Head of Programme – Psychology Specialist Practice

On 1 April 2026, NSS and NES became one national organisation, focused on continuity today and a stronger, more connected service for tomorrow.

As part of this transformation, NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) have joined to form a new organisation: Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland). This new organisation will play a pivotal role in supporting the renewal and ensuring the long-term sustainability of health and care services across Scotland.

Flexible Location: PSD Scotland is a remote-friendly employer with staff based throughout Scotland. We support office-based and hybrid working arrangements. We welcome conversations about alternative working patterns—please get in touch during the application process to discuss. Please note for this post there is some requirement to work from the PSD Scotland offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh, determined by business need.

Work Pattern: Permanent, Full Time, 36 hours per week

You must have eligibility and entitlement to work in the UK which is required to be maintained throughout your period of employment.

Who We Are

PSD Scotland unites expertise from NES and NSS in a way that will allow us to accelerate national programmes to support the NHS to deliver better care, now and in the future.

We support staff with education and training, provide the tools and data that improve services, and run vital national functions such as procurement, logistics and blood, tissue and cell services.

PSD Scotland’s Psychology Directorate are responsible for training Psychologists for NHS Scotland and delivering education and training in psychological care to the multi-professional workforce across Scotland.

We work in partnership with Scottish Government and other key stakeholders to increase the capacity within the current workforce to deliver evidence based psychological interventions.

The Opportunity

Do you have expert knowledge and have significant experience of clinical practice, teaching / training, and membership of high-level strategic planning groups?

Do you have excellent communication, negotiation, and influencing skills?

Do you have a commitment to multi-professional and inter-agency approaches to education and health and social care?

Do you demonstrate a proven ability to support others in a rapidly changing environment as well as delivering high level leadership and research skills?

Working within the Psychology Directorate, we are looking for a Head of Programme to take up a strategic leadership role. This post holder will lead a portfolio of education and training programmes focussed primarily on improving outcomes for the adult population through the use of psychological therapies, interventions and psychological care, reflecting and responding to key government and national priorities.

You will be an innovative and highly motivated professional, with registered with the relevant professional body and with considerable experience of working in the field of mental health.

Does this sound like you?

What We Love To See

Heads of Programme offer a broad range of skills and experience, if you can offer some or all of these, we’d love you to apply:

• highly specialised knowledge, some of which is at the forefront of knowledge in a field of work, which you use as the basis for original thinking, strategic planning, leadership, education design and implementation and/or research
• will proactively co-ordinate and connect a range of activities across the interface between PSD Scotland, Scottish Government and services within NHS Scotland
• takes responsibility for the development and implementation of education that will support the key strategic themes of developing educational infrastructure and building workforce capacity for service improvement across health and social care in Scotland
• effectively manage change in order to deliver successful outcomes
• works as part of a team and in partnership with executives and senior managers across NHSScotland and other parts of the public service, agencies and learning & development providers, thereby influencing and building sustained improvements to capability and capacity
• Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessary
• Ability to work on own initiative, to organise and prioritise own workloads, to meet strict deadlines
  
  

Benefits Which Matter

As a valued employee of NHS Scotland, you can enjoy an extensive range of benefits including:

• Life-work balance - with opportunities for flexible working and hybrid working
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Annual incremental salary progression (up to the maximum of the salary band) plus annual NHS salary scale review
• Annual Leave - 27 Days increasing in line with service plus 8 days public holiday
• NHS discounts and more
  
  

Diversity and Inclusion

Developing a successful national service for Scotland means considering the diverse needs, perspectives, and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland. We are focused on hiring the very best talent and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. Our aim to ensure that everyone is treated fairly, with respect, and has a positive recruitment experience—regardless of the outcome.

We welcome applications from all under-represented groups, including racially minoritised people and disabled people. It is not essential to be in a Head of Programme role right now—you may be returning from a career break (e.g., maternity, paternity, caring) or coming from another field. Your experiences can bring a fresh perspective to our work.

If you are considering applying and would like to discuss the opportunity, any adjustments or alternative work patterns, please contact Professor Judy Thomson, Director of Training for Psychology Services (Judy.Thomson@nhs.scot)

Next Steps

All applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail.

In person OR online interviews (including a presentation) will take place on 14th September 2026. The presentation topic will be sent to candidates selected for interview.

For further information please refer to the Job Information Pack below.

Unless otherwise stated the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date. Please note, CVs will not be accepted.

• Please be advised that if you are successful in being offered the role following the recruitment process, you will be expected to attend the office prior to your start date to complete face-to-face pre-employment checks. If you require any adjustments to support this, please let us know.
• To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.
  
  

As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here. 

For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found here.

It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form.

If you have any queries regarding the NHS Scotland National Recruitment Portal or the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to contact our recruitment partners, the East Region Recruitment Service, at: EoS.ERRS@nhs.scot