Head of People

*This is a re-advertisement. Previous applicants need not apply*

Location:  Edinburgh or Glasgow office

Please note that the team is based in both Glasgow and Edinburgh and therefore there will be a requirement for flexibility to attend both offices on occasion.

Workplace type: Hybrid working. You will be required to work a minimum of 2 day per week in the office. This is a minimum, but you may opt to be office based up 5 days per week.

Hours per week: 35 hours per week

Type of contract: Permanent

Salary scale: Level 7, £51,105 - £62,457 per annum, commensurate with experience.

>   Closing date: 11 October 2026, midnight.

>  Face-to-face Interview dates: 20 or 22 October 2026.

Are you a strategic leader who cares passionately about delivering positive outcomes for people and is excited by helping people to thrive?

At Citizens Advice Scotland we are a service for people and by people. People are the heart of our network.

Our Head of People role will drive our People agenda, so we need someone who is an experienced HR professional who puts people at the heart of every decision.  But this role is about more than just your qualifications.  We are looking for a strategic leader who inspires and drives people to succeed and creates a culture that celebrates our people’s successes, encourages personal development and takes people with them on the journey of change.

If you are a strategic leader that cares passionately about people and wants to make a difference to communities across Scotland we want to hear from you.  This is an exciting opportunity to really make a difference to the lives of people across Scotland and ensure that the people that work and volunteer for our network thrive in their roles. 

This newly created role will lead Citizens Advice Scotland and our members, 59 local bureaux to be regarded as be one of the best places to work in Scotland. 

What you will do:

>     Build a culture that aligns with our values and ensures our decisions and interactions with each other are person-centred, inclusive, collaborative, empowering and supportive.

>     Support our people to deliver advice and insight that changes lives through ensuring that we have the right policies, procedures, training and support to do their role.

>     Champion the value that people bring to the network and ensure people drive our decision making.

If you are ready to lead meaningful change and make a lasting impact, we would love to hear from you.

For more information about the role, please refer to Job Pack - Head of People.

Please familiarise yourself with Our People Charter.

If you have an issue with downloading the above document, please request it at recruitment@cas.org.uk.

For further information on how we process your data and your information rights, please refer to our Privacy Notice - Job Volunteer and Applicants.

Employee benefits

Citizens Advice Scotland offers excellent terms and conditions. We want our people to have a great work life balance and we have designed our working practices and benefits to support this. Here are some of things our employees benefit from: a 35-hour full time working week, 40 days annual leave, genuine flexibility in working hours with a flexi-time system, and hybrid working opportunities for every role. For more details of some of the other benefits on offer to our employees, please see the section on employee benefits in the job pack.

Citizens Advice Scotland is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies and flexible working arrangements to support all our staff. We are also committed to equality of opportunity for all and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

CAS provides options for hybrid working to allow employees to balance their time attending the office with time working from home. The number of days you will be able to work from home each week will be dependent on your job role and can be discussed as part of the recruitment process.

Before you apply

Our aim is to ensure our application assessment process is fair, objective and transparent.

As such, please do not include on your CV or candidate statement the following information: your address, a photo, hobbies, age, date of birth, marital status, nationality.

The candidate statement

The candidate statement plays a very important part in the application assessment process. It is a free space for you to showcase your skills, practical knowledge, and experiences relevant to the role.

Please include examples of your accomplishments that clearly demonstrate how you meet the following key essential criteria with a particular focus on your contribution and the impact of your work. Please also let us know how your values and attributes align with CAS’s values. Please refer to Our People Charter.

Essential

• A degree and/or equivalent qualification in HR or qualified by experience.  

• Experience of leading and managing a professional HR function. 

• Experience of planning and implementing an approach to people through cultural change, people charter or Strategy. 

• Experience in managing difficult and complex people/organisational issues with could significantly impact the workforce. 

• Motivating and enthusiastic with the ability to challenge appropriately and in line with CAS values.

• Collaborative approach, with the ability to work across networks.  

Desirable

• Chartered Membership of the CIPD.  

The candidate statement is expected to be maximum 1000 words/2x pages A4.

Please note that applications without the candidate statement and not following clearly above instructions will not be considered.

You have the option to upload your candidate statement as a separate document or you can write your candidate statement in the section below. Please choose the option that best work for you.

While we recognize AI can be a helpful tool for starting your application, and may help you by sparking an idea more easily than starting with a blank page, we really want you to show in your application who you are and how you think. AI will never replace the important human element at the application stage. Please make sure that you write your candidate statement yourself.

If the application page keeps spinning after the final step, it is often related to browser or device issues rather than the form itself. Please open the application form in a different browser, try a different device, use an Incognito/private window to rule out cache or cookie issues or clear browser cache and cookies, then reload the page.

If you require any support with your application, including reasonable adjustments to the format, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at recruitment@cas.org.uk or call 0131 550 1000. We are always happy to help.