Learning and Development Officer

Job details

• Job reference: 247664
• Salary: Band 5 (£34,544 - £43,039)
• Job closing date: 04/09/2026
• Job Type: Administrative Services
• Location: Edinburgh/Glasgow
• Employment type: Permanent
• Hours Per Week: 36
• Job posted date: 19/08/2026
• Employer (NHS Board): Public Health Scotland
• Department: People Support and Development

Learning and Development Officer

About the Organisation:Public Health Scotland launched 1st April 2020 as a national health board, employing around 1200 people, and with an annual budget of around £101 million. Public Health Scotland wants to see a Scotland where everybody thrives, a Scotland where life expectancy improves and the difference in life expectancy between our poorest and wealthiest areas gets smaller.

About the People Support and Development Team (PS&D)

The PS&D Team provides learning and organisational development expertise across PHS and works collaboratively with colleagues and external partners to support workforce capability, organisational development and continuous improvement. Our work spans leadership and management development, public health knowledge and skills, mentoring and coaching, learning events and speaker series, and the continuous development of our learning and development delivery infrastructure.

We are a supportive, collaborative and values driven team, committed to creating high quality learning opportunities that help people and teams thrive.

The Post:

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Learning and Development Officer to join the PS&D team and support the delivery of our Learning and Organisational Development (L&OD) Strategy.

The post holder will contribute to the planning, design, development, delivery and evaluation of a range of learning and organisational development programmes and projects. This includes supporting delivery across core programmes such as public health learning and skills development, leadership and management development, mutual mentoring, the PHS Speaker Series, and supporting our digital learning infrastructure.

Working closely with colleagues across PHS and partner organisations, the post holder will conduct learning needs assessments, learning delivery and evaluation activities. The role also contributes to maintaining high quality, accessible and inclusive learning offers, supporting continuous improvement and effective use of digital learning platforms and tools.

This is a varied and collaborative role, offering the opportunity to work across a wide portfolio of learning and organisational development while strengthening professional practice within a supportive, values driven team.

The Candidate:We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic learning and development practitioner with demonstrable experience in learning and organisational development, who are passionate about supporting people, teams and services to learn, grow and adapt within a complex public health environment.

Reporting to the Learning and Development Manager, you will contribute to the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of learning, leadership and organisational development programmes and projects. You will be organised, proactive and able to manage competing priorities, taking ownership of your work while contributing effectively as part of a team.

You will be comfortable working with a range of internal and external stakeholders and able to communicate clearly with different audiences. Experience in digital learning approaches, learning technologies and virtual learning environments would be beneficial, as would workshop design and facilitation of learning.You will bring a commitment to quality, inclusion and continuous improvement, alongside a willingness to learn and strengthen your own professional practice in learning and development. Most importantly you will demonstrate curiosity, positivity, flexibility and a commitment to helping create a supportive, inclusive and continually improving learning culture.

If you choose to use artificial intelligence (AI) or other tools to assist in writing your application, it's essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting information section. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you’re applying for. By submitting your application, you confirm that all answers are your own work, reflect your personal knowledge, skills and experience, and have not been solely produced by AI or similar technologies.

Location and Working Pattern:PHS operate a hybrid working model with a mixture of working at home and days in the office each week. The post holder will be required to have a named base in either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

There will be an expectation to travel to local areas for some meetings and events when required.

This is a full time, Monday to Friday, permanent post at 36 hours per week.

PHS is a flexible employer, and we are happy to discuss requests for alternative working patterns

During times of public health emergency, or other urgent business need, you may be required on a temporary basis to work your normal contracted working hours over 7 days including weekends, in order to meet the needs of the service.

It is a condition of this employment that you must live and remain a resident within the UK for the post in which you will be employed with PHS.

Benefits: Our benefits package includes pension scheme, comprehensive range of work life balance policies, occupational health services, learning resource centres and discounted leisure, financial and shopping benefits. Click here to view the full range of the PHS Employee Benefits.

Inclusion:Public Health Scotland (PHS) is a national NHS board committed to being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming employer. We support a range of flexible working options to help colleagues balance work and personal responsibilities. As an Established Carer Positive employer, we are committed to supporting staff with caring responsibilities and fostering a flexible, understanding workplace culture.

We offer a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support colleagues to grow and thrive. Staff are also welcome to join our active equality networks.

As an equal opportunities and Disability Confident Employer, we aim to guarantee an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum shortlisting criteria, and we are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive recruitment experience.

PHS is working towards becoming a trauma informed organisation and recognises that trauma may affect people in different ways, including during the recruitment process.

If you need reasonable adjustments or support, please contact the Recruitment Team on nss.wfrs@nhs.scot

Further Information:To support candidates in preparing effectively, interview questions will be shared 24 hours in advance of the interview.

As part of the assessment process, candidates will also be required to come prepared to deliver a 5-minute presentation. The topic of which will be shared to candidates shortlisted for interview.

If you have any questions or would like an informal discussion on the post, please contact Matthew Sime, People Development Manager at matthew.sime1@phs.scot

Closing date for completed applications is Friday 4th September 2026.

Interview outcomes are expected to be shared by the end of October 2026.

Further information on PHS is available from: www.publichealthscotland.scot

Please note that the majority of correspondence is sent by e-mail only, so please check your e-mail regularly (including junk folders).

We are an equal opportunities employer and as committed participant in the disability confident scheme, guarantees to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for our vacancies however, where exceptionally high application volumes make this impracticable, a fair and proportionate shortlisting approach will be applied in line with Disability Confident guidance