Endorsement

All applications must be endorsed by  your Manager, Lead Officer or Board as appropriate. Your Local Authority or employer must be in agreement to your release to be involved in this work. This information is included in the ESA application form.

Engagement days

The maximum number of days per year will be 15.

It is important to stress that this is a notional figure. Any engagement is agreed on an individual basis with the relevant local authority/organisation. This could vary depending on the experience of the individual.

Engagement may be over 2 to 3 weeks or spread over the year depending on the nature of the work.

Associate Inspectors

This is a different role from the established HMIE Associate Inspector role which plays a vital part in Education Scotland’s Inspection Programme. No individual can be an Associate Assessor or Inspector and an ESA at the same time.

Reimbursement

A reimbursement of £196 per day will be made to the local authority/organisation once a project has been completed or the maximum number of days has been reached.

Who can apply

During this round of recruitment, we are seeking applications from educators with at least five years of experience in the CLD sector.  There are specific requirements for each post - please see the individual role specifications below for specific details.

ESAs (CLD) have:

• Excellent inter-personal skills

• The ability to support and work collaboratively with colleagues from local authorities and the third sector

• Sound judgment based on evidence

• An ability to work independently and to clear deadlines

• Good organisational and planning skills

• Strong IT skills and confidence in using software to produce high quality text for publication

• Experience of building and maintaining productive and high quality relationships with stakeholders and influencing developments

• A clear understanding of the CLD landscape alongside current Independent Review of CLD

• Relevant CLD qualifications at an SCQF level 9 or above that allows them to carry out CLD practice within local authority or third sector settings

• A current full/associate membership with the CLD Standards Council is considered important for this role

The main responsibility of an Education Scotland Associate is to support improvement of national priorities.

ESAs work alongside Education Scotland staff to enhance specialist capacity and support improvement and policy at national and local level.

As part of this work ESAs:

• engage in professional discussions with practitioners, stakeholders, and senior managers

• Identify and promote highly effective practice

• gather and analyse information, including statistical data, from a wide range of sources

• maintain a high level of awareness of current and developing policy and practice in specific aspects of education provision

• engage in appropriate professional learning and development to build and maintain professional knowledge and expertise

• take account of equality and diversity in all aspects of work

• model good practice, challenge discrimination and promote equality to encourage positive outcomes across all education aspects and services

This is an opportunity to strengthen relationships and collaborate with local government colleagues. You will provide support where it is most needed

Applicants must have:

• Awareness of how to engage stakeholders with complex ideas that support practitioners to enhance their skills and improve practice.

• Understanding of how to work collaboratively with stakeholders and partners

• Knowledge of improvement and self-evaluation frameworks, including how to develop and apply them in practice

• Awareness of barriers to practitioner development and ability to motivate practitioner engagement

• Strong networking and communication skills

Required experience

For this role, applicants must have a minimum of five years’ experience as a CLD practitioner.

The successful applicant must have relevant experience in the following areas:

• Supporting practitioners to understand and implement new ways of working

• Empowering practitioners to cascade knowledge, ideas and approaches to colleagues and learners

• Supporting practitioners to align work with improvement frameworks and outcomes

• Strategic and operational practice in the effective use of improvement and CLD data.

• Effective collaboration with children/young people/adults in communities

• Effective collaboration with colleagues and partners

Applicants must have:

• Knowledge of digital tools and approaches that enhance practice for CLD practitioners

• A background in creating and developing resources used in CLD settings with children, young people, adults and communities

• Enthusiasm to develop the capacity of CLD practitioners so they can improve outcomes and experiences for children, young people, adults and communities

• Good awareness of digital inclusion, self-directed learning and online learning methods

Required experience

For this role, applicants must have a minimum of five years’ experience as a CLD practitioner.

The successful applicant must have relevant experience in the following areas:

• Involvement in the delivery of learning enhanced by digital tools and approaches to individuals/groups in a variety of settings

• Experience in creating and delivering professional learning that is designed to upskill practitioners

• Creation of resources using a variety of different formats e.g. written, video etc

• Effective collaboration with children/young people/adults in communities

• Effective collaboration with colleagues and partners

• An understanding of developing appropriate strategic and operational approaches to support effective capacity building. 

Thank you for your interest in becoming an Education Scotland Associate at this pivotal time in Scottish education.

Working with stakeholders, you will play a vital role in supporting improvement in Scottish education for the benefit of learners.

Scottish Government's ambition is to be a world leading, diverse employer where people can be themselves at work.

We want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. If you require any adjustments to our recruitment process, please let us know. 

To contact us about adjustments or for further information regarding this post please email the Education Scotland Associates Mailbox.

As part of any recruitment process, Scottish Government and associated public bodies collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants and applicants for public appointments.

Personal information you provide in the recruitment process will be made available to Scottish Government and our additional data processors.