Job title: Senior Organisation and Workforce Development (OWD) Business Partner

Job location: flexible (any Care Inspectorate office)

Responsible to: OWD manager

Download the job profile and person specification in PDF format here.

Job purpose

This role provides an internal consultancy service to strengthen organisational effectiveness by aligning our people, values, culture, structures, processes and systems. It supports the OWD Manager in designing and delivering organisation-wide development strategies that enhance performance, wellbeing and our ability to meet strategic priorities in a changing environment. The role leads the design, delivery and evaluation of development programmes and systems and manages key corporate projects that build a culture of change and high performance. It also manages and develops the OWD Advisers to ensure high-quality, outcomes-focused support for internal stakeholders. 

This job description is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, and we recognise that jobs change and evolve over time.

Principal working contacts

  • Head of Organisational and Workforce Development
  • Organisation and Workforce Development Manager
  • Organisational and Workforce Development Team 
  • Senior managers of the Care Inspectorate
  • Managers and employees of the Care Inspectorate
  • Trade union officials and representatives
  • Third party service providers 

Key accountabilities

Our values are at the heart of everything that we do - equity, integrity, person-centred, respect and impact.  Living these values is crucial - they guide our decisions, shape how we engage with others, and strengthen our commitment to high-quality care for everyone in Scotland.  

Person-centred  

As an organisation, we put people, empathy, compassion and kindness at the heart of everything we do. The Senior OWD Business Partner works collaboratively to understand the challenges our people face and co-creates solutions that strengthen capability, wellbeing, inclusion and a positive workplace culture. Key responsibilities are to:  

  • Provide a responsive and tailored internal consultancy service that supports staff, managers and leaders, ensuring solutions reflect organisational priorities.  
  • Build authentic and trusting relationships with managers, teams and individuals to understand challenges, co-design solutions and support personal, team and organisational development. 
  • Manage the design, delivery and evaluation of workforce development programmes that support diverse learning preferences and create inclusive spaces for growth. 
  • Contribute to the development and evaluation of leadership development programmes, ensuring they build confident, values-led leaders. 
  • Support delivery of the wellbeing action plan, ensuring wellbeing is integrated into everyday work, leadership behaviours and organisational culture. 
  • Develop and deliver clear, accessible and engaging communications and marketing approaches that promote OWD programmes, projects and resources. 

Respect

As an organisation, we value everyone’s dignity and are respectful in everything we do. The Senior OWD Business Partner builds trusted relationships across the organisation, engages openly with diverse perspectives and ensures that people’s experiences and insights shape organisational development work. Key responsibilities are to:  

  • Role-model behaviours that embody our values and support our cultural aspirations across all interactions. 
  • Develop and maintain positive working relationships with managers, staff, trade unions, external partners and stakeholders, ensuring all voices are valued. 
  • Provide leadership and development support to OWD Advisers, including regular supervision, performance development and opportunities for growth. 
  • Facilitate constructive dialogue across teams and directorates to support connection, shared understanding, co-creation of solutions and collaborative working. 
  • Contribute to the promotion and delivery of partnership working throughout the organisation, aligned to the Partnership Agreement with recognised trade unions. 
  • Represent the OWD function on corporate working groups and cross-organisational projects, ensuring OWD expertise shapes organisational priorities and decisions.  

Integrity

As an organisation, we act impartially, fairly and consistently, upholding transparency and accountability in all our actions. The Senior OWD Business Partner demonstrates this by providing evidence-based advice, acting with professionalism and ensuring that decisions and recommendations are fair, transparent and aligned with organisational standards. Key responsibilities are to:  

  • Support the OWD Manager with the design and delivery of evidence-based OWD strategies, interventions and change processes aligned to organisational policies and priorities. 
  • Maintain high standards of confidentiality, professionalism and discretion when handling sensitive information. 
  • Produce high-quality, accurate management information and reports for senior groups including the Executive Team, Strategic Management Group and Board committees to influence strategic planning, cultural development and decision-making. 
  • Ensure effective management and maintenance of the Learning Management System to promote high quality learning content, mandatory learning compliance, streamlined learning administration and meaningful organisational metrics. 
  • Undertake needs analysis and environmental scanning to inform planning, budgeting and prioritisation, ensuring decisions are grounded in sound evidence.  
  • Ensure governance, transparency and clear documentation underpin all OWD workstreams. 
  • Oversee contract management and procurement processes for external OWD providers, ensuring due diligence, value for money and compliance with procurement policies. 
  • Monitor supplier performance to ensure high-quality delivery of commissioned services.  

Equity

As an organisation, we embrace diversity and nurture an inclusive environment where everyone is supported to achieve equal outcomes. The Senior OWD Business Partner champions this by embedding inclusive principles into workforce and organisational development, challenging inequities and shaping systems that help every colleague thrive. Key responsibilities are to: 

  • Ensure learning and development opportunities are accessible, inclusive and fair for all staff groups and levels. 
  • Contribute to OWD and change management strategies that support the organisation’s strategic objectives, its values and culture, and its equality, diversity and inclusion ambitions. 
  • Use workforce data, organisational diagnostics and external benchmarks to identify inequalities or barriers across systems, processes or development pathways. 
  • Collaborate with external OD practitioners and networks to share best practice and contribute to sector-wide approaches that promote fairness and inclusion.  

Impact

As an organisation, we focus on making a positive impact for everyone experiencing care in Scotland while ensuring our work delivers best value to the public. The Senior OWD Business Partner contributes to this by delivering high-quality development and organisational solutions that strengthen capability, improve performance and maximise impact. Key responsibilities are to:  

  • Provide strategic advice to leaders and managers on organisational development, leadership and workforce transformation. 
  • Lead the development, planning and delivery of key corporate OWD projects using effective project management methodologies to deliver meaningful organisational outcomes. 
  • Identify opportunities for organisational improvement through internal diagnosis, process review, external good practice scanning and workforce insights. 
  • Manage the ongoing development and improvement of the performance and development review process (LEAD), ensuring it supports reflective learning and high performance. 
  • Lead and contribute to the planning, delivery and analysis of staff surveys, ensuring insights inform meaningful organisational action. 
  • Support transparent communication and action planning related to staff survey findings, working closely with senior leaders 
  • Ensure effective use of development budgets and the achievement of measurable outcomes. 
  • Ensure OWD Advisers are deployed effectively to meet organisational priorities and deliver maximum value. 

People management

  • Demonstrate commitment to the safety and security of the Care Inspectorate’s data, information systems and devices.
  • Promote the health, safety and welfare of employees, with responsibility for ensuring that the Care Inspectorate health and safety policies, procedures and practice and legislative requirements are met across the team. 
  • Carry out your duties in accordance with our Health and Safety policies, procedures, guidance, practices and legislative requirements, taking reasonable care for your safety and that of others who may be affected by what you do or fail to do while at work 
  • Promote diversity, equality of opportunity, fairness, dignity and trust, ensuring that these principles are upheld across all areas of service delivery. 

Relationship management

  • Model corporate behaviour and demonstrate commitment to organisation values. 
  • Develop and maintain constructive and co-operative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure effective and efficient directorate support.  
  • Promote the principles of collaborative working throughout the organisation and in all working practices in accordance with the Partnership Agreements with the trade unions. 
  • Ensure effective working protocols in accordance with the Care Inspectorate’s Communications, Human Resources, Finance, IT and Operations function. 
  • Project a professional image for the Care Inspectorate when dealing with colleagues and external stakeholders. 
  • Demonstrate a commitment to the Care Inspectorate’s aims, vision and values and to the Care Inspectorate’s overall objective of improving care in Scotland. 

Other duties

This is not a contractual document. We will expect the post holder to carry out any other duties to the equivalent level that are necessary to fulfil the purpose of the job, and to respond positively to changing business needs.

Attributes

We will use these attributes to recruit the role.

