Scottish Government→

Administration Assistant at Scottish… · Edinburgh

Mid LevelOn-siteFull-timeEdinburgh, United Kingdom

Job Description

Administration Assistant

Location: Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Job description

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to join Scotland's new National Social Work Agency (NSWA) and help shape the future of social work across Scotland?

The National Social Work Agency (NSWA), which was established in March 2026, has oversight of social work and aims to raise the profile of, and strengthen cohesion across, the profession within the public, third and independent sectors, including among students. The Agency's objectives are to advance social work practice and support the implementation of national policy, driving improvement, innovation and continuous learning in social work education and development.

The NSWA is an Executive Agency with responsibility for advising Ministers and policy teams with an interest in all aspects of social work policy and practice, including adult, children's and justice social work. Additionally, the NSWA provides cross-government policy input in areas including health and social care, mental health, children and families, prisons, and all aspects of public protection.

This is a new Agency with highly motivated staff who take pride in their work and strive to ensure that effective, person-centred and trauma-informed support is available to people of all ages across Scotland. The work is fast-paced, high-profile, varied and rewarding; in an area that has a significant impact on the lives of people throughout Scotland.

Responsibilities

Support the Chief Social Work Officer and Deputy Chief Social Work Officer through diary management and by assisting with activities such as travel bookings, event coordination, briefing coordination and minute-taking.
Manage the Agency's mailboxes, ensuring the efficient handling and coordination of correspondence.
Coordinate the timely delegation of FOI and MiCase assignments.
Provide administrative support to the B3 Business Manager and B3 Finance Manager.
Play a key role in managing the Agency budget by processing invoices and payments, raising requisitions through Oracle Cloud, and managing purchases as an ePC cardholder.
Provide general support to the Business Management Unit by liaising with colleagues and stakeholders, as appropriate, and gathering, analysing and interpreting information for colleagues across the NSWA.

Success profile
Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of behaviours, experience and technical criteria (if applicable) that candidates will be assessed on.

Behaviours:

Communicating and Influencing - Level 1
Delivering at pace - Level 1
Working together - Level 1
Managing a quality service - Level 1

Find out more about Success Profiles.

How to apply

Apply online, providing a CV and supporting statement (of no more than 750 words) providing evidence of how you meet the behaviours listed in the Success Profile above. Both the CV and the supporting statement provided will be assessed against the criteria for the role.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

Skilled Worker Sponsorship not being offered
Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

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

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 16th November 2026 however this may be subject to change.

Apply before 23:59 on 2 November 2026. This post is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship Organisations only (external candidates and staff from UK Other Government Departments are not eligible to apply for this vacancy).

Recruitment Principles
As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.

About us
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, observing the Civil Service Code and 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 and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role. From October 2025, the Scottish Government will require staff in hybrid-compatible roles to work in-person 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Security checks

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, and read about the Government Vetting Charter, or about all the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

Internal candidates may need to gain higher security clearance than they currently hold if successful in their application.

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.