The role
Crown Estate Scotland has an exciting opportunity for a Head of Aquaculture to join our team on a permanent fulltime basis.
By joining the Crown Estate Scotland team, you'll be surrounded by dedicated and talented individuals who are passionate about what they do, giving you the opportunity to learn and develop. You'll be working alongside like-minded individuals who are working towards achieving the shared goal of making Scotland a better place
About the role
The successful candidate/s for this new role within the organisation will be responsible for:
- Leading the Crown Estate Scotland (CES) Aquaculture team to deliver the Corporate Plan and Annual Business Plan. To assist in developing the organisation's strategic direction and leading on the management of aquaculture activities and associated commercial arrangements.
- Effectively and efficiently generating revenue and growth in line with legislation, Crown Estate Scotland policies and governance process through business management, development management of a portfolio of high value, complex agreements and project management of associated enabling activities.
- Leading and coordinating all current asset management activities to ensure the effective operation of CES Aquaculture portfolio of circa 500 finfish, shellfish and seaweed farming and wild seaweed harvesting agreements; manage tenant relationships; and the operational development and decommissioning aspects of property agreements.
- Leading staff in delivering the aquaculture asset management of existing and prospective aquaculture assets and developments.
- Supporting and guiding the aquaculture team in managing existing and prospective aquaculture assets and developments.
- Representing Crown Estate Scotland externally with commercial tenants and key stakeholders, to Chief Executive, senior management and Board level, delivering impact and influence where appropriate across all areas of policy and managing internal resources in support of this.
- Leading on Business Planning, delivery programme and development of budget management, assurance/compliance and reporting activity across the aquaculture portfolio.
- Establishing and maintaining key strategic relationships at relevant levels across the range of aquaculture tenants, industry regulators and stakeholders to enable identification and implementation of opportunities for CES to add value in sustainable optimisation of aquaculture on Scotland's seabed.
The contractual working location of this role is our Edinburgh office. However, we believe work is something you do, not a place you go to, and we are committed to supporting employees to work flexibly and in a way that suits their role and preferences.
The starting salary will be £79,608 with potential for future progression as well as eligibility of annual cost of living rises. The maximum salary for this role is currently £87,066. The role also benefits from 25 days' annual leave, increasing to 30 days after four years' service, plus 11.5 of public/ privilege days. Crown Estate Scotland encourage flexible working and operate a discretionary flexi-time scheme. This role offers participation in the Civil Service pension scheme with highly competitive contribution levels.
At Crown Estate Scotland we believe that continuous learning and development helps us to do our best in work and build professional skills and expertise. We offer a range of training opportunities delivered by external training providers and in-house experts and provide all employees with access to LinkedIn Learning. We also support individuals to pay professional membership fees relevant to their roles and aim to support additional study and learning requests wherever possible.
As well as helping you to develop professionally, we also support your personal development through our 'Wellbeing Matters' programme with its focus on four important pillars of wellbeing - physical, emotional, social, and financial.
About You
You should:
- Educated to degree level or equivalent in relevant technical / numerate subject or significant QBE.
- In-depth knowledge of the marine aquaculture industry.
- Experience of asset management, project management, commercial management relating to energy and change management.
- Appreciation of public body operating environments such as government, public agencies, statutory and local authorities
- 3+ years leading, or in a senior position within, a team of technical and/or commercial experts.
- Experience of stakeholder engagement and wider representational activity
- Commercial management expertise, with experience in client negotiations and account management, including legal aspects. Understanding of working in commercial partnerships, managing delivery of joint objectives and co- operating to overcome mutual risks.
- Communications and public relations experience, including working with the media, the government and agencies
- Accomplished in typical office IT systems.
You will have the following qualities, which are key to success in this role:
- Commitment to continuous improvement and self-learning, with initiative to overcome business uncertainties by developing own expertise
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills. Highly numerate and familiar with dealing with financial and other numerical information.
- Attention to detail and follow- through to task completion, with attention to company delivery standards and individual scorecard objectives.
- Good communications skills, with the ability to present complex technical information to a range of audiences and appropriate presence to engage with senior stakeholders.
- Strong self-management skills, taking a pro-active approach to dealing with issues, managing workloads to meet challenging deadlines/goals.
About us
We manage property - including buildings, land, coastline and seabed - on behalf of people of Scotland. Our purpose is to invest in property, natural resources and people to generate lasting value for Scotland. Our profits go to Scottish public spending.
We work in a way that:
- Generates prosperity and value for all of Scotland;
- Supports the growth of sustainable business and industry in Scottish seas and on the coast;
- Makes places better for those who live, work and visit there;
- Promotes sustainable ways of producing energy, food, and other products; and
- Creates opportunities for people to use and benefit from the Scottish Crown Estate.
Our values of Integrity, Excellence, Collaboration and Commercialism help us to put our purpose into practice. They shape how we work, underpin our actions, and help to make Crown Estate Scotland a great place to work.
By joining the Crown Estate Scotland team, you'll be surrounded by dedicated and talented individuals who are passionate about what they do, giving you the opportunity to learn and develop. You'll be working alongside like-minded individuals who are working towards achieving the shared goal of making Scotland a better place.
Crown Estate Scotland is committed to diversity and inclusion, and we encourage applications from people from all backgrounds. We want to ensure every candidate has a positive experience and can most effectively demonstrate their suitability for the role they are applying for. Please tell us if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to help you in your application or with our recruitment and selection process.
We welcome requests to work on a job share basis.
The benefits
Competitive salaries
Access to the Civil Service pension scheme
Wellbeing and employee assistance
Team-working based on friendliness and respect
Flexible, family-friendly policies
Generous annual leave and public holiday entitlement
