Regional Skills Planning Lead - North East No

About Us

You’ll join the Skills Planning and Sector Development (SPSD) Directorate, within the Regions and Enabling Sectors portfolio. SPSD works with employers and partners across regions and sectors, providing expertise and leadership, gathering insight to identify priority skills demand, and influencing skills investment and provision across the system. SPSD activity also supports the development and implementation of SDS products and services, Scottish Government policy, and place‑based initiatives so Scotland’s regions can grow with the skills they need.

This post is one of five Regional Skills Planning Leads and forms part of the wider SDS leadership team.

You’ll lead regional skills planning activity in the North East of Scotland (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire) partnering closely with the Highlands and Islands Regional Skills Planning Lead to drive and where needed, support activity in Moray and across the wider region. As a visible champion for SDS products and services, you’ll build strong relationships with colleagues and partners to deliver a joined‑up, intelligence‑led offer that makes a real difference.

You’ll ensure SDS is heard in the rooms that matter, selecting the right forums, shaping the agenda, and building senior relationships that unlock progress. Alongside partners, you’ll drive the skills workstream within the North East Regional Economic Strategy and help deliver the skills priorities within the Highlands and Islands REP Regional Delivery Plan.

You’ll help steer major regional programmes—spanning City and Growth Deals, the Investment Zone, the Energy Transition Zone, the Green Freeport and the Convention of the Highlands and Islands, spotting opportunities early and turning them into deliverable plans. You’ll coordinate SDS input across strategies and strengthen how we measure impact. You’ll also enhance the evidence base by supporting the development of the existing Regional and Sectoral Skills Assessments and the new Skills Needs Assessments.

From a management perspective, you’ll line‑manage up to two Skills Planning and Sector Development Managers. Central to the role will be protecting SDS’s reputation through thoughtful engagement, risk mitigation, continuous improvement, and high‑quality responses to Scottish Government information requests.

You bring strong expertise in economics, skills or labour market policy (or a closely related field), with qualifications or equivalent experience at SCQF level 9. You can connect national direction with local delivery, understanding Scotland’s economic and skills agenda and translating strategy into practical, place‑based action.

You’re at your best when working with strategic partners, confident at senior tables, building alignment across partners and influencing outcomes on shared priorities. You can navigate complexity and competing perspectives with sound judgement, keeping relationships strong and progress on track.

You lead with clarity and pace, creating the conditions for high performance, encouraging innovation, and communicating with impact. You can shape strategy, build compelling business cases, and put in place the governance and management disciplines that protect value for money and deliver results.

Whilst not essential, it’s a real advantage if you’ve helped lead a Regional Skills Plan/strategy, hold a recognised project management qualification, or have experience working with industry partners to shape skills and education provision.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is Scotland’s national skills agency, focused on driving productivity and inclusive economic growth by investing in skills and supporting people and businesses to reach their full potential. Through deep partnership working, expert insights and innovative solutions, SDS helps address Scotland’s skills and labour‑market challenges, ensuring employers can access the talent they need while individuals gain opportunities to develop and thrive.

SDS is guided by strong organisational values, placing customers at the heart of everything it does and fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement…