Location
Edinburgh
Office
SPICe (Scottish Parliament Information Centre)
Advertising Salary:
£52,583 - £63,147

About The Role

Working pattern: Our normal working week is 37 hours however we are happy to talk about flexible working.  We’re committed to supporting staff to achieve a healthy work-life balance. To meet business and personal needs, we have a progressive flexible working hours arrangement in place. This is a hybrid role, working from Holyrood, and from home.  

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is responsible for providing the Parliament with the property, staff and services required for the Parliament’s purposes.  We place high value on excellence and we are continually looking to improve how we work to ensure that we can deliver the Parliament's core purpose of representing the people of Scotland by debating issues of national importance, passing legislation and holding the Scottish Government to account. We are a diverse workforce and our embedded values shape the way we work and treat each other. We have a culture of respect and inclusion, and everyone has the ability to make a difference.  

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) is made up of around 50 staff and supports the scrutiny and legislative functions of the Parliament by providing impartial, accurate and timely information and briefings to Members of the Scottish Parliament, their staff, and Parliamentary staff. It comprises a research and information service. SPICe forms part of the Scrutiny Group and is led by three joint Office Heads. You can find out more about SPICe on the parliament website. To see where the office fits within our organisation, view our organisation chart.   

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the Parliament’s work on scrutiny of criminal justice. You’ll work within the Justice and Social Affairs Research Unit (a team of 12 including this post).  You’ll prepare committee briefings and analysis to help MSPs scrutinise the related policies of the Scottish Government, and you’ll publish briefings and blog articles on relevant issues.  You’ll be involved in answering enquiries on a wide range of subjects, including: police, prisons, courts, prosecution, criminal law and the justice budget.  The team has a wide-ranging remit, and everyone works closely together. For further information about the role please contact Shona Skakle, Head of Head of Research, Library and Knowledge Exchange: [email protected] 

Please apply before 11:59 pm on Wednesday 29 March, 2023. Full details of our selection process are outlined below. 

About You

You’ll be an experienced researcher or policy analyst with detailed knowledge of the criminal justice policy area.   

You will be able to communicate complex issues with brevity, accuracy and impartiality, both orally and in writing, to tight deadlines and you’ll have a commitment to producing high quality research and analysis.   

You’ll demonstrate a high level of personal credibility with excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to develop and maintain positive working relationships.  

For full information about the role, have a look at the job description and the application pack.

The Selection Process

Stage 1 

Click 'apply' and this will allow you to register and upload your CV.  

We are a values-based organisation. Our values are a central part of our working culture and our people management processes. We use these to recruit, manage and develop our staff. For more on our values and behaviours framework, please visit our values pages on our Staff Handbook.  

You’ll be asked to write a values-based supporting statement based on the job description of the role you’re applying for. Your application will be assessed solely on your statement. The job description will detail the main recruitment selection criteria under each value, in the sections titled “And in delivering these, you will have”  

You’ll need to provide examples to cover each bullet point in all the sections entitled “And in delivering these you will have”.   

You’ll provide examples from your background or career, of where you have demonstrated that value.   

When completing the values-based statement for your application:  

-Please provide evidence against each of our four values, a maximum of 400 words is allowed per value    

-Please use the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to address the key requirements under each value in the Job Description.   

-Each value should be clearly formatted, and your examples may include specific skills, experience, abilities, knowledge and strengths you have  

-We have a separate box for you to input each value  

-The system will time out after an hour and your work will be lost if you don’t complete it in that time. You don't have the option to save your application and return to it later  

-It’s a good idea to complete your answers to the questions offline, perhaps in Word, and then copy and paste your answers into the system when you're ready to submit your application   

-We recommend that you check your answers once you've copied and pasted the information into the system, just to ensure it's all there  

-Please only 'submit' your application when you're content it’s complete. Once you've submitted your application, you won't have the option to go back  

-If you 'cancel' then your work won't be saved    

-If the system times out, you can go into your ‘candidate profile’ to access and complete your statement  

Please note that only your supporting statement will be submitted to Hiring Managers, without any personal details, and they will then select candidates for further assessment or interview.  

Stage 2   

At the final stage, you’ll be invited to attend a virtual panel interview and will also be asked to undertake a written assessment and presentation.  The assessment is expected to take place virtually w/c 17 April. Interviews will be held week commencing 24 April, although these dates are subject to change.   

Feedback will only be provided on request to those who attend interview.   

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please email [email protected]  

Our commitment to an inclusive workforce  

We are a Disability Confident Leader Employer and guarantee to interview any disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role.  If you have a disability and would like to talk to us about any aspects of this job, please contact us.  More details can be found here.  
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