Digital Communications Manager

From social media campaigns to video production, help shape how the SPPA connects with hundreds of thousands of pension scheme members.

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) administers pensions for Scottish Teachers, Police, Firefighters' and National Health Service employees on behalf of the Scottish Government. We’re responsible for protecting the financial futures of over half a million people - that’s around 1 in 10 people in Scotland. If you’re looking for meaningful work, a supportive environment and a career with purpose, you’ll find it at the SPPA. Our office is based in Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders, the train station is a short two-minute walk away and offers regular services to and from Edinburgh Waverley, making it a convenient and well-connected location for commuters. The surrounding area offers access to green space, walking routes and a strong sense of local community, supporting wellbeing both in and outside work. Our modern office is designed to support flexible and collaborative working, with spaces for teamwork, quiet focus and hybrid working. If you're looking for meaningful work, a supportive environment and a career with purpose, you'll find it at the SPPA.

The SPPA Communications Team leads internal and external communications for Scotland’s public sector pension schemes, engaging with more than 600,000 members and a wide range of stakeholders through channels including digital content, social media, public relations, stakeholder engagement, the SPPA website and intranet.

As the Digital Communications Manager, you will have a key strategic leadership role in developing and delivering the Agency’s communications strategy, strengthening digital, social media and video content capability, planning and delivering impactful campaigns, and helping to ensure a consistent approach across internal and external communications. Working closely with colleagues across the Communications Team and wider Agency, you will provide expert advice, use insight and analytics to drive continuous improvement, support the development of team capability, and help maximise engagement with members and stakeholders to support SPPA’s strategic objectives.

Responsibilities:

• Oversee the development and successful delivery of a range of communications projects to support the SPPA’s communication strategy, ensuring a consistent and effective approach in deploying external communications resources and supporting and enabling internal comms capabilities for maximum impact.
• Develop and implement an effective approach to long-term external communications planning which integrates with internal SPPA communications, mapping out and planning external activity based on the delivery of SPPA business priorities, projects and maximising wider promotional opportunities.
• Supporting and developing wider team members in taking a consistent approach to external and internal communications planning and campaign delivery to maximise impact and effect in the work of the team.
• Conduct a comprehensive social and digital content review and lead on a programme of work informed by the findings including developing a social content strategy, providing online content as part of a website refresh and further development of the SPPA’s social content presence.
• Assess the existing video production approach, assessing capability and activity between the Communications Team and Employer Engagement Team and working to strengthen skills and capability, and also to develop a suite of training and video production best practice guides to support the creation of high quality video suitable for use on various social content platforms.
• Work closely with the Employer/Stakeholder Engagement function and wider colleagues to provide strategic communications advice and support and coordinating input from the wider Communications Team.
• Be a key part of the Communications Team, providing a leadership role and collaborating effectively to build confidence in the core work delivered by the team, while working flexibly to perform other duties as required.
  

Success Profile

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

Technical / Professional Skills:

1. Demonstrable experience of working in a busy, communications-focused environment at a strategic level and with some of that in a leadership capacity, with experience of developing communications strategies and campaigns delivered over an extended period and across various channels and platforms, particularly digital.

2. Experience of developing and delivering successful digital and social content strategies to support and drive overarching strategic communications approaches, working closely and effectively with website functions to integrate this work, underpinned and informed by analytics and audience insights.

3. Strong experience of building positive and constructive relationships with internal and external stakeholders to strengthen and maintain effective stakeholder engagement, supporting the successful delivery of communication approaches and campaigns.

4. Demonstrable experience of content development, specifically for a range of social media channels, and strong experience of video production from concept through to publication.

Behaviours:

1. Communicating and influencing – Level 3

2. Making effective decisions – Level 3

You can find out more about the behaviours here: Candidate Guide

How To Apply

Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 1,000 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the behaviours and technical skills 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.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an in-person interview and presentation at the SPPA office in Tweedbank.

Sifting will commence from 9 November 2026

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 23 November 2026, however this may be subject to change.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Erlend Barclay - Erlend.Barclay@gov.scot or Camillo Serafini-Fracassini - Camillo.Serafini-Fracassini@gov.scot

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

At the SPPA, we are committed to The Fair Work Framework

This means offering:

• Security and stability
• Flexible and hybrid working options
• Opportunities to learn and develop
• A respectful and inclusive working environment

At the SPPA we want our workforce to be representative of Scottish society and we strive to be a workplace where people are welcomed and valued for the contribution they make.

We support flexible working and encourage applications from people from all backgrounds, including those starting their careers, changing careers, or returning to work.

We are committed to removing any barriers to applying for our jobs and aim to offer support and make reasonable adjustments to allow full participation in the recruitment process.

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.

You can also find out more about careers at the SPPA here - SPPA Careers | SPPA (pensions.gov.scot)

Working Pattern

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week. We offer a range of flexible and hybrid working options, with two days minimum working on site at SPPA. 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, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

Sponsorship

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.

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.

We will hold a reserve list for this post for 12 months.

Apply Before: 1 November 2026 (23:59) - This role is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship organisations only.