Head of Visits and Events Greater Edinburgh, United Kingdom Area

Job Title - Head of Visits and Events

Business Area/Directorate - Visits and Events Team, News and Digital

Location - The post is based in St Andrew’s House with options to work from other buildings or from home depending on the First Minister’s events programme.

Working Arrangement – Staff in roles compatible with hybrid working should aim to spend 40% of their contracted working time working in person at their contractual workplace. More information can be found within Hybrid Working Policy

Grade - C1

Advert type - Temporary Promotion or Level transfer

Duration - 6 months

Eligibility - Expressions of interest are invited from eligible colleagues in bands B-C.

Sponsorship: Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

Overview

If you thrive in a fast-paced, high-profile environment where no two days are the same, this could be the perfect next step in your career. As Head of Visits and Events, you will play a central role in some of the most significant moments in the life of government - from high-profile domestic engagements to supporting the First Minister overseas - ensuring they run seamlessly and leave a lasting impression.

This is a rare opportunity to lead a talented, dedicated team at the very heart of government, working at the highest level and making a direct and visible contribution to the First Minister's programme. You will bring together people, logistics and diplomacy, balancing complex competing demands with calm authority and exceptional attention to detail.

If you are a skilled leader with a passion for delivery and a pride in getting things right, we want to hear from you.

About the Role

This is a temporary role for 6 months while a wider review of posts in Communications divisions take place.

This is a senior leadership role responsible for the planning, coordination and delivery of a high-quality visits and events programme for the First Minister.

The postholder will lead a dedicated team providing end-to-end logistics support across a wide range of domestic and sometimes international engagements, ensuring every visit and event reflects the highest standards of organisation and professionalism.

This is a full-time post, but other working patterns will be considered. The post is based in St Andrew’s House with options to work from other buildings or from home depending on the First Minister’s events programme.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and day-to-day management of the visits and events team, fostering high-performance and inclusive culture.
• Oversee the planning and delivery of all official engagements for the First Minister, including domestic visits, speeches, travelling cabinets, summits, ceremonial events and international visits.
• Act as the primary point of contact and senior adviser on all logistical matters, working closely with private office, communications, special advisers, cabinet secretariat, security and policy teams.
• Manage relationships with a wide range of external partners including host governments, host organisations and businesses, venue operators, transport providers, Police Scotland and media teams.
• Lead on risk assessment and contingency planning for complex or high-profile engagements, ensuring robust mitigations are in place for successful delivery.
• Oversee the team's budget and contracts, ensuring value for money and compliance with relevant procurement, financial management and external businesses.
• Ensure all visits and events comply with relevant policies on security, accessibility, protocol and propriety.
• Drive continuous improvement across the team, embedding lessons learned and developing the team’s capability through coaching and structured development opportunities.
• In parallel to the responsibilities above, the postholder will support the delivery of Project Unicorn working in conjunction with communications leads and media outlets. This will include leading on logistical media planning for different scenarios across Scotland.

Success Profile

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of behaviours, experience and technical criteria (if applicable) that candidates will be assessed on.

Experience:

• Proven experience of planning and delivering complex, high-profile events or visits programmes, ideally in a government or public sector setting.
• Strong leadership skills with experience of managing and motivating a team to deliver under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to engage effectively at senior levels including Ministers, officials and external partners.
• Sound judgement and the ability to make decisions quickly in a fast-moving and sometimes ambiguous environment.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with meticulous attention to detail.
• Experience of managing budgets and/or contracts; applying financial controls as appropriate.

Desirable:

• Experience of coordinating international visits or working with overseas counterparts
• Familiarity with security and protocol requirements in a high-profile or ministerial context
• Experience working in or with a private office or ministerial support function
• Driver's license

Behaviours

For this post, the following Success Profile elements will be assessed:

• Level 4 - working together
• Level 4 - delivering at pace
• Level 4 – managing a quality service

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Behaviour levels

• Success profiles: candidate guide

Working Pattern

This post is a full-time role, but we welcome applications from staff with different working patterns, proposed working patterns will be assessed against the business requirements for this post.

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role, including Flexi-leave. Scottish Government staff in hybrid-compatible roles should aim to work in-person 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Further Information

Further information about this opportunity is available from julie.grant@gov.scot [julie.grat@gov.scot]

QUALIFICATIONS

How to Apply

Please submit an Expression of Interest (maximum 500 words) outlining your suitability for the role, relevant skills and experience, and what you would bring to the team. Please align this to how you meet the behaviours, experience and technical skills listed in the Success Profile above.

Vacancies close at 23:59pm on Thursday 12 November.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance

for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

Selection process

Due to the proximity of this role with the First Minister, if invited for further assessment, this will consist of formal interview with 2 panel members. Candidates should be aware of this change from the usual informal discussion process used with EOIs prior to applying.

Interviews are expected to be scheduled for late November, however, this may be subject to change.

Recruitment Principles

As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles

and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.

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

observing the Civil Service

Code and 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 [.

Security checks

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website [, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide [.

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.

Apply before: 12/11/2026 (23:59). This role is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship organisations only.