SGSAH Head of Strategy and Operations

The Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) is seeking an exceptional strategic leader to join our senior leadership team as Head of Strategy and Operations.

Working closely with the SGSAH Director, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering SGSAH's strategic vision across a national consortium of 17 Higher Education Institutions. You will lead the operational strategy, governance, financial planning and organisational development of one of the UK's leading doctoral training partnerships in Arts & Humanities, ensuring sustainable, high-quality delivery.

This is a particularly exciting time to join SGSAH. A key priority for the role will be leading the transition from the AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP2) model to SGSAH's new Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) Hub and post-DTP operating model. You will ensure continuity for current award holders while establishing the governance, systems, partnerships and operational frameworks needed for future success.

As a senior leader, you will provide expert advice to the Director, Board and Executive on strategic, operational and organisational matters. You will oversee governance, risk, compliance, policy development, performance monitoring and financial management across multiple funding streams, ensuring SGSAH meets the expectations of funders, partners and stakeholders.

We are looking for a highly accomplished leader with significant experience of strategic and operational management within a complex organisation or partnership environment. You will bring expertise in governance, risk, finance, organisational planning and service improvement, alongside outstanding relationship-building, communication and people leadership skills. Experience of higher education, research funding or national collaborative programmes would be advantageous.

The Head of Strategy and Operations is a senior leadership role within the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH), with substantial independent responsibility for translating SGSAH's strategic priorities into effective, sustainable and high-quality national delivery.

Reporting to the SGSAH Director, the postholder will lead SGSAH's operational strategy and organisational planning across its national consortium of 17 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including SGSAH's role as the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) Scotland Hub, its Scottish Funding Council (SFC)-funded portfolio and the managed transition and wind-down of legacy AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP2) activity.

The postholder will lead governance, risk, policy, finance, performance, data and service development, ensuring that SGSAH meets funder requirements, partnership commitments, regulatory obligations and agreed quality standards. They will provide authoritative professional advice to the Director, SGSAH Board and Executive and resolve complex operational and strategic issues across institutional and organisational boundaries.

The role will lead and develop SGSAH's professional services function, set standards for effective service delivery and organisational practice, and ensure resources, systems and processes are aligned to current and future priorities. The postholder will work closely with senior colleagues across the University of Glasgow, member and DLA-participating HEIs, AHRC/UKRI, SFC and external partners, representing SGSAH at senior level.

A key focus of the role during the current phase will be to ensure an effective transition from the DTP2 model to the DLA Hub and SGSAH's evolving post-DTP operating model, maintaining continuity for existing award holders while establishing sustainable governance, systems, partnerships and delivery arrangements.