Job title: Champion, Employee Ownership (Specialist)
Salary: £39,841 - £46,651
Location: Any SE office in Scotland
Department: Co-operative Development Scotland
Grade: 6
Duration: Fixed term, initially one year
Closing date: 22 August 2018
Job ref no: 18882

Job description

This key role involves working alongside the Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) team to spearhead a new joint industry and public sector initiative designed to promote the growth of employee ownership in Scotland.

You’ll support the creation of a new leadership group and work with it to implement its strategy.

This is a fixed term role, initially for one year. Regular travel throughout Scotland and some out-of-hours working will be required.

The difference you'll make

With the full operational support of the wider CDS team, your role will focus on building strong and purposeful relationships, and communicating the needs of EO businesses. You’ll also participate in wider activities promoting the benefits of EO.

Your early priority will be to work towards creating a world-class learning environment, which supports employee owned (EO) organisations. This means getting to know EO businesses and championing their needs among organisations that operate in the learning and training landscape in Scotland.

The qualities you'll bring

Educated to degree level, or with relevant work experience, you’ll understand the economic development challenges facing employee owned companies, and the learning support available to all businesses. You might already be working in a complementary role in the public sector, or in the private sector and have a well-developed network of relevant contacts.

You’ll have strong relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills and be able to demonstrate your ability to work as part of a team. A natural communicator, you’ll be confident presenting at all levels, taking meeting minutes and writing formal documents for a range of audiences.

Whatever your background, you’ll be able to illustrate your professional approach to networking and communication. This is a new role which will suit someone who is able to define their own approach, work independently and manage their own activities and projects.

Apply for this job

Job title: Information Officer
Salary: £21,518
Location: Any SE office in Scotland
Department: Enquiry, Fulfilment and Research
Grade: 9
Duration: Permanent full time
Closing date: 14 August 2018
Job ref no: 18937

There are two available vacancies for this position.

The difference you’ll make

In this role you’ll be helping new and young Scottish companies get the information they need to build their business. Your customers will mainly be colleagues in SE and our partner organisations, though you may at times deal directly with client companies.

You’ll help them by sourcing a wide range of information on topics such as market size, trends and buyer information around products and services for consumers and businesses. This could mean:

• Carrying out desk research using subscription databases and online sources
• Writing ‘market insight’ guides for start-up businesses
• Sourcing company and market information that will help colleagues to engage with companies

Occasionally, you’ll take part in events that promote the information service.

We’ll train you to use our subscription databases in Glasgow or Clydebank. Once that’s complete, you can work from any SE office in Scotland.

The qualities you’ll bring

You might be a recent graduate with a degree in a social science, information science or a business subject. Or you may be returning to work and have experience in a market research, library or information management role. Whatever your background, your highly organised approach and excellence in providing customer service will be what sets you apart.

You’ll have strong writing skills and be able to take diverse information and data to create accessible and meaningful reports.

Apply for this job

Job title: Information Officer
Salary: £21,518
Location: Any SE office in Scotland
Department: Enquiry, Fulfilment and Research
Grade: 9
Duration: Permanent part time (21 hours per week)
Closing date: 14 August 2018
Job ref no: 18937

The difference you’ll make

In this role you’ll be helping new and young Scottish companies get the information they need to build their business. Your customers will mainly be colleagues in SE and our partner organisations, though you may at times deal directly with client companies.

You’ll help them by sourcing a wide range of information on topics such as market size, trends and buyer information around products and services for consumers and businesses. This could mean:

• Carrying out desk research using subscription databases and online sources
• Writing ‘market insight’ guides for start-up businesses
• Sourcing company and market information that will help colleagues to engage with companies

Occasionally, you’ll take part in events that promote the information service.

We’ll train you to use our subscription databases in Glasgow or Clydebank. Once that’s complete, you can work from any SE office in Scotland.

The qualities you’ll bring

You might be a recent graduate with a degree in a social science, information science or a business subject. Or you may be returning to work and have experience in a market research, library or information management role. Whatever your background, your highly organised approach and excellence in providing customer service will be what sets you apart.

You’ll have strong writing skills and be able to take diverse information and data to create accessible and meaningful reports.

Apply for this job

To help you to complete your application please follow the guidelines below.

Only completed forms will be used to make selection decisions. Please do not attach or send a CV unless it has been specifically requested.

We don’t keep applications on file, so you need to submit separate applications for any future vacancies.

If you require an hard copy or MS Word version of our application form please e-mail our HR team at hrcdt@scotent.co.uk

1. After the closing date, applications are shortlisted.
2. We contact all candidates in writing to confirm if they’ve been successful or not for interview.
3. Successful candidates attend the first interview or assessment centre.
4. We contact these candidates to confirm if they have been successful or not.
5. Successful candidates may be invited to a second stage interview.
6. The successful candidate will receive a copy of their contract, details of their start date and induction.

Competency based interviewing

We've developed a set of core competencies expected of Scottish Enterprise employees in all departments.

You should get an idea of whether you're right for a particular role by reading the advert but these skills and qualities are what expect to see in all our people. Candidates for any role at Scottish Enterprise will be asked to assess their skills against these competencies in the application form and during the interview process.

