posts available, a reserve list will be kept for up to 12 months.

About Us

Social Security Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. Our benefits help people from all walks of life in Scotland. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve.  Find more about us here.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Working Pattern

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options, depending on the needs of the role. We embrace a hybrid working style where all colleagues will spend time in either our Glasgow or Dundee offices. There is an expectation of a minimum 2 days per week in your assigned location, which will be either Glasgow or Dundee.  If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Equality Statement

Social Security Scotland are committed to equality and inclusion, and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Social Security Scotland are a Disability Confident Employer. We will consider and implement any reasonable adjustments you may require throughout the recruitment process and during the course of your employment, should you be successful in securing a post. If you feel you may require assistance with any part of our recruitment process, please contact us at Recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot.

Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further Information

This role is only available to existing permanent civil servants who have successfully completed their probation period within Social Security Scotland, or the broader Scottish Government.

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.

The successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 3 years unless successful in gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.

If you experience any difficulties accessing our website or completing the online application form, please contact the Resourcing Team via recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot.

Apply before Tuesday 6th October 2026 at 23:55