Job Description

About The RoleWorking pattern: We have full-time and part-time posts available. Our full-time posts are for 37 hours per week. The roles are hybrid, with some working from home but based at Holyrood for at least two days a week. The Parliament meets from Tuesday to Thursday, with committee meetings starting as early as 8.30 am and business in the chamber concluding around 6.30 pm.Working days can be long and some flexibility is required to accommodate last-minute extensions and changes to parliamentary business. To meet business and personal needs, we have a progressive flexible working hours arrangement. Annual leave is expected to be taken during our recess periods, .As we have both part-time and full-time opportunities available, please state your preferred working pattern in the \'additional information\' section of your values-based statement (full details on how to apply are below). We also have permanent and fixed term positions available. We welcome secondments if you are interested in applying on a fixed-term basis.The office of the Official Report sits within the Parliamentary Business directorate of the organisation and is made up of 37 staff including the editor, sub-editors, reporters and our editorial support team. In addition, we have a small pool of freelance reporters. All our staff are required by to demonstrate impartiality in respect of political parties and issues.This is a rare and exciting opportunity to work with words at the centre of public life in Scotland. The Official Report is an edited written record of everything that\'s said in the Scottish Parliament. As an important historical record, it forms part of the national archive and helps Parliament make laws and hold the Government to account on subjects as varied as health, education, policing, agriculture and the environment. As a parliamentary reporter, you\'ll see your work published after every meeting, and it will form part of the national archive.As a reporter you\'ll work at speed and to tight deadlines to turn the spoken word into a politically impartial, readable and factually correct account that conveys the individual character of the speakers\' voices. You\'ll also take notes of committee meetings and become an expert in your subject area.We\'ll offer you robust training to support you in your role. Your career in the Official Report will start with six months of training to hone your reporting skills, followed by coaching and mentoring to support your development. You\'ll then have the opportunity to progress to sub-editing training if you wish.For further information about the role please contact:We\'re also hosting an online recruitment event on Friday 10 May at 12.30pm where you\'ll have a chance to meet some of our Official Report team and find out what it\'s like to work at the Parliament and in the office of the Official Report. . If tickets are showing at capacity on Eventbrite, please contact to request a space.Please apply before 11:59 on Sunday 19 May 2024. Full details of our selection process are outlined below.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.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.About YouParliament and its committees can debate almost any subject, so you\'ll need to be able to follow the meaning of sometimes complex and lengthy discussions, on a wide range of subjects and in a variety of voices, that are often tricky to set down in accessible, grammatical sentences.You\'ll therefore need an excellent command of English, be able to think creatively to find solutions to linguistic conundrums and understand how to make spoken words work effectively on the page. If you have a working knowledge of Scots or Gaelic, that would be particularly welcome.You\'re someone who understands the role of the Scottish Parliament and has a strong interest in, and knowledge of, national and local politics and current affairs, with an excellent awareness of the political context in which debates take place. You also love to work with a supportive group of friendly people from a variety of professional backgrounds.Official Reports are often published online within hours, and, with so much responsibility on reporters to get it just right, it\'s vital that we can trust, rely on and communicate effectively with one another, so we value good teamworking and interpersonal skills.You\'ll have a commitment to sharing your knowledge and skills with your colleagues, as well as a willingness to collaborate on projects that promote the Parliament\'s values. You\'ll also be keen to progress in your career at the Parliament, and we\'ll support you to gain the skills and experience you need.For further information, please see our full and .The Selection ProcessStage 1How to apply and our selection processWe 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.To apply for our roles, click \'apply\' and this will allow you to register and upload your CV (if you\'ve not already).You\'ll be asked to write a values-based supporting statement based on the job description of the role you\'re applying for. The job description will detail the main recruitment selection criteria under each value, in the sections titled \xe2\x80\x9cAnd in delivering these, you will have\xe2\x80\x9d.Your application will be assessed solely on your statement.You\'ll need to provide one or more examples to cover each bullet point, in the four value sections entitled \xe2\x80\x9cAnd in delivering these you will have\xe2\x80\x9dPlease provide details from your background or career, of where and how you have demonstrated that value.When completing and submitting the values-based statement to apply of this role:

• Please provide evidence against each of our four values, a maximum of 400 words is allowed per value

• Please use the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to address the key delivery requirements under each value in the .

• Each value should be clearly formatted, and your examples may include specific skills, experience, abilities, knowledge and strengths you have.

• We have a separate box on our system for you to input each value.

• Please do not input anything into the values boxes until you\'re ready to submit your application.

• Please complete your answers offline, perhaps in Word, and then copy and paste your answers into the system when you\'re ready to submit your application.

• We recommend that you check your answers, by reading the inputted information in the box, when you\'ve copied and pasted the information into the system, just to ensure it\'s all there.

• Please only click \'Next\' to submit your application when you\'re content it\'s complete. When you click \'Next\', you don\'t have the option to go back.

• If you \'cancel\' then your work won\'t be saved.

• The system will time out after an hour and your work will be lost if you don\'t complete it in that time. You don\'t have the option to save your application and return to it later.

• If the system times out, you can go into your \'candidate profile\' to access and complete your statement.

• If you mistakenly submit your statement prior to completing this on the system, please email

with full details of the role you\'re applying for, what has happened, and your completed statement.Please note that only your supporting statement will be submitted to Hiring Managers, without any personal details, and they will then select candidates for further assessment.Stage 2Candidates who are selected at this stage will be asked to undertake an online assessment involving a comprehension exercise, an editing exercise and a general knowledge test covering current affairs, written language and topics of Scottish interest. Online assessments are expected to take place in the week commencing 10 June, 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 3At the final stage, you\'ll be invited to attend a virtual panel interview. Interviews will be held in the week commencing 24 June, although this is subject to change.Feedback will only be provided on request to those who attend interview.If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please email .After the interviewWe\'ll aim to let you know the outcome of your interview as soon as we can. This will normally be within 10 working days. If you\'re unsuccessful at interview stage, you can ask us for feedback. We want to ensure a positive candidate experience, so we\'ll also contact you to ask for your feedback on the whole recruitment process.Onboarding ProcessIf you\'re successful at interview, you\'ll be asked to complete our onboarding process. This includes security clearance and you\'ll also be asked to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.We will provide you with details of our security vetting policy and you will be required to complete a security questionnaire. Some of our roles will require membership of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. For further information, .RefereesIf you\'re successful, we\'ll approach previous and/or current employers for a reference. If you have no employment history we may approach any school, college or university you have attended.We can only make a formal offer of employment once we have received your security clearance, eligibility to work in the UK and references. Your health assessment will be used to inform us of any adjustments you require before you start with us.Our commitment to an inclusive workforceWe are a Disability Confident Leader Employer and guarantee to interview any disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role. If you have a disability and would like to talk to us about any aspects of this job, please contact us.

Scottish Parliament