Associate Director

Associate Director

2 Posts

On 1 April 2026, NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) became one national organisation, focused on continuity today and a stronger, more connected service for tomorrow.

As part of this transformation, NSS and NES have joined to form a new organisation:

Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland). This new organisation will play a pivotal role in supporting the renewal and ensuring the long-term sustainability of health and care services across Scotland.

About The Organisation

PSD Scotland unites expertise from NES and NSS in a way that will allow us to accelerate national programmes to support the NHS to deliver better care, now and in the future.

We support staff with education and training, provide the tools and data that improve services, and run vital national functions such as procurement, logistics and blood, tissue and cell services.

The Post

The National Services Directorate (NSD) is a Directorate within Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD), we commission specialist services and some screening services on behalf of NHS Boards and the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates.

The Associate Director role is and exciting, dynamic and challenging role. The successful candidate will provide senior leadership to a multidisciplinary team of staff responsible for the commissioning of National Specialist Services and National Planning for Scotland. The postholder will also support the implementation of the wider NSD Strategic Plan and the overarching NSS objectives.

This is a senior position within NSD which plays a leading role in the implementation of key Scottish Government strategies and in the delivery of National Specialist Services. You will work within NHS Board colleagues, Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, and health professionals across Scotland to ensure that high quality and effective services are provided to residents of Scotland. The postholder will also need to lead on commissioning services from both national and international health care providers when and if necessary.

The Candidate

You should be educated to masters level, should have a minimum of 5 years proven track record of clinical and managerial experience at a senior level within an NHS environment. The post holder will also require excellent interpersonal, organisational and communication skills. Experience of planning at a strategic level is essential, as is the requirement for proven negotiation skills and change management experience.

This post is based in Edinburgh or Glasgow, with a requirement to travel throughout Scotland and some UK travel on occasion. A pool car is available for business use and a current full UK driving license is required.

Location and Working Pattern

Gyle Square, Edinburgh or Delta House, Glasgow. Currently hybrid working

Monday to Friday, 36 hours per week

It is a condition of this employment that you must live and remain a resident within the UK and have entitlement to work in the UK for the post in which you will be employed.

Benefits

Our benefits package includes pension scheme, comprehensive range of work life balance policies, occupational health services, learning resource centres and discounted leisure, financial and shopping benefits. HR Benefits Brochure.

Inclusion

Public Services Delivery Scotland is a national organisation and, as an anchor institution, it is our ambition to be a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone feels welcome. We recognise that flexible working creates an inclusive workplace where employees can thrive and feel confident about their ability to balance their personal and professional responsibilities. This is supported through Once for Scotland flexible working policies. PSD Scotland has made a long-term commitment to staff health and well-being and offers many learning and development opportunities to support and improve our approaches to diversity, inclusion and mental health in the workplace. There are a number of equality staff networks in place which all staff are welcome to join. We are also an equal opportunities employer and as such aim to guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for our vacancies. As an accredited

Disability Confident Leader, it is the aim of PSD Scotland to offer a fully accessible and inclusive recruitment service that supports applicants on their candidate journey. If you are interested in any reasonable adjustments, please contact the Recruitment Team on ***email_hidden***

Further Information

For an informal discussion on the post, please contact Director of National Services Directorate, Susan Buchanan at: [email protected]

Closing date for completed applications is Wednesday 24th June 2026.

Please note that the majority of correspondence is sent by e-mail only, so please check your e-mail regularly (including junk folders).

We are an equal opportunities employer and as committed participant in the disability confident scheme, guarantees to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for our vacancies however, where exceptionally high application volumes make this impracticable, a fair and proportionate shortlisting approach will be applied in line with Disability Confident guidance