Description Are you looking for a rewarding role where you can contribute to the Scottish Government's mission to tackle child poverty? The post holder will lead the team responsible for a number of low income benefits within the Five Family Payments, Funeral Support and Challenge Rights Unit. We are looking for an experienced policy professional with a strong track-record of collaborative working with stakeholders and Ministers to deliver more efficient and joined up public services within a legislative context, working at pace and with strong awareness of the wider strategic context across Scottish Government, as well as at a UK level. Longer term the post holder be leading on a project to support alignment the Five Family Payments (Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods), contributing towards the Scottish Government’s mission to tackle child poverty. The project will introduce wide-ranging changes to introduce auto-award, align eligibility criteria and application processes in order to improve take-up and make applying as easy as possible for people, while also improving Social Security Scotland’s operational procedures and monitoring abilities. This is a multi-year project involving complex cross-cutting work with legal and operational teams in order to bring together policy, operational and legal priorities. In the shorter term the post holder will lead one of the project strands to mitigate the two child limit. This involves liaison with Social Security Programme, Social Security Scotland, SGLD and analysts to ensure that regulations meet our equalities duties, effectively target child poverty, represent value for money and are deliverable within challenging timescales. This role is pivotal in overseeing the development and implementation of policies related to Scottish low-income benefits. You will work closely with teams across the Scottish Government, including SGLD, Social Security Scotland, and analysts, to navigate complex legislative and operational challenges. A key aspect of the role is translating detailed policy and legislative requirements into effective delivery, ensuring that policies are implemented smoothly and in line with legal frameworks. Strong collaboration with stakeholders will be essential to drive forward this work and support the successful operation of Scotland’s social security system. Responsibilities Lead on legislative and policy process to mitigate the two child limit: ensuring drafting instructions meet policy objectives, leading on engagement with Social Security Programme to ensure policy aims are deliverable and meet Ministerial ambitions (immediate priority) Lead on the programme of work to align the Five Family Payments as well as manage the business as usual activity for these payments, including overseeing and managing a complex piece of legislation and relevant section 104 orders (longer term priority – post April 2026). Plan and prioritise a complex piece of legislation, considering risk, resource and costs to deliver a new payment Ensure the provision of high quality robust Ministerial advice, support and briefing Develop and maintain strong working relationships with Social Security Scotland, Social Security Programme, SGLD, analytical colleagues and external stakeholders Provide leadership to a team of 4 people, supporting them in their individual responsibilities and promoting team resilience and wellbeing You will have responsibility for four low income benefits - Best Start Grant, Best Start Foods, Funeral Support Payment and Job Start Payment, as well as leading policy development on the two child limit. Qualifications Success Profile Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on. Professional/Technical Requirements Policy Context and Purpose - Level 2 - Practitioner Parliament and Law - Level 3 - Expert Policy Delivery and Systems - Level 2 - Practitioner Based on the Policy Profession Standards: Overview and Detailed Descriptors Behaviours Delivering at Pace Making Effective Decisions Working Together Seeing the Big Picture You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Behaviour levels - Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot How to Apply Closing 13/04/25 - 23:59 Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 1000 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above. If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and a secondary exercise. Assessments are scheduled for w/c 28/04/25 however this may be subject to change. About Us 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. We offer a range of flexible and hybrid working options depending on the needs of the role. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us. 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.