Head of Compliance

About us

We are Britain’s national equality regulator and a United Nations accredited ‘A status’ national human rights institution.

We uphold people’s rights without fear or favour. We use the full force of our legal powers to defend people from unfair or unequal treatment and to challenge breaches of the law. We advise on developing laws and provide guidance, training and support to enable compliance.

We bring people together to create change. We work with employers, governments and a wide range of organisations, to promote understanding of equality and human rights and we support them to make improvements in practice.

Overview of the role and responsibilities

Within the Regulatory Network, the Principal leading the Scotland Compliance team will be responsible for overseeing the design and delivery of intelligence-gathering, inquiry and intervention strategies in Scotland.

The role require a strong awareness of the Scottish policy and political environment and wider environment in which the Commission operates as well as a strong knowledge of equality and/or human rights legislation.

The Principal has a key role in the leadership and management of the team and the delivery of high profile projects to time, budget and to quality standards.

You will:

• Lead a team (presently of two compliance officers)
• Engage with senior stakeholders to identify the factors which are holding back progress on equality issues
• Analytically examine information, identifying critical elements, and developing creative solutions
• Make persuasive and credible recommendations for action
• Lead formal inquiries to gather evidence of national practice
• Produce written work of a high standard tailored to the needs of different audiences
• Work to ensure effective three nations working across the compliance function.

Team Responsibilities

The Scotland Compliance team is responsible for:

• Identifying the barriers to/examples of good practice in compliance with the Equality Act; and
• Using that information to inform nation appropriate interventions which will equip duty-bearers to comply with the law, individuals to enforce their rights and regulators, inspectorates and ombudsmen to drive improved compliance through their own work.
• Conducting formal inquiries to gather evidence of practice and compliance with the Equality Act across a sector.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience required include:

Essential

• A sophisticated ability to engage with stakeholders in identifying the factors which are holding back progress on equality and human rights issues
• A strong awareness of the Scottish policy and political environment
• Ability to analytically examine information, identify critical elements, test solutions and make persuasive and credible recommendations
• Ability to produce written work of a high standard tailored to the needs of different audiences
• Ability to set up and manage a complex project, including establishing and leading cross-functional teams, identify and actively manage risks, manage stakeholder interests and deliver within resource and budget constraints
• Ability to engage with and manage a diverse range of stakeholder interests and relationships, both internal and external
• Ability to organise and prioritise own and team’s work in an environment of limited resources and competing demands

Desirable

• Knowledge of equality and / or human rights law in Scotland

Benefits

• In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a range of benefits including flexible working patterns, 30 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (full time FTE), access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and partnership pension schemes, and enhanced parental leave benefits. More information can be found in the candidate pack, which is available on our Applied site.