Your passion has never had a greater purpose

Here at SEPA, we’re connected by a passion that drives us to be purposeful in every action we take - to protect our environment. Through our expertise, we lead projects that make a difference for Scotland, and our workplaces are grounded in respect for that expertise.

That’s why, when you join us as Chief Scientific Advisor, you’ll discover enriching benefits, meaningful support, and opportunities to learn every day. That’s what it means to be Passionately Purposeful - for our environment, and for your career.

Work that goes beyond your desk

Experts at what we do, we work in a professional way towards our shared goals, knowing the work we do makes a genuine, lasting difference on the environment. As Chief Scientific Advisor, that involves:

Provide strategic scientific leadership across SEPA, ensuring environmental analysis and insights are robust, credible, and underpin sound regulatory decisions.
Lead the provision of high-quality scientific evidence to inform the development and review of regulatory frameworks and policy.
Oversee SEPA’s State of the Environment Reporting, ensuring outputs are scientifically credible, accessible, and valuable to the public, government, and stakeholders.
Direct environmental monitoring, modelling, and assessment activities, including data and modelling support for pollution incidents and environmental stress events.
Lead SEPA’s scientific research agenda, fostering innovation and partnerships with academic and research institutions, and applying cutting-edge science, technology, and methods.
Provide strategic leadership for SEPA’s environmental data strategy, championing innovation in analytics, GIS, AI, IoT, and satellite/sensor technologies.

Respect for your expertise

This is a highly important role within our Data, Evidence & Innovation portfolio which means you will need:

Proven senior leadership experience  with a track record of delivering organisational change leading and motivating multi-disciplinary teams.
Extensive experience in relevant scientific, technical, or professional fields.
Experience of the ability to engage credibly at the highest levels with government, industry, and stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to develop and implement strategic plans that deliver measurable environmental, social, and economic outcomes.
Evidence of the ability to interpret complex scientific or technical data and translate it into clear, actionable advice for varied audiences, including media and public forums.

Support that goes beyond the workplace

We’re cultivating a workplace that supports not only your passion and your professional lives, but your personal life. So, you’ll find benefits that make a difference at work and at home. Such as:

Hybrid and Flexible working opportunities
Up to 35 days annual leave and 7 additional public holidays each year (pro rata)
Paid time off to support your Wellbeing and enable you to Volunteer in your community  
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
Progressive Family Friendly policies  
Training & development to enable colleagues to improve their skills, competencies and knowledge to perform at their best.

Plus, many more lifestyle benefits such as 24/7 access to an online employee discount platform, credit union facilities and access to a Cycle to Work Scheme.

Passionately you. Purposefully supportive

SEPA is committed to promoting equality, diversity, and good relations in everything it does - as a community leader, as a provider and commissioner of services, and as an employer.

Passionately Purposeful about Scotland’s environment - and your career.

Protecting our environment, promoting our work, and supporting our people, working at SEPA means being part of an organisation that’s grounded in respect for your expertise - and your wellbeing. So you can be your best, and make the biggest impact.

We recruit solely based on merit. Our shortlisting process is conducted on an anonymous basis. Please ensure that you include all relevant information when you apply.

We support flexible working arrangements to help you maintain a healthy balance between career and homelife. This includes working part time, reduced hours, job sharing, working remotely. As a flexible first employer we are open to having conversations about flexible working arrangements that work for you and SEPA from day 1 of your employment with us.

We are proud to be a 'Disability Confident' employer and will work to identify and implement reasonable adjustments and equipment to support you in the role that you do.

Applicants with a visual impairment can request job descriptions and application forms in Braille, large print or on tape.

For the security and wellbeing of our colleagues, successful candidates will undergo Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) pre-employment checks including a level two Disclosure Scotland check.

If you have questions or need any assistance with the recruitment process please contact SEPA’s Recruitment Team at recruitment@sepa.org.uk

As part of the recruitment process, applications for this vacancy will be shared with our external recruitment partner, FWB Ltd, for initial review. By applying, you consent to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) sharing your personal data with FWB Ltd for the purposes of recruitment, in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. For more information, please refer to our privacy notice. 

Apply now to join a Passionately Purposeful workplace

Title	Region	Sponsorship Likelihood	Posted At
Class 1 Days	Holytown, Scotland, United Kingdom	Ineligible	11/28/2025
Head of Authorisations	Holytown, Scotland, United Kingdom		11/17/2025
Chief Scientific Advisor	Holytown, Scotland, United Kingdom		11/17/2025

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