HR Business Partner (Grade E3)

Application Deadline: 12 July 2026

Department: Corporate Services

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Edinburgh - Hybrid

Compensation: Grade E3 £49,938 - £58,134. Civil Service Pension with Employer Contribution of 28.97%. Flexible Working Hours. Hybrid Working.

Description

Our ambition is for Scotland to be the best place in the world to learn, educate, research and innovate, so that all of our nation can flourish.
Our purpose is to create and sustain a world-leading system of tertiary education, research and innovation that changes lives for the better, enriches society and supports sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

The purpose of the role is to support ongoing delivery of a modern HR business partnering and advisory model; and of organisational change and transformation across our Directorate teams.

From April 2027 SFC is taking on significant additional responsibilities including the funding of apprenticeships and national training programmes in Scotland, and we are seeking to grow the HR function and service to support effective delivery of this change. This will also involve the TUPE transfer of a large group of employees from Skills Development Scotland as we work to design a new organisation for the future. This is an exciting time to join the organisation as a HR professional and play an important role in shaping the future design, ways of working and culture of the new organisation.

Virtual interviews for this post will take place 22 July (via Teams).

Key Responsibilities

1. Partner with Directors, senior leaders and managers to deliver strategic HR solutions aligned with organisational goals and transformation priorities. Support Directors and their teams with building a positive working culture as we transform our service model and implement new ways of working.
2. Provide expert HR advice to business areas on employee relations, performance management, organisational change and development, and workforce planning.
3. Working as part of the team, lead on implementing and consolidating HR and OD developments within business areas across the organisation: such as resourcing, succession planning, employee engagement and culture programmes.
4. Support the implementation of SFC’s equality, diversity, and inclusion strategies, contributing to a culture of inclusion and belonging.
5. Working as part of the team, ensure managers are given appropriate support to handle complex casework, ensuring compliance with HR policies, employment legislation and best practice.
6. Use HR metrics and trends to inform business decisions and continuous improvement.
7. Collaborate with the wider HR team to deliver effective learning and development interventions in business areas and across the organisation.
8. Contribute to policy development and review, ensuring SFC remains compliant and well-positioned to be an employer of choice.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

It is important through your CV / Cover Letter that you give evidence of proven experience of each of the following essential criteria:

ESSENTIAL SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Proven track record of effective delivery in a HR business partner role supporting Directors and business areas to deliver people solutions to support delivery of business priorities, ideally within the public sector or an organisation going through significant change.
Experience of partnering teams in the context of significant organisational change with a proactive, solutions-oriented and innovative approach. Partnering and seeking the involvement of the wider HR team and corporate service teams.
Good working knowledge and understanding of employment law, HR best practice, and current trends in people management.
Commitment to role-model the organisation’s values and foster an environment which supports inclusion and belonging. Working cohesively and collaboratively with senior leaders and their teams to do the same.
Excellent communication, interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility at all levels of the organisation.
Ability to take an analytical approach, with experience in using data and management information to inform decisions and measure success.
Relevant professional body qualification (e.g. Chartered membership of CIPD) or equivalent relevant experience.

Terms and Benefits

· Normal full-time hours of work are 35 per week. We will consider flexible working arrangements. A flexi-time system is in operation.

· Annual leave entitlement of 30 days pro-rata, plus public and privilege holiday entitlement of 13 days pro-rata.

· A flexible approach to hybrid working, giving you flexibility to work from home anywhere in the UK for some of the time while also maintaining regular in-person contact with colleagues.

· Annual pay review: approved within the framework of the Scottish Government’s Public Sector Pay Policy and negotiated with our recognised trade union, Unite. Salaries are reviewed annually in April for employees who commence employment prior to 1 October in the preceding year.

· Eligibility to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme. With its low member contribution rates and generous employer contributions, this gives you a secure, inflation-proof pension for life with no investment uncertainty. Details of contribution rates together with further details of the pension benefits are available on the Civil Service Pensions website. There is also the option of a Partnership pension account.

· Support for continuous professional development: as a part of SFC, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive support for continuous learning and professional development. Civil Service-Learning curriculum has thoughtfully designed to cater to various learning preferences, allowing employees to engage in a manner that best suits their needs. All our educational resources are conveniently accessible through the CSL website.

· Support for health and wellbeing, including generous occupational sick pay, free access to confidential advice and support through our 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, Special Leave (paid and unpaid), a contribution to learning outside work through our Lifelong Learning Fund, free winter flu vaccination, and access to occupational health support.

· We provide support to SFC employees with Volunteering Days.

· Support for travel to and from work, including a salary sacrifice cycle loan scheme, cycle storage and shower facilities, an interest-free loan for bus or rail season tickets and free office car parking for employees on a first-come basis.

Although most salaried roles are advertised as full time positions (35 hours a week), we are happy to discuss part-time or compressed hours to suit a candidates circumstances. We also operate a flexible working scheme to work around a candidate's other commitments such as caring responsibilities.

We will consider secondment applications for most salaried fixed-term or temporary positions and in many cases also for salaried permanent positions. If you are interested in applying on a secondment basis and this option is not explicitly mentioned in the job advert, please contact recruitment@sfc.ac.uk for further information.

Scottish Funding Council

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