Specialist – Appraisal

Job title: Specialist – Appraisal
Team: Grant Appraisal
Location: Any Scottish Enterprise hub, with flexible working options
Salary: £48,798
Hours: Full-time, with flexible working options
Status: Permanent
Vacancy ref: R00653
Closing date: 13 August 2025

Be part of building Scotland’s future

Scottish Enterprise is Scotland’s national and international economic development agency. We help businesses innovate, scale and thrive – all with the aim of transforming Scotland’s economy.

Our work plays a central role in delivering the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) – creating high-value jobs, boosting productivity and growing the country’s wealth.

As a Specialist in our Appraisal Team, you’ll help shape and deliver innovative, subsidy-based funding solutions that drive Scotland’s economic transformation.

It’s a crucial role – central to delivering our organisation’s strategic ambitions – and a chance to put your financial expertise, strategic thinking and commercial insight to work on projects that make a real impact.

The role

Reporting to the Team Leader of the Grants Appraisal Team, you’ll work on complex, mission-focused capital and innovation projects – managing applications from initial scoping through to approval and beyond.

Your focus will be on securing strong financial, strategic and economic returns – boosting Scotland’s international competitiveness and supporting long-term economic transformation.

We're also looking for a Specialist – Grant Operations. As this is a similar role, you're welcome to apply for both.

Responsibilities 

Your responsibilities will include:

• Developing and delivering innovative funding solutions, working collaboratively and strategically across the organisation
• Supporting our economic transformation goals by shaping and appraising new capital investment and innovation investment projects for domestic and international companies
• Building and presenting strong business cases for funding or new approaches, clearly setting out the financial, strategic, commercial, delivery and economic risks and rewards at each stage

Who we’re looking for

You’ll bring strong financial and communication skills, along with the ability to think strategically. Ideally, you’ll have experience in project management and appraisal.

Success in this role calls for sound judgement around risk and reward, ideally with experience structuring and negotiating funding packages within subsidy control rules.
You’ll be confident analysing commercial information, including plans for new products, processes or services.

Financially literate and solutions-focused, you’ll know how to untangle complex challenges and guide others toward the right approach.

You’ll be comfortable working with senior stakeholders and naturally collaborative when it comes to building solutions with partners, funders and external organisations.

 
Your skills, abilities, and experience should include:

• A postgraduate qualification or equivalent experience in commercial finance
• Experience in project management, commercial, engineering, or technology roles
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Proven ability to build and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, with a creative approach to finding solutions
• Comfortable working with data and drawing insights from it
• A solutions-focused mindset

Ideally, but not essentially, you’ll also have:

• Economic development or grant appraisal experience
• Experience in applying Subsidy Rules  

Role profile

Further information on the role can be found in the attached role profile.

Life at Scottish Enterprise

As one of Scotland’s Top 10 Flexible Employers, we pride ourselves on empowering our colleagues to work when and where they can best deliver their role in support of our corporate plan. Learn more about working with us.

How to apply

If you're interested in this role, complete and submit your application by 13 August 2025.

Interview dates

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 August 2025.

Our values

Being part of Scottish Enterprise means being open to new ideas and trying different ways of working. We support each other to reach our full potential. We celebrate shared success and learn together when things don’t go so well. And we always treat each other fairly, with respect and understanding. Together, we are the difference.

At Scottish Enterprise, we’re proud to celebrate difference. Diversity of experience and thought is vital to the success of our vision for the future of every community across Scotland. As an equal opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from a wide range of individuals, irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, gender identity and expression, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

We commit to providing any reasonable adjustments required, not only during the application and assessment process but throughout your employment with us.

We have the following networks which are open to all colleagues to help drive inclusion: Disability Positive, Gender Balanced, Multi-Cultural, Multi-Generational and Pride (LGBTQ+).

Apply now to build your future with us.