Job detail for Further Education Student Support Policy Lead

Looking for an opportunity to help shape the future of student support in Scotland while developing your policy and project delivery skills?

Join the Policy, Strategy and Governance Directorate within the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government responsible for delivering financial support to around 180,000 students across the UK each year. This team plays a vital role in shaping policy, driving strategic change and ensuring effective governance, including supporting the successful transition and delivery of Further Education Student Support within SAAS.

In this varied and fast-paced role, you will contribute to the implementation and ongoing delivery of student support policy, working closely with colleagues across SAAS, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Funding Council and other key partners. The post's main objective is to help ensure that student support policies and services are delivered effectively, supporting continuous improvement, informed decision-making and positive outcomes for learners across Scotland.

:

• Provide clear information and guidance on FE Student Support to internal and external stakeholders, including the SFC, colleges and third sector stakeholders. Conduct engaging presentations and workshops at meetings to disseminate information effectively.
• Collaborate with colleagues to review and enhance operational policies and processes, with a focus on simplification and efficiency, ensuring that key stakeholders are engaged with throughout.
• Support the management of the SAAS Policy inbox, including responding to queries related to FE student support and handling complex enquiries.
• Build up relations with the FE college sector to best respond to queries and identify potential simplifications.
• Respond to requests for briefings, Parliamentary Questions (PQs), MiCases and other ad-hoc information with accurate, timeous and well-presented material.
• Draft advice for Ministers, SAAS Executive Team, and colleagues.
• Attend and participate in Agency and cross-Government groups. Occasionally take a leading role in sub-groups or workstreams to drive impactful outcomes.
• Revise and update content for the Student Information Scotland (SIS) website.
• Work flexibly across the Policy, Strategy and Governance Directorate, taking on other work as required to ensure that priorities are met.

Success profile:

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of behaviours and experience criteria that candidates will be assessed on.

Experience:

• Proven ability to build and maintain productive relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders.

• Demonstrated planning and organisational skills including the ability to balance competing demands within a fast-paced environment.

• Previous experience preparing high-quality Ministerial submissions including briefing notes and MiCase responses.

Behaviours:

• Delivering at Pace – Level 3
• Changing and Improving – Level 3
• Communicating and Influencing – Level 3

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here: Success Profiles

How to apply:

Apply online, providing a CV and supporting statement (of no more than 1000 words) providing evidence of how you meet the behaviours, experience and technical skills listed in the Success Profile above. 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.

Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

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

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 2 November 2026 however this may be subject to change.

Apply before 23:59 on 11 October 2026.  This post is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship Organisations only (external candidates and staff from UK Other Government Departments are not eligible to apply for this vacancy).

Recruitment Principles

As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.

About us:

SAAS is an executive agency of the Scottish Government and responsible for assessing and paying student awards for Scottish domiciled students in Higher Education throughout the UK. We administer budgets of around £1.4 billion each year, making payments to both educational institutions and over 190,000 students a year. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve.

More information on SAAS can be found on our website https://www.saas.gov.uk

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

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 our teams follow a hybrid working approach, where colleagues use a mix of office based and remote working (working from home) depending on the requirements of the role and personal circumstances. You will be expected to attend the office in person 6 days per month.

Security checks:

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, and read about the Government Vetting Charter, or about all the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

Internal candidates may need to gain higher security clearance than they currently hold if successful in their application.

Equality statement:

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

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

Further information:

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.