They are as follows:

1. Customer focus/relationship management: The willingness and ability to give priority to customers, understand their needs and develop relationships with key partners. And to deliver a high quality service that meets their needs within set timeframes/service level agreements. This refers both to internal and external customers.
2. Teamwork: Working co-operatively with others and organisational boundaries to achieve shared goals. We work across departments, organisations and cultures, so staff must work co-operatively, sharing best practice, breaking down departmental barriers and communicating fully on new initiatives and priorities. Overseas, the ability to build on inter-cultural understanding ensures we understand and meet the needs of our target audiences.
3. Communication: Ensuring written and oral information is provided to all necessary recipients in the most effective and timely manner. Our success largely depends on the impact we make, in particular with key influencers, businesses we support, external partners, the media and internal customers.
4. Personal management: Organising the way we work to allow us to achieve our full potential. As our workplace continues to change, becoming more flexible and complex, our ability to ‘self manage’ is vital. New electronic tools and ways of working will help us deliver to our customers; our capacity to acquire knowledge and build relationships supports us in this aim.
5. Problem solving/project management: Bringing disciplined analysis to data and situations to understand cause and effect, and use this to make effective decisions. Additionally managing inputs and outputs of the project to ensure timescales and deliverables are met.
6. Technical expertise: Possessing the technical skills, knowledge, experience, abilities and relevant qualifications to undertake tasks successfully. These will vary from role to role and will be identified by people managers for each vacant post.
7. Leading and developing others: Leading, encouraging, inspiring and supporting others to develop confidence and capability to help them realise their full potential. This is only applicable to roles involving people management.

People managers have a critical role in securing our long-term future and in achieving our strategic objectives. They are responsible for ensuring individuals and teams understand their responsibilities and roles, and they provide appropriate support, challenges, coaching and delegation, so individuals are empowered to take on greater responsibility.

We require two telephone references. Both of these should be from your most recent employer, learning establishment or current line manager. If you don’t have two references that fall into these categories, the hiring manager will contact you to discuss options. Your selected references should be able to give an account of your:

• Behaviour
• Performance
• Experience

Referees will only be contacted once an offer of employment has been made to the successful candidate. Offers of employment will be withdrawn if our reference checks confirm that the candidate has given false information on the application form.

After the closing date, your application will be considered. If you’re shortlisted, you’ll be invited to participate in a face-to-face or telephone interview. This will be competency-based to measure your technical knowledge and reveal how you actually do things. It also provides an opportunity for you to ask questions about our organisation.

The competency-based interview will focus on the following areas:

1. Customer focus/relationship management
2. Teamwork
3. Communication
4. Personal management
5. Problem solving/project management
6. Technical expertise
7. Economic development
8. Leading and developing others (only applicable to roles involving people management)

The interviewers vary but usually include the hiring manager. Others that may be involved in the process include HR, jobholder peers and subject matter experts.

Depending on the role you apply for, you may also be asked to take part in one or more of the following:

1. Role play
2. Presentations
3. Case studies
4. In tray exercises
5. Group exercises

The next stages of the process will be confirmed at the end of your first interview. If you’re successful at this stage, you may be invited to attend a second interview.

If you’re unsuccessful, you’ll receive a letter with details of who to contact to obtain feedback. You should arrange a suitable time with the individual giving you the feedback to ensure you gain as much detail as possible. We are only able to give verbal feedback.

We aim to attract and recruit the right people, at the right time, in the right job who can meet the current and future needs of the business. Recruitment and selection is conducted in a fair, lawful, professional and cost effective manner.

We encourage job applications from a wide range of individuals, irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Your Privacy

When you apply for a job with us you will be directed our dedicated recruitment site. Your personal data will be processed by us according to the principles of our Privacy Notice.

The data that you provide will be used for the purposes of determining your suitability for employment. Any personal information including interview notes, applicant communication, feedback, references and voluntary equality monitoring data and special category data will be treated confidentially and destroyed after the recruitment has been finalised and in accordance with our data retention policy.

Our commitment to equality and diversity

We believe that diversity benefits every colleague, resident and business in the country and it is important that our approach is accessible by all, regardless of:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Our work has been greatly helped by an increased focus on inclusive growth which has equality of opportunity as a fundamental theme. There are moral and legal reasons to promote equality, but it's also part of realising Scotland's full economic potential. Embracing equal opportunities will help:

• Counter the effects of an ageing workforce
• Address youth and female unemployment
• Encourage greater innovation in the Scottish economy

There is also a strong business case for Scottish companies to adopt diversity. Research suggests that an effective approach to equal opportunities helps businesses increase productivity, expand market share and improve staff recruitment and retention.

We are committed to complying with the Act, the Public Sector Duty and the associated Scottish Specific Equality Duties, giving due regard to:

• Eliminating discrimination
• Advancing equality of opportunity
• Fostering good relations between groups
• We have a number of mechanisms to fulfil this, which are outlined below

This report details:

Our commitment to equal opportunities

1. The steps we're taking to ensure we address the needs of under-represented groups
2. A revised set of outcomes based on progress with our previous outcomes
3. This fulfils our obligation to produce a mainstreaming report under the Scottish Specific Equality Duties.

Equality mainstreaming report (PDF, 1.67MB)

Equality mainstreaming report (Word, 1.07MB)

You can approach any member of our staff if you need help to access any of our products or services. If English is not your first language or you have a sight impairment and you need help to access our services, contact us

Minicom is also available on 0800 023 2071.