Experience

Essential:

  • Experience of delivering internal consultancy support, including diagnosing issues, co-designing solutions, and advising managers and senior leaders.
  • Experience of leading or significantly contributing to organisational development, change and/or workforce development projects and programmes. 
  • Experience of managing or coordinating multiple projects simultaneously, including planning, prioritisation and resource allocation
  • Experience of managing, supporting and developing people.
  • Experience of delivering employee engagement activity (e.g., surveys, focus groups) and presenting findings to senior leaders or governance groups.
  • Experience of implementing and maximising the organisational benefits of digital learning management and performance platforms
  • Experience of using workforce, organisational development and organisational insights to inform decision-making and improvement.
  • Experiencing of developing management information, including metrics and performance reporting 
  • Experience of working collaboratively with trade unions in a recognised environment.
  • Experience of commissioning or managing external suppliers and services.

Desirable:

  • Understanding of, or adaptability to, the public sector people-management environment. 

Education, qualifications and training

Essential:

  • Educated to degree level (SCQF Level 9)
  • CIPD qualified.  
  • Commitment to own CPD.

Desirable:

  • Coaching qualification 
  • Qualification in organisation development, change management, facilitation, or learning and development.
  • Training in project management methodologies (e.g., PRINCE2, Agile, Managing Successful Programmes).

Skills and knowledge

Essential:

  • Strong knowledge of organisational development, organisational change, and workforce learning and development and approaches, including evaluation methods.
  • Excellent communication, facilitation and influencing skills, with credibility to engage senior leaders and other stakeholders. 
  • Ability to coach, support and provide positive and constructive challenge to colleagues to improve individual and organisational effectiveness.
  • Strong project management skills, with the ability to effectively organise and deliver complex work across multiple workstreams.
  • Ability to apply evidence, analysis and insight - including workforce and organisational data - to inform decisions and measure impact.
  • Understanding of systems thinking and future workforce capability needs.
  • Ability to support the design and delivery of engaging and impactful learning and development solutions.
  • Strong digital and data literacy, including use of digital learning management and performance platforms.
  • Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to modelling inclusive practice.

Desirable:

  • Demonstrable understanding of the social and health care agenda.
  • Understanding of corporate governance.
  • Knowledge and understanding of wellbeing best practice
  • Knowledge and understanding of organisational design principles and best practice 

Key performance outcomes

We will use these key performance outcomes to recruit for the role.

Leading others

Essential:

  • Develops, supports and empowers team members to achieve high performance and impactful outcomes.
  • Builds trust through open communication, clear expectations and consistent follow-through.
  • Role models organisational values in contributing to a positive, inclusive and high-performing OWD function.

Management of resources

Essential:

  • Supports the OWD Manager to plan and deploy people, budgets and commissioned services effectively to ensure value for money and delivery of agreed priorities. 
  • Drives continuous improvement by reviewing processes, learning from experience and strengthening organisational systems and approaches. 
  • Identifies skills and strengths of individual staff and delegates work effectively.
  • Responds flexibly to changing organisational and team needs, supporting others to adapt positively to change.

Effective communication

Essential:

  • Communicates complex or sensitive information clearly, respectfully and accessibly, ensuring shared understanding across diverse audiences. 
  • Listens actively and seeks out diverse perspectives, using insight to shape solutions and build shared ownership.
  • Build strong, trusted relationships and connections, facilitating collaborative working across teams and directorates.
  • Demonstrates excellent presentation and facilitation skills to support constructive dialogue and collective problem-solving.

Impact and influence

Essential:

  • Supports the OWD Manager in leading organisational development, change and workforce development projects that build capability, strengthen culture and improve performance. 
  • Uses evidence, insight and professional judgement to influence organisational thinking and support effective decision-making. 
  • Navigates organisational dynamics with emotional intelligence and professional credibility. 
  • Shows resilience, flexibility and a proactive approach to overcoming challenges, keeping organisational impact at the forefront. 
  • Champions inclusive practice that supports fairness, belonging and equitable outcomes for colleagues. 

Desirable:

  • Takes account of wider political and organisational sensitivities to deliver strategic objectives.