Correspondence, Freedom of Information, and Write Round Manager to Scotland Office Ministers

The Scotland Office supports the Secretary of State for Scotland in promoting the best interests of Scotland within a stronger United Kingdom. It ensures the people of Scotland are fully and effectively represented at the heart of the UK government, and the UK government’s work is seen and felt in Scotland.

The Role

The Correspondence Manager role is an excellent opportunity to work at the heart of Government and to manage correspondence on a wide range of issues concerning Scotland.

The successful candidate will join a friendly, collaborative team of 12 within the Private Office. They will report directly to one of the Secretary of State’s private secretaries, providing the chance to work closely with ministers to achieve their objectives.

Your primary focus will be on managing the Scotland Office’s correspondence caseload, ensuring that correspondence for ministers and the department is accurately logged, drafted, and issued according to cross-government deadlines. Correspondence is an important part of the democratic process, and underlines the accountability of ministers to Parliament and the public. As such, we have ambitious targets and high standards for the quality and timeliness of all replies to correspondence, and you will need to work flexibly across the department to ensure these standards are met.

You will also take responsibility for the management of write rounds and Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests for the Scotland Office. This includes managing the effective recording, compilation, and quality assurance of FOI responses, and developing a strong working understanding of the FOI Act to ensure that the department is fulfilling its statutory obligations in this area.

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensure that correspondence is accurately logged, processed, and tracked. Manage the progression of correspondence to ensure responses are sent within departmental timescales.

• Manage the logging and processing of Freedom of Information requests to ensure responses fall within statutory deadlines. This includes drafting responses and providing high quality advice on the handling of FOI requests.

• Manage the Scotland Office’s write round processes, working closely with private secretaries and officials to ensure that Scotland Office returns are correctly processed.

• Manage the Scotland Office’s general enquiries inbox, drafting written responses to correspondence from members of the public using departmental lines.

• Monitor performance, providing regular statistics to ministers and proactively address challenges as they arise.

• Lead the Scotland Office’s engagement with the cross-government correspondence network.

• Support the continuous improvement of processes within your brief, working closely with the Scotland Office’s corporate team to integrate Artificial Intelligence into our ways of working.

Person specification

Successful candidates should be:

• Proactive and able to manage their time effectively;

• Able to deliver at pace and manage multiple cases at once;

• A confident writer with a keen eye for detail;

• Confident in building positive working relationships with a wide range of teams and other Government departments.

Essential Skills:

• Excellent written English and communication skills, including accurate grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

• Ability to work at pace and deliver against multiple deadlines.

• Proficiency in Google Workspace tools (or Microsoft Office), including Google Sheets and Google Docs.

• Comfortable working independently.

• Willing to work creatively to build AI into their processes.

Desirable Skills:

• Existing understanding or training on the Freedom of Information Act.

• Confident and skilled in the use of IT and digital tools, including AI.

Additional Information

Security clearance

This role requires CTC-level clearance. Applicants for National Security Clearance

(CTC) must be resident in the UK for 3 years immediately prior to their application for

Security Clearance. Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be

appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new

window).

Application Process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements.

• Three 250 word behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service (lead)

• Delivering at Pace

• Making Effective Decisions

• Working Together

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using CV and the lead behaviour, Managing a Quality Service. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The application process closes to applicants on 11 May.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date - w/c 11 May

Expected interview date/s - w/c 18 May

Further Information

The role is at the Executive Officer (EO) level and will be based in the Scotland Office in our Edinburgh site, Queen Elizabeth House, or our London site, Dover House.

Please be aware that the Scotland Office is not an employer in its own right. Staff recruited to work at the Scotland Office will be employees of the Ministry of Justice who provide employment services on our behalf.

We strongly encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that reflects the wider society that we serve. The Scotland Office is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. We offer a range of family-friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible location-based working arrangements, people engagement forums, facilities, and services to support people from different backgrounds to have a rewarding career. The post holder will also have an active leadership role across the office and will support making it a fantastic and inclusive place to work.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

Contact

For more information about this role, please contact Max Joynson - max.joynson@ukgovscotland.gov.uk.