Head of Finance (Agency)

The Head of Finance (Agency) is accountable for leading SAAS Agency Finance, Procurement, Fraud and Recovery functions, ensuring effective financial stewardship, operational delivery, robust financial governance and high quality performance reporting to the SAAS Executive Team and Board. This includes overseeing and delivering the SAAS Annual Report and Accounts, all elements of the statutory audit and leading annual budget processes and in year budget management support for the Agency with a focus on ensuring value for money.

The Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, we help higher and further education students find the right information, support and funding. SAAS manages an operating budget of approximately £15million and administers approximately £1.5 billion of student funding on behalf of Scottish Government.

The Head of Finance (Agency) role carries significant responsibility for financial stewardship, governance, control and assurance across Finance, Procurement, Fraud and Recoveries, you will work closely with the Head of Finance (Programme) role.

• Lead and manage a professional Finance function, creating an environment where colleagues develop their expertise, provide high-quality advice and deliver services that support effective organisational leadership.
• Champion continuous professional development, professional excellence and a culture of integrity, accountability and continuous improvement in systems and controls.
• Build trusted relationships with Scottish Government, auditors, regulators, oversight bodies and professional networks, recognising that effective financial stewardship depends upon collaboration, openness and constructive challenge.
• Provide high quality, professional technical accounting and budgeting advice, analysis and scrutiny of financial proposals to a range of stakeholders and contribute to future business strategies.
• Present complex financial information clearly both verbally and in writing to support organisational decision making, including providing advice on financial implications of policy developments within Scottish Government.
• Oversee the preparation and delivery of the Annual Report and Accounts and all associated tasks in accordance with the FReM and other accounting guidelines and regulations. Lead the statutory audit, engaging effectively with all aspects of the audit to deliver within agreed timeframes.
• Work with the Programme finance lead to provide a holistic, whole system approach to financial stewardship and continuous improvement of the Agency's financial management provision, ensuring robust financial controls, effective governance and sustainable financial planning support the delivery of organisational priorities.

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

Technical / Professional Skills

• Financial Management and Reporting - (Level: Expert)
• Stakeholder Management and Communication - (Level: Expert)
• People Management and Operational Leadership - (Level: Expert)

You can find out more about the skills required here: Finance Profession Capability Framework

Experience

1. Strong technical financial accounting and governance skills, including the ability to communicate complex financial information clearly and succinctly to a wide range of audiences, including to non-finance colleagues.
2. Experience of implementing and managing effective, sustainable change, modifying and improving behaviours, systems and controls.
3. Strong planning and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage a diverse workload and team, including providing effective leadership to finance teams with direct line management of staff.
   

Behaviours

• Seeing the bigger picture (Level 4)
• Delivering at Pace (Level 4)
  

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here.

How to apply
Apply online, providing a CV and supporting statement (of no more than 1000 words) providing evidence of how you meet the behaviours, experience 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.

Expected Timeline (Subject to change)
Sift - 20th to 27th October 2026
Interview - week commencing 9th November 2026
Location - Interview via MS Teams

Skilled Worker 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.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and presentation.

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
SAAS is an executive agency of the Scottish Government and responsible for assessing and paying student awards for Scottish domiciled students in Higher Education throughout the UK and has recently taken on Further Education Student Support. SAAS supports approx. 160,000 students annually with the administration circa £1.5 billion of financial support. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve.

More information on SAAS can be found on our website https://www.saas.gov.uk

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, 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.

Working Pattern
Our standard hours are 35 hours per week. This role requires in person attendance of 6 days per month minimum with more regular attendance as required to support the leadership and strategic direction of the team. We offer a range of flexible and hybrid working options depending on the needs of the role. Flexible working patterns will be considered in line with business needs.

SAAS has separate arrangements from core Scottish Government for Public and Privilege holidays. SAAS office is fully closed between Christmas and New Year.

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.

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.

If you experience any difficulties accessing our website or completing the online application form, please contact the Resourcing Team via recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot

Apply before 23:55 pm on 18th October 2026