Senior Clerks

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Permanent and Temporary Senior Clerks, Chamber/Committee Office

Working pattern: These are full-time posts (35 hours per week). However, we are happy to talk about flexible working. We’re committed to supporting staff to achieve a healthy work-life balance. These are hybrid roles, working from Holyrood, to ensure that parliamentary business is covered, and from home. 

About the Scottish Parliament 

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is responsible for providing the Parliament with the property, staff and services required for the Parliament’s purposes. We place a high value on excellence, and we are continually looking to improve how we can deliver the Parliament's core purpose of representing the people of Scotland by debating issues of national importance, passing legislation and holding the Scottish Government to account. We are a diverse workforce, and our embedded values shape the way we work and treat each other. We have a culture of respect and inclusion, and everyone has the ability to make a difference. For further information about working for the Scottish Parliament, please see our website.  

About the role 

This is an excellent opportunity to join the Committee/Chamber office as a Senior Clerk which is a key role within the Parliament. We have a number of roles available, both temporary and permanent, and are also looking to expand our pool of Senior Clerks who can be considered for future vacancies should they arise.  

You’ll work in either our Committee or Chamber office, where the business of the Scottish Parliament is conducted. During your career you will move between clerking teams and offices to develop your skills and experience. Flexibility and adaptability are essential to these roles. To see where the offices sit within the organisation, you can view our organisation chart here. 

Reporting to a Principal Clerk, you’ll use your skills to communicate complex information in an understandable way, analyse current political issues, gather evidence and other data, assist members of the public to have their voices heard in the Parliament and provide advice on procedure and protocol to MSPs. This role is busy and varied and you’ll be based in a team that supports committee or chamber work, or you could support the legislation process. In the role of senior clerk, you are also likely to act as clerk a committee or operate at a similar level in various other clerking functions.  

We offer a great range of benefits including: 41.5 leave days (including public holidays), flexible working, paid professional subscriptions, family-friendly policies, Season Ticket advance loans, an onsite gym, Health and Wellbeing Schemes including discounted gym membership, a confidential counselling and information service, and the Cycle to Work Scheme. 

You’ll also have the opportunity to join the Alpha Civil Service pension scheme, where we’ll offer you an employer contribution of 28.97% of your basic salary. 

We are a values-based organisation. Our values are a central part of our working culture and our people management processes. We use these to recruit, manage and develop our staff. For more information on our values and behaviours framework, please visit our values pages in our Employee Handbook.   

About you 

You’ll have an acute awareness of Scotland’s political machinery and interest in topical issues and current affairs. With exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, you’ll have the ability to analyse and communicate complex information effectively. You’ll require to build and maintain a range of relationships, both within and outwith the Parliament.   

As an exceptional leader, you’ll empower those reporting to you, acting impartially and exercising sound judgement in everything you do. You’ll also lead and contribute to parliamentary-wide projects and continuous improvement initiatives. You’ll encourage co-operative working, anticipating and resolving conflict and risk effectively. You’ll be able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines whilst ensuring priorities are aligned to strategic objectives. 

For full information about the role, have a look at the job description and application pack. You can also contact Irene.Fleming@parliament.scot or Tracey.White@parliament.scot 

We particularly welcome applications from candidates from a Minority Ethnic background and Disabled candidates. All appointments will be made on merit. We have a values-based culture of respect and inclusion embedded in our organisation, and everyone has the ability to make a difference. 

How to apply  

Stage 1 

Please apply before 12:00 noon on Monday 3 August 2026   

To find out how to apply and for further information about our recruitment process, please see our recruitment process pages on the website.    

Please note that only your statement will be submitted to Hiring Managers, without any personal details. Hiring managers will then select candidates for further assessment or interview based on their statement which addresses the values within the job description.  

Stage 2  

Successful candidates at stage 1 will be asked to undertake a written assessment. This will be a timed exercise and sent to you by email. Assessments are expected to take place week commencing 7 September, although this is subject to change.  

Candidates will be invited to the next stage of the recruitment process on the basis of their assessment and application score. 

Stage 3 

At the final stage, you’ll be invited to attend a virtual panel interview and will also be asked to undertake a presentation. Interviews will be held week commencing 5 October, although this is subject to change.  

Offers will be awarded based on merit. For this role, the following weighting is used to come to a final score on which offers will be based. Application 20%, Assessment 20%, Presentation 20%, Interview 40%.   

All new starts will be appointed to the first scale point of the grade for their role. For information on progression through the scale points, see our Pay and Reward Policy Statement.  

Feedback will only be provided on request to those who attend interview.  

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please email: careers@parliament.scot.