General Practice Policy Officer

Do you want an exciting opportunity to help improve the health of the Scottish population?

The post sits in the GPs and General Practice Healthcare Inequalities Team in the General Practice Policy Division of the Primary Care Directorate. 

Primary care (especially general practice) is people’s usual first point of contact with the NHS and is provided by a range of clinical staff and non-clinical staff. Our team is responsible for driving work to reduce healthcare inequity and to help realise the unique capacity of general practice to help tackle entrenched health inequalities. The post will involve helping to develop and implement policy in an area which receives significant ministerial, parliamentary and public scrutiny. We are also responsible for elements of improving mental health support in general practice. As well as sitting within wider developments for general practice in Scotland, our work contributes to the First Minister’s commitments on child poverty and aligns strongly with priorities in a new Population Health Framework with a commitment for a health inequalities action plan. .

Working as a policy officer, with a commitment to delivery, your principal focus will be on two key projects which are targeted in areas with high levels of deprivation and health inequalities. These are the Inclusion Health Action in General Practice (IHAGP) and Whole Family Support projects. You may also be asked to support the team’s work on Community Link Workers. The role involves working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders; project management/monitoring; collaboration with SG analysts; and liaison with finance colleagues.  Working flexibly to respond to emerging priorities is also key. 

Key Responsibilities

• Be responsible for project management of our “Inclusion Health” programme, which helps 66 practices in deprived areas of Glasgow to tackle health inequalities. You will support the B3 lead, and provide secretariat to the steering group and evaluation advisory group, with opportunities for working with SG analysts. 
• Develop clear and engaging communication and help to deliver support for the general practice teams that participate in the Inclusion Health programme.
• Support the B3 lead with oversight of our Whole Family Support project. This project aligns with the First Minister’s priority of eradicating child poverty and offers opportunities to engage with diverse stakeholders and exposure to a live example of innovative partnership working across the public and voluntary sectors.
• Draft high-quality PQs, Micase responses and ministerial briefing; updating core brief/FMQ; supporting FOIs.
• Provide flexible support on the team’s wider work on healthcare inequity and health inequalities, and the division’s wider work on general practice policy. 

Location

This post is based in St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh, and in line with our current ways of working, our team follows a hybrid working approach, where colleagues use a mix of office based and remote working (working from home) depending on the requirements of the role and personal circumstances. 

The post is a full-time role, but staff with different working patterns are invited to apply, and we will assess proposed working patterns against the business requirements for this post.

Further Information 

Further information about this opportunity is available from Valerie Campbell [email protected]

Success Profile 

Elements which will be tested:

Technical / Professional Skills: 

1. Policy Context and Purpose. Level 1: Developing. 

You can find out more about the skills required here: Policy Profession Standards Annex 

Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions – (Level 3)
• Communicating and Influencing – (Level 3)
• Working Together – (Level 3)
• Delivering at Pace – (Level 3)

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours (publishing.service.gov.uk)

How to Apply 

If you are interested in this post, please apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement of no more than 1000 words which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and a presentation

Interviews

Interviews will be scheduled for the week commencing 15th September 2025 but however this may be subject to change.

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer. 

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Working Pattern

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week.  We offer a range of flexible and hybrid working options depending on the needs of the role. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for,  please contact us.

Equality Statement

We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.  

Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further information

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.